“I told him to do it,” Maddie says proudly.
“Did you now?”
“I’m the president of the fan club.”
Mason snorts and sets her down, pulling me into a quick hug next.
“You okay?” he murmurs quietly.
“I’m good,” I tell him.
He nods once, stepping aside.
And then Gabriel walks out.
Hair messy.
Jersey half untucked.
Still breathing hard from the game.
He spots us immediately.
His entire face changes.
He walks straight toward us, dropping his gloves onto a nearby bench like nothing else matters.
“Hey,” he says, voice rough from the ice.
Maddie grabs his leg.
“Daddy you scored!”
“I noticed,” he says, laughing.
Then his eyes lift to me.
Soft.
Warm.
Certain.
He wraps one arm around Maddie and reaches for me with the other, pulling me in against his side.
“Here’s my girls,” he says easily.
The words hit somewhere deep in my body.
Not dramatic.
Not overwhelming.
Just… right.
Like something that had been slowly becoming true for weeks and finally found the right words.
Behind us, my phone buzzes again.
