“Hi,” I whisper back, a nervous smile twitching at my lips.
“What’s going on, Cole? You’re freaking me out.”
“I’m freaking you out?” I laugh. “Do you have any idea how I’ve been feeling since the first day you walked into my apartment and infiltrated my life?”
“Good, I hope.”
“Fucking fantastic,” I confess. “You are hands down the single best thing that’s ever happened in my life.”
The smile that spreads across her lips is breathtaking, but the shocked expression that replaces it as I sink down to one knee before her is one I’ll never, ever forget.
“C-Cole, wh-what are you doing?”
“Freya,” I say, staring up at her with my heart in my throat. “I love you. I love you so much that some days I can’t believe it can all be real. All my life, I’ve dreamed of having a person standing beside me, a family to call my own. I wasn’t expecting to find it the day you walked into my life and caused chaos in my kitchen. I’m not sure what it is you see in me, maybe it was the bump to the head on that very first day, but whatever it is, I’m not going to question it, because I’m a better person with you standing beside me.
“Getting to call you my girl is a privilege I’ll never believe I deserve, but I’m a selfish man, Freya, and that’s not enough for me. I want more. I want everything. Forever.
“Will you…will you marry me?”
Freya sniffles, lifting her free hand to wipe the tears cascading down her cheeks.
“Shit,” I mutter, suddenly remembering something else. I tug the zipper of my pocket down and pinch the ring I’ve kept hidden from her for weeks between my thumb and forefinger.
“Oh my god.” She gasps when I hold it up between us, her trembling hand covering her gawping mouth.
It’s a simple princess-cut diamond on a platinum band. The moment I saw it, I knew she’d love it.
“Yes, Cole. Oh my god.”
I reach for her hand and hold it tight in mine to stop it from trembling so hard, allowing me to slide the ring into its rightful place.
We both stare at it for a moment, the importance of what is happening wrapping around us.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“No, baby, that’s you. Nothing will ever compare to you.”
Pushing to my feet, I wrap my hand around the back of her neck and drag her closer until she’s pinned against my body and crash my mouth against hers.
Her lips are just as greedy as mine, parting instantly, her tongue gliding against mine, making my body soar with need.
Maybe doing this outside of the apartment was a bad idea.
Seconds stretch to minutes as the warm summer air blows around us. But eventually, we pull back.
Freya’s eyes are still full of unshed tears as she looks up at me, then down at her ring, and then at me again.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” she whispers in disbelief.
“You’re going to be my wife,” I state proudly.
“Pfft, that’s nothing. Cole Hansley is going to be my husband.”
After takinga whole series of selfies that include the two of us, Freya’s ring, and Buddy and Charlie, we finally make our way back to the car, hand in hand with wide smiles on our faces.
I’ve got two hours before I have to be at the arena to get ready for our final game, and I know exactly how I want to spend them.
By the time I’ve made my fiancée scream until she’s hoarse, wearing nothing but her engagement ring, there’s barely any time to eat. It’s not exactly the preparation I’d have imagined for game seven of the Stanley Cup Final, but for me—for us—it’s perfect.
