“I hate that for them. I feel the same way when you lose,” Lyla tells me.
“I lost once,” I remind her.
She shrugs. “Still broke my heart for you.”
I tap her chest. “You keep that heart whole for me. No breaking over a loss. Hockey is just a game. I can lose it and be fine.”
She turns in my arms. “Oh yeah? You’ll be fine without it?”
I nod. “Hockey was always more about the brotherhood it gave me. Somewhere to belong. I found a new place to belong now.”
“Where is that?”
“With you, of course. I could lose hockey over and over and not shed a tear, but if I ever lost you, Lyla? Might as well put a bullet in my head. I wouldn’t have a life worth living anymore.”
“That’s quite dramatic,” she teases.
“It’s how serious my love is for you.”
She leans up, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I love you too, Wyatt. When you are ready to change my last name like you hinted before, the answer will be yes.”
I want to drop to my knee right there and ask her, but I don’t. Instead, I kiss her as I start to plan the most perfect proposal for her because with Lyla, it needs to be perfect.
I’ll settle for nothing less for the love of my life.
epilogue
Three Years Later
With a smile on my face, I stare in the mirror as Cora does up the buttons on the back of my dress. The photographer snaps photos as the rest of the girls ooh and ahh around us.
Today I officially become Mrs. Wyatt Scott.
It doesn’t feel real.
In the last four years, so many things have happened. I met the man of my dreams and had one hell of a senior year. It was filled with laughs and tears, but Wyatt stood by me the whole time. Then Wyatt and I graduated before we moved to Boston so he could play for the Foxes. I was lucky enough to find a job at Boston General as a floor nurse. I’m hoping soon I will be able totake on a new challenge. I want to become a wound care nurse, but I need to get my certifications first.
For a moment, I contemplated staying behind since the drive wasn’t far, but Will was adamant that I go. He didn’t want me hanging around because he was there. Still, I didn’t like leaving him behind even if it was only a short way away. We had been together so long that it felt weird not living with him.
Speaking of him, he and Rachelle are still happily together. Every time I see them, my heart aches. If it wasn’t for Wyatt’s meddling and Dad being sick, they might not have ever met. Which is crazy to think about.
Grace and Peyton both moved to Boston when I did. For a minute we all lived in the same building before we decided to find houses. Now instead of being neighbors, we live in the same neighborhood, and when the guys play out of state, we have watch parties at one of our houses.
Cora and Kellan took off to the West Coast, where they are both thriving. I miss her like crazy, but we make up for not being able to see each other every day in person by video chatting every chance we get. Selfishly I hope that Kellan gets traded to the Foxes so we can all live close to each other again.
Last but not least, Emery, Alissa, and Brett live not too far from us. She’s still training for the Olympics, which are rapidly approaching, and Brett is still her biggest fan. When he’s not coaching, he’s at the rink with her, cheering her on. It’s ridiculously sweet to watch.
When the guys are in town, we make sure to have a family dinner every Sunday so we can spend time with each other, and all those years ago when I said I couldn’t wait to see Wyatt with Alissa? Well, let’s just say it’s better than I could have imagined. Watching him with his goddaughter is an ovary explosion.
Through it all, I still miss my dad, but it has gotten easier. I just wish he was here for days like today.
“There you go,” Cora says, bringing me back into the present.
“Seriously, Lyla, you look amazing,” Grace says.
“That dress was made for you,” Emery agrees.
“Wyatt’s going to hate the buttons when he has to undo them tonight, but he’s going to swallow his tongue.” Peyton winks, making us all laugh.
