I keep my eye on the puck as I round the back of the net. Hayes sends it to me, and I shoot it into the top left corner of the goal. The buzzer sounds. The crowd is on their feet faster than I can blink. I sink to my knees as I’m surrounded by my team.
We fucking did it.
ERIN
They did it.
They won the Stanley Cup.
Griff and Oliver break out into the most ridiculous dance moves. Hayes shakes his head, laughs, and claps Oliver on the back, who jumps into his arms and kisses the top of his head. Austin tackles them from behind, sending them to the ground.
But Eighty-Seven? He’s looking right at me. One hand over his heart, the other hand pointing at me. He shoots me a wink when we lock eyes and then jumps into the chaos.
Once I’m out of the stands and on the ice, I fly at Chase. He scoops me up immediately, skating with me in his arms.
“You did it, Eighty-Seven,” I say with happy tears in my eyes. “How does it feel?”
He shrugs. “It feels okay.”
“Just okay?” I laugh. “I didn’t see you take a puck to the head. Are you feeling alright? I thought it would be the best feeling in the world,” I say, stretching out the word.
Chase sets me down on my feet just as Rudy slides up next to him. “Nah. The best feeling in the world would be if on the night of my team winning the Stanley Cup, the girl of my dreams agreed to marry me,” Chase says with a sneaky smile.
“Yes!” I scream and cover my mouth quickly. He chuckles at my outburst.
“Aren’t you supposed to, you know, wait for him to get down on his knee and beg you with a ring in his hand?” Griff asks, trying to compress his own happiness.
I groan, mortified. My cheeks flame, even though it’s freezing in the stadium.
Griff deadpans, looking over at Chase. “And shouldn’t you have asked for her family’s approval before popping the question?”
“Bella gave me her permission when she helped me pick out the ring. As for you, I can’t imagine you saying anything other than,‘Sure, Pretty Boy, I give you permission to marry my sister, but if you hurt her, I’ll…’blah, blah, blah,” Chase mocks.
Griff and I slap each one of his arms at the same time, which just makes him laugh harder.
“I wasn’t talking aboutmypermission or Bella’s,” Griff says, giving me a wink, and my breath catches.
Chase gestures his head behind me. I turn to find Brax standing a few feet away. I take a deep breath and move in his direction.
Standing in front of him, I whisper, “Hi.”
“Hey.”
“You watch the game?” I ask.
His lips tip up. “Yeah, Erin, I watched the game.”
“Cool, cool. They won,” I say, happiness pouring out of me at the same time awkwardness pushes in. It’s been too long since I’ve seen him.
“I know, kid. Like I said, I watched the game.” This time when he says it, he smiles.
I cover my hands with my sleeves, and he watches the movement. Letting out a sigh, he opens up his arms.
“Come here, Jelly Tot. Give your big brother a hug, will ya?” He motions his hands inward, and I take off into a run, slamming into his embrace.
I hear the joy in his voice as he says words I’ve been waiting to hear for weeks.
“Hey, baby sister.”
