“You didn’t need it. You got here all on your own.”
“Mr. Hart. Ms. Hart. Congratulations.” The elevator attendant welcomes us inside the car and we head down toward the ice. Even inside the elevator, I can hear the fans cheering.
“Thank you, Cole. It feels good.”
His smile is wide. “Makes me proud to work for you. You run a good ship here.”
“Thank you.”
My emotions are all over the place as the doors open and we head down the tunnel toward the ice.
“Go on out there,” Dad tells me.
“You’re not coming?”
“It’s your moment.”
I rush over to give him one more hug before heading onto the ice. “I love you.”
“I love you too. Now go do the Hart name proud.”
Walking onto the ice, I stay close to the boards. The guys are celebrating as the cup is brought onto the ice. It’s a thing of beauty. Even more so because I know our team’s name will be etched into it again.
Every player’s name on it for the rest of time. Their contribution for helping to get us to this moment.
It’s hard to hear the announcer as he congratulates the losing team and then moves on to talking about the Black Diamonds.
It’s not long before he is calling Troy forward to accept the cup on behalf of the team. The moment he picks up the cup, fireworks brought onto the ice explode behind him. “We are the Champions” starts playing as he lifts the cup over his head to start his lap around the ice.
“Bexley, do you have a few minutes?” Paul, one of the network broadcasters who is on the ice conducting postgame interviews, taps me on the arm. It’s hard to tear my gaze away from the guys. Especially as I finally lock eyes with Nick.
Work, then Nick.
“Sure thing.”
“Congratulations on a fantastic playoff run. The Black Diamonds looked incredible out there. How does it feel to win back-to-back Stanley Cups?”
I smile up at him. At the crowds that are cheering as the cup is passed around from player to player.
“I never thought this was something I would see. We have a talented team, but we’re not alone in that. It’s a fight to get every win in this league, and we never take those for granted. To be at the top of the hockey world again is an incredible feeling.”
“You’ll have a target on your back to get back here next year.”
“We’ll focus on next year later. Right now I want to celebrate this win with the team. They deserve it.”
“How do you feel about the word dynasty being thrown out there?” Paul asks.
“That’s something for another day. I’m here to support my team and give them the best chance to win the cup. And we did that.”
The reporter holds a hand over his ear to try and hear himself talk over the chaos in the arena. Not a single person has left.
“A lot of people called into question your ability to lead this team when they discovered you were dating Nick Brooks-Young. What do you have to say to them?”
“I’ll get back to you once I’m done celebrating the Stanley Cup win for the second straight year. Thanks, Paul.”
His jaw drops as I stride away. That felt good.
Not good.
