Epilogue
Epilogue
Reese
One year and eight months later
Oh my God. With my heart in my throat, I watch Brodie zoom down the ice, the stick in his hands moving so quickly back and forth that it seems like a blur. But he never once lets go of the puck and doesn’t give the men gathering around him a chance to take it away. When he is almost to the goal, I glance up at the clock. He has seconds, and if he doesn’t make this shot, his team is out of the running for the Cup. I don’t want to watch, but I can’t take my eyes off him.
When he swings his stick back, and it cracks against the ice, the sound ricocheting around the room. I stand up and swear time slows as the puck shoots past the men trying to catch it and goes into the goal.
“Holy shit!” I scream at the top of my lungs, my voice drowned out by the crowd cheering and the buzzer going off. He did it. I turn to one of the other player’s wives, jumping up and down next to me, and the two of us embrace.
When she lets me go, I turn back to the rink and move closer to the glass with tears in my eyes. I will never admit it to anyone, especially not Brodie, because he would love to give me a hard time about it, but I love hockey. Or I love him, and he loves hockey so much that it’s rubbed off on me. I laugh when I see him coming in my direction with his helmet off and a beautiful smile on his handsome face.
“You did it!” I scream at the top of my lungs. He rests his forehead against the glass, and I do the same, wishing I could touch him.
“Love you,” he mouths when I lean back to look at him. I mouth it right back, then giggle when his teammates all swarm around him. Then, just like that, he’s gone and out of sight, lost in the crowd of his friends. Falling to my bottom in my seat, I let out a breath and then look at the screen when Aunt Ileana nudges me and points up. I frown when I realize that I’m looking at myself with the team’s mascot right behind me. I turn around, and he holds out a tiny red box on his big furry paw.
“What?” I shake my head, and he motions for me to take it while the stadium buzzes around us. When I have it in my grasp, he hand-signals for me to open it, making me laugh. Lifting the lid on the box, my body stills, and my heart pounds.
The brightest and biggest diamond I have ever seen in my life glitters from inside, nestled in white silk. I look up at the mascot, confused.
“Turn around,” people yell. When I do, I find Brodie still dressed in his hockey uniform, down on one knee behind me.
“Oh my God.” I cover my mouth with my hand, and he reaches toward me and carefully takes the box from my grasp.
“Ree.”
“No,” I breathe, shaking my head. He laughs.
“I love you.”
“Brodie.” Tears fill my eyes.
“The last almost two years have been the happiest of my life.” Oh, my God. My knees shake as I look into his eyes. “You’re my best friend. The best thing to ever happen to me.” I wipe the tears from my cheeks. “I know with you by my side, there is nothing I can’t accomplish… Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” I lunge at him and wrap my arms around his neck. The ground beneath my feet shakes as people scream, clap, and cheer. “I can’t believe you,” I whisper in his ear.
“I meant it. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Ree.” I can’t tell him that I feel the same because a sob I can’t control is climbing up the back of my throat. I never imagined having a moment like this with a man as perfect for me as he is. “You said yes, right?” he asks against my ear, and I nod, then lean back to look at him while laughing.
“Yes.” I wipe the tears from under my eyes as he takes my hand to slide the ring onto my finger. Once it’s in place, he lifts my hand in the air, causing the crowd to go crazy again.
I laugh, leaning into him, then grab his face and give him a kiss that is likely too inappropriate for TV.