My thighs clench at the thought of him taking me right here, right now. If it weren’t for the threat of someone taking a picture and posting it online for everyone to see, I might just do it.
Thankfully, a car pulls up, ensuring we can’t. We climb into the back, and no sooner has Cole confirmed our location than hepulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling him, and his lips return to mine.
By the time we get back to our apartment building, he’s brought me right to the edge over and over again. I have no doubt the driver knows exactly what’s happening in the back of his car but he doesn’t say anything, and as we get out, I watch Cole slip him an incredibly generous tip.
“Congratulations,” Melvin sings happily as we stumble into the foyer. “I watched the whole thing; you were incredible. And I’m so happy for you both. You make the sweetest couple.”
“Thank you, Melvin. We really appreciate it. And thank you for everything recently with the press.”
“It’s the least I can do. And don’t forget, I take payment in all kinds of baked goods,” he teases, winking at me.
“You’ve got it. Cupcakes tomorrow?”
“Music to my ears. Now, what are you doing standing here talking to me? Go and enjoy the rest of your night.” Melvin winks at Cole this time, and when we’re safely inside the elevator, I hide my glowing face in his chest.
“Tell me he did not just say that?” I mutter.
Cole just chuckles before continuing what he started inside the club.
By the time we get to the top floor, I’ve climbed him like a tree, and he has little choice but to carry me into the apartment.
Buddy and Charlie go crazy the second we open the door and step inside, and I can’t help smiling as their little feet clatter against the wooden floor.
Cole marches across the apartment and opens the balcony door so the boys can go out before he tells them they’re going to have to be patient and that we’ll be with them in a bit. Then, he marches us into the bedroom and kicks the door closed.
He places me on my feet and takes a step back, his eyes running down the length of me.
He shakes his head and drags his hand down his face, as if he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“I never in a million years thought I’d end the season here,” he tells me. “Being top of the division is incredible, but it pales in comparison to what winning you feels like.”
“Cole,” I breathe, taking a step forward and placing my hands on his chest, feeling his heart racing beneath my palm.
“I mean it, Freya. You’re everything to me. Everything.”
I smile up at him.
“Every save. Every win…they all led me to you.”
EPILOGUE
COLE
It’s the afternoon of game seven of the Stanley Cup Final.
Game fucking seven.
We’ve gotten so close multiple times to winning this fucking thing, but at the last minute, it’s been ripped away from us, leaving us here.
It’s the last chance for us to secure the win and lift the Cup we’re all desperate for.
I want it. Of course I fucking want it. I’ve wanted it since I first discovered its existence. I’ve come close before, but never this close. It’s practically within touching distance. But I have never felt like I have right now about it. When I’ve been in the playoffs before, I’ve always been worried about what happens next. What if I let in an easy goal and I’m the reason my team loses? Will I be traded and sent away unwanted? Will someone else want me? What will my future look like?
As the hours tick down to our very last game of this postseason, I don’t feel any of that.
I’m a professional hockey player; there is always a risk of being traded, but losing tonight wouldn’t give our GM any morereason to trade me. If he’s considering it, then it’ll happen with or without the W tonight. And if it does happen, maybe, just maybe, it’ll happen for a reason.
Yeah…that’s a very different way of thinking to every other year that’s passed. And I know exactly why.
