When he finally sets me back on my feet, he turns back to the reporter.
“Sorry, where were we?” he asks, keeping me under his arm.
She smiles. “Is this your girlfriend?”
“She’s more than a girlfriend. She’s the love of my life.”
“May I ask your name?” she asks me.
“Lyla.”
“Lyla, how does it feel to know that your boyfriend is a championship winner and likely to go early in the draft?”
I look up at Wyatt, smiling. “Wyatt has always been a winner to me. No matter who drafts him, they will be lucky to have him. He is one hell of a player, sure, but he is an even better person.”
“The fans will want to know, will you be going with him when he drafts?” she asks.
I still don’t look at her. I look at Wyatt instead, saying the words I know are true to my heart.
“Where you go, I follow.”
He smirks down at me. “Same, baby. No matter what.”
He kisses me once more before turning back to the reporter. “I’m done with media for today. We have a game to watch. My brothers are playing.”
The reporter starts to yell questions about Beckett and Clay, but Wyatt ignores them as he leads me off the ice and back toward the locker room.
“Let me shower, and we can go.”
I nod. “I love you. Take your time. I’ll be waiting here for you.”
He laughs. “You think knowing you’re waiting is going to make me take my time? No, my love. It means I will go faster to get back to you soon.”
He kisses me and leaves me with those parting words.
My world has been turned upside down this year, but Wyatt makes it all worth the pain.
I didn’t know I could be this happy. I seriously wondered if the happiness that my friends all found wasn’t meant for me. I spent my life wishing on stars only to find that I never got my wish. It had me feeling like this was my destiny.
Then I met Lyla, and everything changed. It was like I found my reason for being. The reason why I needed to go through so much pain was so I could appreciate her the way I needed to. So I could understand her and be the man she needs.
“Where is the baby?” Lyla asks Emery as we all watch the game at the bar I rented out for us.
“Louise took her for the evening. She said we should be out being kids,” Emery tells her, referring to Clay and Cora’s mom.
“I get that. Will used to say that to me a lot.”
Will cuts in. “Because you weren’t being a college kid. You took on the weight of the world.”
Lyla nudges him. “So did you.”
“I love the bond you two have,” Rachelle says, leaning into Will.
“Eh, she was a brat as a kid,” he teases.
“He’s mad that I always beat him at video games,” she tosses back.
“Dude, she’s a sharpshooter,” Calvin adds.
