Epilogue
MADDIE
JUNE THE FOLLOWING YEAR
Iwas trying to be as quiet as possible as I packed up the boxes in the basement of my brother’s house while Matt was asleep behind the closed bedroom door.
Last year, rather than go home after my school year was over, I moved in with my brother. At first, I was sleeping upstairs in one of the guest rooms, but gradually, I made my way back into Matt’s bed and never left.
Did I love commuting to campus from Old City? Nope, but it wasn’t so bad. When Matt and I started looking for our own place, we settled on a low-maintenance condo a couple of blocks away. Besides, with the two other rookies my brother ‘adopted’ it was getting crowded here.
Matt’s alarm blared, forcing him up from his pregame nap so he could get ready for the game tonight. Tensions had been high, and that’s why I was working on the packing. We weren’t set to move until next week, but there was still a lot to do.
I finished packing my current box as quietly as I could as I heard the sounds of Matt waking up behind the bedroom door. He’d need a few minutes to fully wake up and get dressed before walking out here, and I wanted to give him that space.
I shut the box I was packing and tapped it up. I pushed it to the side with the others and padded across the room for a new box. I opened up a new one and taped it together, then assessed my piles. I might have too many books. Matt joked our second bedroom at the condo would be filled with them, and he might not be wrong. It was his own damn fault. That man loved buying me all the books I wanted.
I grabbed another pile and spent the next couple of minutes loading up more books. It felt like the piles were only getting smaller by a fraction. Moving was no joke.
I was taping up the second box when the bedroom door opened, and Matt walked in wearing the blue pin-striped suit that I loved. He gave me a big smile, and my insides still got mushy at that.
“Hey, baby. You ready for tonight?” I asked.
He scowled. “I told you I’d help.”
I waved him off. “You worry about bringing home the Cup tonight. I got this. We’re a team, remember?”
He crossed over to me, and I yelped when he lifted me in his arms, but then I melted into him when he kissed me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him through the kiss. I made a face when he pulled away.
“What’s wrong?”
I ran the back of my hand across his bushy playoff beard. “I can’t wait for you to win and get rid of this thing.”
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “I thought you loved the way it felt between your thighs.”
“Um, no, that’s you, babe.”
“So you don’t love my head being between your legs?”
I laughed. “Well, I didn’t say that.”
He set me back down, and he cocked his head as he spied the application I had lying on the couch. “What’s that?”
“Nothing!”
I tried to distract him, but he darted around me and picked up the piece of paper. The one I had been scared to fill out. He scanned it and raised his eyes at me in question. “What’s this?”
“It’s the business application.”
His eyes lit up. “For the PR company?”
I nodded.
I officially had five authors I was PAing for now. Dinah was still my number one, but I had such growth that I decided to start my own PR company for authors, mostly in romance. Matt and I had talked about it at length after I graduated last month. He fully supported my dreams, and I loved that about him.
“That’s amazing!” he cheered.
I bit my lip. “You think I should do it?”
“Maddie, you’re so good at it. I’m fully in support of this. And don’t worry about money, okay? I’ll support us in the meantime.”
That was something we talked about too. Noah talked about capital with me and whether I wanted to do it on the side or find a full-time job. I was extremely privileged that I had a boyfriend and big brother who could support me financially if need be. For now, I was going to chase my dreams.
He cupped my face. “Love you, sweet pea.”
I beamed. “Love you too. And I can’t wait to watch you hold the Cup over your head tonight.”
“Don’t jinx me!”
“I’m not.”
He gave me one last kiss goodbye, and then he walked upstairs to have his pregame meal and head out with my brother and the other new guys. I was so glad we were moving out soon. It was nice having our space down here, but our own little place to start our life together was going to be great.
I packed up a few more boxes, and then I sat down and filled out the form. I was actually doing it. I was going to chase my dreams with my man by my side. First, I needed to watch him win the Cup, then we’d find forever.
* * *
I chugged my beer while I watched from behind the glass as Matt took the faceoff in the Bulldogs’ defensive zone. I glanced at the scoreboard, 2-2, with five minutes left in the third period. They needed one final push, and they could bring it all home.
