Epilogue
Noah zips up my blue strapless dress, pressing a soft kiss on my shoulder. “You look breathtaking, Rainbow.” His words caress my skin.
A serene smile finds its way to my lips at the sweet gesture, a shiver running down my spine.
He does this—makes me feel cherished even in the most mundane days.
Today is anything but mundane, though.
Our journey to each other wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t easy either.
It was messy, difficult, and filled with lots of therapy sessions. But it was us. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As I stare at my figure draped in a dress with a slit so high, I realize how far I’ve come. I used to hate what I saw when I looked in the mirror.
But now, when I see Noah’s bright eyes memorizing every curve of my body in the reflection as he stands behind me, his chin resting on my shoulder, and his arms wrapped around me, all I see is the stunning woman who deserves to be worshiped.
I swivel around in his hold, craning my neck up to see him. I open the top few buttons of his shirt, loving how delectable he looks in his black suit, the tempting tattoos peeking from his clothes.
“I’m so proud of you, my love,” I remind him, placing my palm right over his beating heart, where he took the blade meant for me, and the rainbow he got tattooed there—the only colorful tattoo on his skin.
Noah gives me a brilliant smile, the bags under his eyes far less visible than they used to be. “How is it that you remember to say those words to me every single day, for the last six months, even when you were making me grovel and work for my mistakes?”
“Simply because I love you,” I tell him honestly. “You made a mistake, punished yourself for it more than I ever could, and you didn’t just say that you won’t do it again, you showed me by working on yourself. And I know from experience, it’s never easy.”
An understanding, memories of the past, and promises for our future pass between us as we lose ourselves in each other’s gazes.
“I love you, baby,” he sighs, tilting his head to the side. “Did I tell you that?”
I feign a dramatic eye roll. “No, you haven’t,” I lie just to hear him say it again.
“Oh, I haven’t?” Cocking his brow, he regards me, his voice dropping an octave. “How scandalous?! Let me remedy that.”
Before I have the time to react, he hauls me closer, disintegrating any distance between us, and dives right in as he showers my face, neck, and any visible skin, really, with open-mouthed kisses.
I burst into giggles, my breath catching. “Your beard…it…tickles…haha…Noah!” I try to fist his shirt to stop him, but my hands are squished between our bodies.
“I thought I didn’t tell you I love you,” he teases, a playful lilt in his tone. “This is me doing that, Rainbow.”
“Ah…hahaha…please, stop!” I sputter between bouts of laughter as my body squirms in his hold.
Finally, when I’m out of breath, he pulls back, a rogue strand from his styled hair falling over his forehead.
“Fine, if you insist.” This time, he’s the one to roll his eyes back.
I smack him lightly in his chest, laughing at his playfulness and loving that he’s come so far from the first time I met him. He’s still broody, but he smiles often now.
“Let’s go before we arrive late at the event you’re a chief guest at,” I remind him, unwrapping his arms from around me, turning his body, and pushing to move forward—well, he lets me do all of that to him.
We head out of his bedroom, and Millie rushes to us in the living room of the penthouse, freeing herself from her sitter’s hold.
Bending down, I pick her up, happy that she has gained weight since we found her. “We’ll be back soon, Millie,” I tell her in a baby voice, ruffling her bright fur.
She nuzzles in my neck, purring in response.
I put her down when her sitter, Lola, pads closer to us, a teenage girl we met in a park one day when we took Millie for a walk. It was love at first sight for Millie and Lola.
“I’ll take good care of her, Andie,” she assures us with a smile.
Noah grabs a fifty-dollar bill and gives it to her. “You always do, Lola. Enjoy,” he appreciates her with a wink.
“Thank you, Mr. Miller,” Lola squeals as she accepts the money.
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me, Noah? I’m not that old,” he sighs, shaking his head.
“I mean…I won’t call you young, either, with the few grays I spotted in the morning,” I tease him, keeping my expression poker.
Noah’s eyes widen, a horrified look on his face as he touches his hair. “No.”
Lola and I share a look before we both burst out laughing, clutching our stomachs.
Noah’s hand falls beside him. “Ha. Ha. Very funny,” he deadpans, turning on his feet and walking toward the door.
“Stay safe,” I tell Lola, squeeze her shoulder, and follow my boyfriend in his home, which became mine too two months ago when we moved in together.
As a permanent teacher, I’m still saving up to buy my old apartment from Ezra, but for now and hopefully forever, this is my home—with Noah.
He’s hiding my slippers inside each of his socks. I stare at him, puzzled. He finds my questioning gaze on himself and answers, “For when your feet start to hurt in your heels. Can’t see you in pain.”
Uh…swoon.
“You’ll be punished for that,” he whispers, a wicked glint in his eyes as we both head down the elevator.
“I’ll be waiting, Daddy,” I throw over my shoulder as I walk out of the metal box.
“Fuck,” his whispered curse following me.
* * *
Noah walks up to the stage, the hum of the ballroom falling quiet, wondering why the Boston Bandit’s goalie is a chief guest at a fundraiser for mental health.
For a moment, he says nothing, his grip tightening on the podium, his body tense. Then his eyes instantly find mine, and I visibly see him relaxing enough to begin.
His throat works as he clears it.
