"It's decided." Mac's grin somehow got wider. "When? When can you move in?"
Rachel laughed. "I don't know, I need to give notice on my lease, pack everything—"
"This weekend."
"Mac, that's soon!"
"I know it's fast. I know we should probably wait, do this properly, give you time to organize everything." Mac cupped her face. "But Rachel, I don't want to spend one more day without you. I don't want to wake up in my apartment alone when you could be there. I don't want to say goodnight at your door and drive away. I want you there when I wake up. I want you therewhen I come home from practice. I want all of it, starting this weekend."
Rachel's heart squeezed. "This weekend," she agreed. "We'll make it work."
"Best day ever. I told you!"
"Mac, you have a team crisis meeting in three hours."
"Still the best day ever." Mac pulled her close, Mr. Darcy protesting being squished between them. "Nothing can touch this. Nothing can touch us."
Rachel wanted to believe that.
She really, really did.
34
Mac
The team meeting was held in the Eagles' small conference room at eleven AM sharp. Everyone was there, the full roster, Coach Davies, and Ellie, looking tired but determined.
Mac walked in with Jamie, both of them still slightly dazed from the wedding and everything that had happened after.
"Morning," Cole said, standing at the head of the table. He looked exhausted, probably hadn't slept much; wedding night and all. "Everyone here?"
"Everyone's here," Coach Davies confirmed from his position near the door.
Luke was already sitting, looking unusually serious. Tyler sat across from him, arms crossed. The rest of the team filed in, finding seats.
"Before we start," Jamie said, "can we just acknowledge that it was the most beautiful wedding ceremony ever? Mrs. Henderson cried during Mac’s speech. Actual tears. I have photographic evidence."
“I saw Sophie cry during the ceremony!” Luke added.
"I did not cry," Sophie's voice came from the doorway. She'dshown up being the team’s administrative arm, carrying a tray of coffee from her café for everyone. "I had something in my eye."
"You cried," Ellie said.
"It was a beautiful ceremony," Luke agreed. "Even though Mac almost lost the rings."
"I didn't: almost loose them," Mac protested. "I just temporarily forgot which pocket they were in."
"For a full thirty seconds," Jamie said. "I counted."
"Of course you counted," Tyler said flatly.
"The ceremony was perfect," Cole said as he looked at Ellie. "Best day of my life. Until some asshole crashed the party."
The mood in the room immediately shifted.
"Right," Jamie said, his playfulness evaporating. "Matthews. Let's talk about that."
Cole straightened. "Everyone knows what happened last night. Asshole shows up, makes accusations. Threatened Ellie, Rachel, and by extension, all of us." He paused. "This morning, Ellie received formal notification that he's filed a complaint with the Vermont Hockey League."
