He moves closer, and I can see the certainty in his eyes. The same look he had when he scored the winning goal last night. Absolute conviction.
"My dad didn't die so I could play professional hockey," Ryder says quietly. "He died saving a family. He died doing the job he loved, in the town he loved, surrounded by people who mattered to him. And for years I thought honoring that meant chasing glory. But it doesn't."
"Then what does it mean?" I whisper.
"It means choosing purpose over glory. Roots over fame. Mattering to the people who matter to me." He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it. "It means becoming lieutenant. Fighting fires. Living in this town. Building a life that feels like home."
"But—"
"You're not the sacrifice, Piper." His voice is rough. "You're the reason I'm finally happy. You're the reason I want to build a life here instead of running from it. You made me realize that staying isn't settling—it's choosing what matters."
Tears blur my vision. "What if you change your mind?"
"I won't."
"You don't know that."
"I do." He cups my face with both hands, forcing me to look at him. "Because I've spent the last month pretending to date you and falling in love with you for real. And the happiest I've ever been wasn't scoring the winning goal last night. It was sitting in your cabin watching you edit videos. It was teachingyou to ice skate. It was every ordinary moment when I got to be near you and pretend I had the right to keep you."
"You do have the right," I say, and my voice breaks. "You always did. I just—Preston made it sound like you were using me. Like the whole thing was a strategy and I was too stupid to see it."
"Preston's an idiot who sees everything as a transaction." Ryder's thumbs brush away my tears. "Yeah, the arrangement helped my image with the scouts. But that's not why I fell for you. I fell for you because you're brave enough to reinvent yourself. Because you see through my bullshit. Because you make me laugh and you made friends with my sister in twenty-four hours and you applied for a job in this town without telling anyone."
I blink. "How did you?—"
"Chief mentioned it yesterday. Said you'd be perfect for the position." A smile tugs at his mouth. "Were you planning to tell me you're staying?"
"I was going to tell you today," I admit. "Before everything exploded. I applied for the community outreach coordinator job at the firehouse. I turned down the reality show. I want to stay in Ashwood Falls."
"Because of me?"
"Because of me." I meet his eyes. "Because this is the first place I've felt like myself in years. Because I love this town and these people and this life. You're part of that. A big part. But I'm not staying just for you—I'm staying because I finally figured out who I am when I'm not performing."
"And who's that?"
"Someone who wants to build a real life. With real friends. And a real relationship with a real firefighter who's terrible at texting and excellent at rescuing me from moose."
Ryder's smile breaks through, genuine and bright. "I'm pretty good at rescuing you from bad ideas too."
"Debatable."
"Piper." He leans his forehead against mine. "I love you. Not the influencer version or the girlfriend-for-the-scouts version. You. The person who yells at trees and cries at hockey games and makes terrible coffee."
"My coffee's not terrible."
"It's terrible," he says, but he's grinning. "And I love that too."
"I love you," I whisper. "Even though you're emotionally constipated and you waited until I was about to leave to tell me you're staying."
"I'm working on my timing."
"Work faster."
His hands slide to the zipper of my purple parka, pulling it down slowly. "You're still wearing this."
"You said it was rated to minus-forty."
"Best advice I ever gave you." He pushes the parka off my shoulders, letting it fall to the floor. "Kept you here long enough for me to fall in love with you."