“He’s such a goner for you,” Kaeli, sitting beside me, whispers. Her observation makes me smile, butterflies still ever-present in my stomach when it comes to him.
“Don’t remind me,” comes Ezra’s voice. It’s still going to take him some time to come around to the idea of his sister dating his best friend.
Though if you ask me, he’s just a drama queen and secretly loves all we do to convince him.
“People often believe they know what strength looks like,” Noah’s raspy voice cuts through the conversation.
He takes in the room, his words enrapturing the crowd before he even really begins.
“They believe it’s winning. Enduring. Getting back up after you’ve been knocked down.” A faint, humorless smile ghosts his lips, my heart twisting for him. “And yeah…that’s a part of it.”
Noah’s eyes flicker back to me, swimming with so many emotions.
“But what they don’t see—what they never see—is what happens when the game ends. When the noise dies down. When you’re alone with your own head, and it’s louder than any arena you’ve ever played in.” His breath stutters, his lips pressing together.
Every cell in my body screams to touch him, knowing it’s not easy to show such strength and share about your past.
“I’ve stood in front of thousands of people, played through injuries, through exhaustion, through losses that felt like they carved something out of me. But none of it was ever as difficult as admitting…I wasn’t okay.”
The crowd hangs onto his words, not wanting to miss a single one as Noah’s eyes take in the room, letting them see the truth in his eyes.
“I’ve had days when I didn’t recognize myself. Nights when my mind wouldn’t shut off. Mornings when I didn’t want to wake up.” Surprised gasps flood the room at his words, shock coloring people’s faces, even his own teammates’.
“I didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t want anyone to find out just how fucked up I was. But the thing is, ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. It only makes it worse. Makes you worse. It makes you push away the people you love in your life, it makes you lose them.”
His eyes swivel back to me, a sheen coating them, same as mine.
“It gets to a point where you start to believe the monster in your mind, start to drown and lose yourself.” He licks his dry lips. “I believed it, too. I didn’t think I deserved help. I believed my mind when it said the world would be a better place without me.”
A sob catches in my throat, my hand covering my mouth to hold it in. But the tears flow unrelentingly.
Not just mine. But almost every person in attendance is crying.
Kaeli brings her chair closer to mine on the circular table, rubbing my shoulder to comfort me.
Even the guys on the team are hiding their tears.
“But someone showed me, I did.” His eyes firmer now, going back to the crowd. “And so do you. Every single one of you sitting here tonight.”
Noah straightens, squaring his shoulders—not like a player preparing for impact, but like a man choosing to stand in his truth.
“We talk about physical injuries all the time in sports. We rehab them and treat them. We respect them.” His gaze sweeps over to his teammates. “But mental health? We treat it like a weakness. Like something to hide.”
He pauses, letting everyone reflect on it.
“I wouldn’t be standing here if I kept hiding.” He looks back at me, unspoken words passing between us. “And awareness isn’t just about talking,” he adds. “It’s about listening. It’s about creating spaces where people don’t feel like they have to pretend they’re fine when they’re not.”
Noah’s grip on the podium relaxes, the crowd leaning closer to listen to him.
“For me…that started with one person who refused to let me disappear into my own head.”
A shift ripples through the audience, their eyes finding me. He didn’t have to take my name for the people to know. His eyes said it all.
“And sometimes,” he finishes quietly, “strength isn’t pushing through alone. It’s letting someone see you when you’re at your worst…and staying anyway.”
Silence settles.
Full and heavy.
Then slowly, the applause rings around the room, louder and louder.
* * *
An hour later, I’m stuck to Noah’s side as we stand close to the drink bar.
“So, how far along is your second book, Andie?” Kaeli asks, and I appreciate her for her support.
“I’m almost done,” I tell her as I feel Noah’s thumb caressing my stomach.
Kaeli squeals at the news, her body leaning against Ezra. “Oh, my God! I can’t wait to read it!”
“Neither can I,” Levi adds, joining our little circle. “How do you even come up with the spicy scenes, Andie?”
Both Noah and Ezra growl at him, glaring him down.
“Don’t you dare ask my sister that ever again,” Ezra warns, a scowl on his face.
“Not if you value your life,” Noah adds, portraying the possessive boyfriend to a T, and making color drain from Levi’s face.
I roll my eyes at the men and answer him with a wink, “Experience.”
A smirk rises back up Levi’s lips, his eyes gleaming as Noah and Ezra groan behind me, making Kaeli and me laugh.
That is cut short when a loud crash rings out in the room, a hush falling over the crowd.
Our eyes swivel toward the cause of distraction and find Sebastian’s fist connecting with Jackson’s jaw.
Aurelia gasps at the violence toward her boyfriend, trying to stop the men, as Jackson punches Sebastian back.
“What has he done now?” Ezra asks, his eyes taking in the scene with the precision of a captain.
“Must’ve opened his big mouth again,” Levi sighs, shaking his head at the display.
“Let’s go back our boy,” comes Noah’s voice from behind me.
With that, the men move toward their youngest teammate. And all I can think about is how lucky I am to find love with a man who cares so much about everyone.
One thing I know with utmost certainty is that I’m never letting this gem of a man go.
Not for as long as I breathe.