Ash turned, taking a few steps into the suite to lay the poster over the nearest armchair before coming back to take me into his arms again.
“Maybe so. But only one copy belonged to my rookie, eh? That makes it priceless, Cade baby.”
“Not fair,” I panted, leaning forward to push my face into his neck as I kissed the salty-sweet skin there.
“You know,” Ash said conversationally, as if he hadn’t used his secret weapon of a nickname that turned my knees to mush and my blood into lava. “I was standing in your bedroom, staring at my poster and thinking of all the nights you lay in that bed wishing you were somewhere else. And now you’re here with me. I’m going to keep showing you how happy you make me, even if I have to swipe a million posters. I love you, sweetheart.” He kissed the top of my head, letting his lips stay pressed against my scalp, just breathing me in.
“I love you so much, Ash.” I let my lips trace the syllables against his skin, eliciting the smallest shiver from him. “But oneposter is more than enough. I like being wherever you are and I definitely prefer you in Lakeside with me rather than in jail for poster theft.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart. . .”
Forever. The word echoed through my chest, sinking into all the cells of my body. For the first time, I truly felt like forever was something Ash and I could strive for.
“But,” Ash said, interrupting my daydream. “Don’t for a second think that you’re sleeping in the second bedroom or in a different bed like last time. I need you with me. I love you.”
He slid his hands up my back from my waist, until he held my cheeks and chin in his hands. Guiding my face from his neck to his lips, he kissed me gently, with a thoroughness that hinted at the usual heat between us, but with no real urgency behind it.
It was a kiss that had the power to turn the page on the day we’d just had, washing away so much of the years-long resentment I’d carried about my dad and hockey. A kiss that promised warmth and understanding in all our days going forward.
“There’s no where I want to be but right here in your arms. Tonight, or any other night.”
I knew the next morning would bring a fresh start for all our tomorrows.
Tomorrows that Ash and I would write together, for ourselves and each other.
epilogue
ASHER
Four years later
“Ash.”
Alone in the Hammerheads’ arena after hours, my favorite voice in the world alerted me to Cade’s presence at the other side of the rink.
It never got old, reuniting with Cade every night in the home we’d bought two years ago.
Just outside of Lakeside, we were far enough away from any prying eyes that might get curious about a former NHL player, but close enough that I could be at the arena for Zane’s absurdly early practice schedule within twenty minutes.
By the end of Cade’s rookie season with the Hammerheads, he’d been busy making plans for his post-hockey life, applying to several southern Ontario universities as a mature student.
Meanwhile, his mom had separated from his father and was currently living in my Toronto condo that I’d gifted to her. Even though my second favorite Kelly protested—as loudly as I’d ever heard her speak—I claimed that it was a good investment to hang onto it, and Lynn was a single subway stop from some of the best hospitals in the province. Not to mention it was mucheasier to arrange the daily assistance of a personal support worker in an urban center.
In the end, I’d won, and Cade liked having his mom less than two hours away.
Even though he was so excited about the new beginnings in his life, he’d held my hand throughout months of uncertainty about whether I would have to say goodbye to the Titans and the NHL that off-season.
When I realized that rehabbing my shoulder hadn’t been enough to get me back on the ice, Cade was the one who’d held me together during my orthopedic surgical consults to see if surgery would fix things. Both the surgeon the Titans had fought for me to be referred to and the surgeon I’d sought out privately had offered me no certainties about how well my shoulder would perform post-surgery. But both cautioned me about the likelihood of nerve damage I would sustain if I threw myself back into playing at the professional level.
It came down to the simple fact that it wasn’t worth it to me to live with lifelong damage to my body, not when I had so much to look forward to outside of hockey in the life that Cade and I were building brick by brick.
In the end, Cade had let his contract with the Hammerheads elapse, and my temporary offensive coach role had become a permanent one. It was a decision I’d never regretted since I now had a shorter season, more flexibility to be with my family, and more time in our new home with Cade.
Heart light, but full, as I headed toward the person I looked for first in every room and whose sweet face was the last thing I saw at night, I increased my pace. Tonight, I was especially keen to get my arms around him after a long day.
Normally, if the Hammerheads were home, Cade and I would be at home having dinner, accompanied by Poe’s endless claims that he hadn’t been fed in all his life.
Once he was near enough, I reached out to pull him into me, erasing the last step between us.