“Come on, baby, you got this,” I muttered under my breath.
Matt’s sister Luna gripped my hand and gave me a nervous look. We were all on the edge of our seats. After Matt’s injury last season, he pushed himself even harder this year. It was a minor setback, but it made him more focused. When the team made the playoffs this year, I thought Dinah was going to have a heart attack. Then they kept on winning. Now, they had to beat the Chicago Renegades one last time to bring it all home.
“They got this,” Dinah said.
“I’m nervous,” I explained. “Matt told me to stop jinxing him.”
“Don’t worry,” Dinah reassured me.
I turned back to the ice, and I held my breath as I watched my boyfriend on the breakaway.
“Oh my God!” I yelled along with everyone else in the arena.
“GO!” Luna and Matt’s parents were screaming on the other side of me.
We were all up on our feet, yelling our heads off and watching as Matt had the puck and deked it around the Chicago defenseman. Benny and Hallsy skated down to join him, but Matt had the opening. I watched in amazement as he slid the puck past the goaltender.
The entire arena went up in cheers, and the goal siren blared.
“Fuck yeah, baby! The motherfucking cup!” Dinah yelled and then promptly downed the rest of her beer.
I laughed at her. I loved my sister-in-law so much.
The cheering on the ice went on for a bit longer as we watched the rest of the minutes tick down. When the game-ending horn sounded, we all screamed our heads off again, cheering for our team.
The crowd kept roaring until both teams lined up for the handshake line. That had always been one of my favorite things about hockey. No matter what, the teams still had respect for each other at the end of the day.
“I can’t believe it,” Dinah said in disbelief as we watched the Cup handlers bring the trophy down the tunnel and onto the ice.
The Cup was handed off to Riley first, and then it got passed around to the rest of the team. We waited a little while before heading down to the ice since they still needed to do the team picture.
I was vibrating with excitement for my brother and my boyfriend. I was confident earlier when I told Matt he’d be holding the Cup tonight, but deep down, I wasn’t sure I’d actually get to see it.
When they finally let the families on the ice, I laughed at Dinah launching herself at my brother. He grabbed her in his arms and spun her around while he was still on his skates. I pretended I didn’t see him slip her some tongue when I searched the ice for my boyfriend. Noah looked like Grizzly Adams with his playoff beard. I wasn’t sure how Dinah could stand it, but she liked beards, so she probably liked it. I couldn’t wait until Matt was clean-shaven again.
My eyes lit up when I saw Matt skating around the ice with the Cup. He grinned when he saw me, and he passed the Cup off to one of his teammates. He said something to one of the equipment managers, but he wasn’t coming over to me right away.
He crooked his finger at me, and I slowly walked over to him. Then my mouth hung open when he got down on one knee.
“What are you doing?” I blurted out.
He smiled at me and held open a ring box. Inside was an absolute rock of a diamond. It was so flashy, but I loved it.
“Sweet pea,” he said, and I felt the weight of the cameras and stares on us. “I love you so much. I love that we’re a team that supports each other through everything. I don’t want another day to go by without you by my side. Will you marry me?”
“You don’t even have to ask! Yes, of course I will!” I squealed.
He slipped the ring on my finger, and I was giddy at how it sparkled under the lights. It made me feel like a princess. He got up, and even though he was sweaty and still in his hockey sweater, he was the best-looking man I’d ever seen.
His skates made him taller than usual, so he had to bend down a little more to capture my lips.
I never thought when I transferred to Franklin U last year that I’d fall in love with a hockey player. Much less one who was my brother’s teammate. I didn’t regret anything that happened. Not when the man I loved more than hockey or romance books was kissing me. Not when one day I’d be his wife.
He rested his forehead against mine when we came up for air. “Love you so much, Madison. More than hockey.”
“I love you, Matt. More than all my books.”
He grinned, and then he kissed me one more time. Matt Callahan was my future, and I couldn’t wait for what was in store for the rest of our lives.