Teddy and me… We hadn’t ruined anything. Not my career. Not our reputations. Crossing that line had given me him, and there was only one thing left to say.
Fuck the rules.
EPILOGUE
TEDDY: ONE YEAR LATER
My girl looked like she belonged behind the bench at a gold medal game. All business, no smiles, but it was the lack of her usual fire that caught my attention. There was no yelling, no frustration directed at me. Instead, she was laser-focused—talking strategy with her players, showing them plays on a tablet, offering pats on the back when they made a good play.
Who was that woman?
“Why isn’t she this nice to us?” Julian muttered, arms crossed, his voice full of defiance. Half the team had made the trip to Europe for this one game, most of them on my dime. But I didn’t care. Frankie deserved a huge cheering section. They could only stay for a few days because of their own schedules, but I’d taken the entire week off from my job working for a player management firm.
Turns out, I liked it. Loved it, maybe. It was still early days, but it kept me close to the game, without the constant pain. My knee surgery had been a success, and I’d put in the work during rehab. Now, here I was, a new man.
And I was watching the woman I loved absolutely crush life.
“Maybe she just likes them more than you,” I said, trying to keep the mood light.
Julian grumbled under his breath, his words lost in the arena’s noise. Sydney, sitting on my other side, gripped my arm as a USA player broke free on a breakaway a minute into overtime. I shot to my feet, adrenaline spiking as the arena erupted with chants ofUSA, USA. Rowan’s screech from the row in front of us made me grin.
The USA player deked the last defender—just her and the goalie now. Backhand. Forehand. Shot…
SCORE!
My girl. A gold medal winner. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I felt one roll down my cheek. So. Fucking. Proud.
Over the last year, I’d come to know everything about Frankie, every part of her. Her deep secrets, her past traumas. Her different smiles. Every inch of skin. For so long, I’d wondered if love was temporary. My parents had once been in love. They’d loved each other until it twisted into something ugly.
But now? I couldn’t imagine not feeling this warmth inside me every time I looked at her. A sense of completeness. I used to think hockey was the great love of my life, but I knew now—hockey was just a game.
A perfect game, but not real.
Not like this—standing here with my best friends, our arms around each other in celebration, eagerly anticipating the moment I could tell Frankie, in person, just what she did to me. What she made me feel.
I patted my pocket, needing to reassure myself that it was still there.
Then, I pushed past my teammates, navigating through the row and running down the aisle to position myself above the tunnel where the team and coaches would soon walk through after the celebration. There would be a gold medal ceremony, but not before I got to touch her.
The team began filtering toward the locker room, and I shouted her name. Frankie’s head snapped up as she stepped into the tunnel, her eyes locking onto mine. I pulled the small velvet box from my pocket and tossed it down to her. She caught it but didn’t open it—not yet.
“I love you,” I yelled, my voice thick with emotion. “I fucking love you. And I never want to stop loving you.”
A year ago, when the team had tried to force me into a proposal, I wasn’t ready. Not because I wasn’t sure about her. I’d known then she was my future. But we needed time.
I opened my mouth to ask her the question that had been burning in my chest, but before I could speak, she yelled up at me, cutting me off. “Fuck yes.”
That mouth of hers.
It took a moment for her words to fully register, and I couldn't help but grin. She was the only one in the tunnel now, but the surrounding fans were catching on to what was happening. “Yes?” I asked, just to be sure.
She nodded, her smile wide and knowing. “Abso-fucking-lutely, Coach.”
Coach. The way she said it made my pulse spike, and I had to suppress a groan as I adjusted my stance to hide what was happening in my pants.
“Save that for tonight,” I teased, my lips curling into a sly grin. “And bring your gold medal.”
Want more? Find out what happens when Rowan falls for the last woman he expected, the one who is suddenly very off-limits.
