More applause.
Then Brody stands.
My stomach drops. He’s walking to the microphone. He didn’t tell me he was planning to give a toast. Why is he giving a toast?
He takes the mic. Smiles that easy, charming smile that I know is a mask. “Hey, everybody, I’m Brody, one of Derek’s teammates.” The room quiets. Maya is watching him with interest, her hand clutching Derek’s. “I wasn’t planning to give a speech tonight, but Conrad said something that really stuck with me. Love worth fighting for.”
He glances over his shoulder at the happy couple. “Derek and Maya are one of those couples that make you believe in love,” he says. “The real kind. Not the performance we put on for social media or the version we think we’re supposed to want. But the kind that changes you.”
He’s not reading notes. Just talking, his voice steady and clear.
“See, I’ve been learning something about love lately. It makes you feel terrified and hopeful at the same time. It makes you want to be better than you thought you could be.” His eyes find mine across the room. Hold. “It sees all your worst parts—the things you try to hide, the flaws you’re ashamed of—and doesn’t run away.”
I can’t breathe. The entire room is listening, but I feel like he’s talking only to me.
“As some of you might know, I go by another name on the ice. Candy Kane,” he continues, still looking at me. “That’s the name people gave me because I’m that guy who plays nice with the media, smiles for the cameras, says the right thing. Polished. Fake.” He shrugs, flashes a smile. “All sugar, if you will.”
That earns a few chuckles from the crowd.
“And maybe that’s who I was. But lately I’ve found someone who makes me want to be more than that.” His voice softens. “Someone who sees the real me—the scared, flawed, imperfect version I try to hide. Someone who sees the dragon underneath the scales. And who loves me anyway.”
Maya is crying. I can see her from the corner of my eye, tears streaming down her face, looking between Brody and me with this expression that’s half hope, half heartbreak.
“That’s how love feels when it’s real,” Brody says. Still looking at me. Still holding my gaze like we’re the only two people in this room. “The kind of love that’s worth the risk. The kind that’s terrifying and raw and changes everything. The kind that makes you want to be brave enough to be honest. The kind that makes you want to tear down every wall you’ve built and just be…you.”
My vision blurs, tears pricking my eyes.
He’s not making this easy for us.
Then he pivots, turning to the head table. “And I know that’s how Derek and Maya feel about each other. That’s what we’re celebrating tonight—two people brave enough to choose each other, to be vulnerable, to believe in forever.” He raises his glass. “To Derek and Maya. To true love. To taking the risk.”
“To Derek and Maya!” the room echoes, glasses rising.
The applause is deafening. People are crying. Dabbing eyes with napkins.
Brody walks back to our table. Sits next to me.
Penny is staring at us with tears in her eyes. “That was beautiful,” she whispers.
Conrad nods, his expression serious. “Real recognizes real.”
I’m going to hyperventilate. I can’t be here.
The DJ announces the first dance. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Derek and Maya to the dance floor for their first dance as husband and wife!”
Everyone’s attention shifts. Maya and Derek walk to the center of the floor, and some slow, romantic song starts playing. They’re holding each other, swaying, lost in their own world.
I stand abruptly. “Bathroom.”
I’m moving before anyone can respond, weaving between tables, heading for the exit. My heart feels like it’s going to explode.
The hallway outside the ballroom is blessedly empty—just cream-colored walls and sconces and the sound of my own ragged breathing.
I lean against the wall, trying to get my heart rate under control. Trying to think.
What was that? That’s how love feels when it’s real.
“Chloe.”
