Shh.I’m coaching telepathically.
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling again.
Five minutes in, Joey has already taken two shots, one wide and one swallowed by the goalie’s chest.He skates away, frustrated, but settles himself.Good.He’s learning.Short memory, move on.
And then, halfway through the period, it happens.
One of the defensemen clears the puck up the boards.Another kid chases it, trips over his own skates, and the puck slides out toward the neutral zone.
Right toward Joey.He snatches it and takes off like a shot.
My pulse spikes.
Come on, kid,I murmur.You’ve got this.Head up.Keep your feet moving.
Eddie is clutching her mug so tightly it’s a miracle it doesn’t shatter.
Joey crosses the blue line.The defenseman in front of him hesitates.That leaves Joey with the opportunity he needs.He cuts left, pulls the puck with him, then snaps off a wrist shot.Perfect form.
The puck sails cleanly into the top corner of the net.
Eddie and I erupt, screaming Joey’s name.The parents surrounding us also cheer, and I watch with pride swelling in my chest as Joey spins toward the stands and salutes us.He lights up like he’d swallowed a star.
Hell yeah!That’s my boy!I yell before I can stop myself.
Eddie’s head whips toward me, eyes wide and glassy.Then she does something that steals my breath clean out of my body.
She kisses me.Right there.In the stands.In front of everyone.
A quick kiss, instinctive and joy-fuelled.
I cup her cheek gently, stopping the panicked spiral when she realizes what she’s done.
You never have to apologize for kissing me,I murmur.
Her face flushes.I didn’t even think.I just—
Good.I grin.Thinking is overrated.
She stares at me for a heartbeat.
Then she kisses me again, slower this time, drawing some hoots and hollers from the surrounding parents.All in good fun.My hand slides to the back of her neck.She melts into me, soft and certain and exactly where she belongs.
The game resumes.Joey skates past our section, tapping his stick against the glass, grinning so big I worry his face might split.
You know,Eddie whispers, leaning into me,you’re becoming a permanent fixture in our lives.
Yeah,I say, kissing her temple.I was hoping you’d finally notice.
She laughs, and the sound feels like forever.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
EDDIE
The house feels different when we walk in.
I don’t know how to name it, not yet.But something warm and certain has settled inside the walls.Something safe and hopeful.
