Without another word, she slips out of the tunnel.
“Ruin her education, and I’ll fucking kill you,” Natalia seethes in Candace’s direction, and she flinches when Nat passes her to follow Ellie.
“I’d tell you she doesn’t mean it literally, but I think we’d both know I’m lying.” I shrug.
She stares after me with red-rimmed eyes and pure defeat. For the first time since Ellie walked into my office and told me my wife was having an affair, I feel sympathy for Candace.
Not enough to stay behind with her, though. Instead, I follow my girls.
It doesn’t take long for me to find Ellie and Nat standing beneath the stands, embracing as Ellie’s body shakes with sobs. I walk up to them, pulling Ellie from Nat and turning her into my chest.
“That kind of went to shit,” Nat says.
“You’re telling me,” I mutter.
Ellie tries pulling back, but I hold her tighter. “Someone is going to see us.”
“Don’t care much, darlin’.”
She sighs into me before tilting her head, glistening emeralds searing right through me. “Were you lying about the coaching position with Seattle?”
“Nope.” I grin. “Couldn’t stand hiding you two anymore, and it was time for me to level up anyway.”
“Congratulations,” she whispers.
“Thanks, baby.” I extend my arm, beckoning for Natalia to curl into me too.
“Are you moving then?” Nat asks.
I shake my head. “I’ll commute into the city, and once you two are done with school, we’ll find a place somewhere together.”
“That’s like…a half hour drive, Hudson.”
“No bother.” I shrug. “I don’t want to live downtown anyway.”
“Wait…” Nat pulls back, eyes going mischievously wide. “Does this mean we’re gonna be WAGS?”
I wink. “Guess so.”
The two of them laugh—the sound my favorite song. I’ve got three minutes before I need to be back on the ice, but I take the moment to hold them tighter, savoring every moment I’m ableto call them mine, grateful for every decision, and every ounce of pain, that led me to both of them.
And three periods later, when my team wins the National Championship and my obligations to Westgate University are no longer, I pull my girls onto the ice. Amongst the confetti, the flashing lights, and the crowd celebration, I kiss them—for all the world to see.
EPILOGUE
ELLIE
Five Years Later
I am so,sofucking late.
I make my way through security as quickly as possible, climbing to our box suite at the top of the arena. We’re already half way through the first quarter, and Nat has been blowing up my phone. Today’s game time cuts far past Stevie’s bedtime, and I can only imagine the fit she’s throwing.
Sure enough, as I enter our suite, I hear my toddler’s screams. Nat spins around, an utterly exhausted expression on her face as our daughter thrashes in her arms.
“Oh, hey. Nice to see you,” she mutters.
“I know, I know. I’m so sorry,” I rush out, closing the distance between us. I kiss her hard before wrangling Stevie from her arms. “I got held up with a patient.” My daughter’s big, brown eyes fall on me, and while her tantrum doesn’t stop, she somewhat settles. “Hi, baby girl. What’re you giving your mama such a hard time for, huh?”
