“I agree,” I say. “What about Hayden?” I bring my hand to his hair and smooth down the stray pieces. Beads of sweat still lay at his crown from how much he exerted himself.
“He’d be next on the list. I think he’d be the hardest to talk to.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because we said some shit things to each other. Things that are hard to apologize for, so . . . yeah. I have to find the courage to talk to him.”
“Can I help you find that courage?”
He smiles softly. “Just keep being with me.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Halsey.”
“Good.” He sighs as he looks up at me. He plays with a strand of my hair for a moment and then says, “I’m so glad you’re here with me. Still feels like I’m living in a dream despite it being reality.”
“Feels like a dream to me at times as well.”
He lifts up and rolls me to my back where he leans down and softly kisses me.
And those kisses turn into more kisses.
And before I know it, he’s moving between my legs again.
I siton the edge of the couch, my hands clasped in front of me as I watch Halsey move the puck down the ice. He shoots it over to OC who passes it rapidly to Silas. Silas flies behind the net and flicks the puck back to Halsey. He twists to the side and backhands the puck to OC just as Halsey breaks free from the defense and cuts in front of the goal. OC delivers a precise pass and Halsey backhands it into the goal.
The siren sounds off and I leap into the air and silently cheer because Holden is sleeping on Penny’s chest.
She lightly chuckles while I sit back down. Whispering, she says, “Your nipples are hard.”
“Are they?” I glance down and sure enough, there they are, standing to a point. “Would you look at that, even when we’re not in the same room he can make them hard.”
Penny laughs and I recline on the couch with her. “You know, I’m really happy for you,” she says. “You seem so genuinely filled with joy.”
I turn toward her as the game cuts to a commercial. “I am. I’m really happy.”
“I can tell. I don’t think that smile has left your face since you two started dating.”
I shrug. “I could say the same about you and Eli. I think when you meet the right person, they change everything about you. How you feel inside and out.”
Penny nods. “I agree. Even though my pregnancy was hard on me, and Holden has been troublesome at times, just like any baby, whenever Eli walks into the room, I feel at peace.” Her eyes meet mine. “I’m guessing it wasn’t like that with Perry.”That’s an interesting observation Penny has made. She never said anything negative about my relationship with Perry, but I could tell she didn’t think we really...fit. And although it felt easy with Perry—after all, we were together for many years—I feel such a soul-deep connection with Halsey. I’m just so happy.
“Not to the extent that I feel with Halsey. Perry and I got along fine. It’s not as if we fought. But I do feel we’d both stopped giving each other our all. It feels insane. I nearly didn’t get this.” I shake my head. “Like, what if he never decided to move to Australia? I would have married him, and I wouldn’t have known this feeling I have any time I think of Halsey. I would have missed out on so much.”
“Have you heard from Perry at all since the wedding?”
I shake my head. “No. I did speak to Arlene, though, because I know some people saw the interaction, and I wanted to make sure it didn’t negatively impact her wedding. She said she didn’t even know until the next day when her family was gossiping about it at brunch. Apparently, Perry came off as an ass and Halsey a hero.”
“I mean, that’s how I saw it.”
I smirk. “Hard not to side with the hot, overprotective hockey player. But Marco did connect with Perry to make sure he was okay. Apparently, he threw in the towel and went back to Australia, so, I think that chapter of my life is officially closed.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“Fine,” I say. “Like I said, the feelings I have for Halsey severely outweigh the ones I had for Perry, it’s an easy choice. Now, if Halsey was the one who left I’d fight. I don’t think there’s a bone in my body that would let him go. There is no scenario where that would ever occur.”
“Sooo . . .” Penny drags out. “Does that mean you love him?”
I nod. “Yeah, I do.”
