Jett’s gaze flicks over to me and Cordelia, but snaps back to the rest of the room as Dan points to the next reporter, waiting to ask their questions.
“Will you be taking some time off now to do more rehab on your knee, or are you headed straight into training for next season?”
Jett tilts his head, considering how he wants to answer the question, and I can’t figure out why. Of course he’s going in training, rehab, whatever he needs to do to prepare for next season. It might be the easiest question he answers all day.
“Fuck it,” he says. “No, I won’t be doing either of those things.”
The air gets forced out of my lungs, a sudden pressure squeezing my chest like a tight band. No? It seems the rest of the room is as shocked as I am, including Dan. He’s turned in his seat, looking at Jett as if he’s a ghost. His face has suddenly paled.
“I suffered what should have been a career ending injury last season. Back then, Dan here would’ve had to drag me kicking and screaming off the hill before I’d give up. It just wasn’t time to quit. I still had a World Cup to win, and I still believed skiing to be the only important thing in my life. The only thing that could never hurt me. It might have brokenmy body, but I refused to let it break my heart, my spirit. But I have other things that fulfill me now in a way I never knew possible, and I’m ready. I’m ready to take off the mask and hang up my skis.”
The room goes silent, a solemn heaviness hanging in the air.
But the shock of his announcement has worn off. His answer settles within me like he’s just wrapped me in a heavy warm blanket. I thought I was proud of Jett for winning the cup, but it’s nothing compared to what I’m feeling now. Because Jett Landry has let the world see him, wounds and all.
And despite what anyone is going to say about his decision today, he’s following his heart.
“What’s next then?” The same reporter asks, interrupting the quiet in the tent.
“I think I’m ready to go back to Heartwood, my hometown, and spend a little time with my wife,” he answers, and now he looks over at me and holds my stare. His chestnut eyes sparkle with mischief, and his expression shifts into something less serious, that cheeky grin gracing his kissable lips.
His look alone makes my cheeks burn, and my skin prickle with excitement, anticipation.
“And who knows? Maybe I’ll think about coaching.”
CHAPTER 50
JETT
“So, retirement,”Grady says, holding his beer bottle up in acheersmotion. “What are you going to do with all this time on your hands?”
Grady’s bar, Jack’s, which he named after our late father, is packed with everyone Poppy and I love. My brothers are standing next to me near the bar, and Spencer, Ally, and Wren are gathered around one of the tables. Beyond them, other friends and family, including Dan and Winnie, await my answer.
The second we got home from Zermatt, they all insisted on putting together a party to celebrate my win, Poppy and I deciding to stay married, and, apparently, my retirement from skiing professionally.
The dimly lit space is warm despite snow falling in peaceful drifts outside the windows, and classic rock plays over the sound system.
It’s not the wild, rowdy energy of my après parties at the bars in Banff. No one’s doing body shots, the beat ofelectronic music isn’t making conversation impossible, and girls aren’t flocking around me.
“I have a few things in mind,” I reply, being intentionally vague. No one has to know that I fully intend on taking Poppy home tonight and not emerging from her bedroom for the next week.
My gaze meets Poppy across the space to where she’s seated. She’s wearing the same sweater she had on the night I kissed her for the first time. Cream coloured, with a lavender and light blue pattern.
Seeing her in it now, with everything that has happened between us, sends a pang of nostalgia through my heart, followed by a flood of gratitude for how far we’ve come since that night.
How much her and I have overcome.
I’m closing a lot of chapters in my life, but I’m opening up a whole new one that I never thought I’d be ready for. Settling down, finding stability and peace and calm, but still looking forward to every day.
And I’m no longer scared. I’m no longer avoiding falling in love because it will end. In some way shape or form, everything always does. But that’s what makes every moment that much sweeter. It’s what makes living and loving so much more worthwhile.
So, I let myself embrace the fall line, because I knew the person waiting for me at the bottom was Poppy. And once I did, I flew, and it was an exhilarating rush I’ve never felt before. Not in my entire career. Not in my entire life.
I will chase that feeling forever, falling for Poppy. I’ll race toward her every single day for the rest of my life.
Poppy smiles broadly back at me, her dark eyes glimmering. I wouldn’t change her, or this night, for the world.
“But as for next season?” I add. “I think I will try my hand at coaching. Turns out, I’m a decent teacher. And Dan’s already offered me an opportunity to coach together.”
