Page 242 of Risking the Pucking Defense

Nerves flutter in my stomach, my chest tightening as I think of those three little words he said to me after the game.

Happiness successfully pushes the fear further down.

For all I know, Brandon is sitting at home, lapping all of this up and planning his next move. He probably thinks this is a huge scandal that he can spin into a huge PR disaster for me. Sadly for him, though, I’ve already got my ducks in a row, and he can’t touch me. Not anymore.

What’s the worst he can really do? Expose some videos that’ll be highly embarrassing, but realistically will be smothered in a matter of minutes in the grand scheme of things. People want news about Hayden and the rest of the players. They don’t care about me or my past. Sure, they’ll have opinions. Call me a cradle snatcher and whatever other terms are being thrown around these days. But it’s just online bullshit that I spend my days dealing with. It’s not real. It’s gossip. The only two people who know what our relationship is like are Hayden and me. And that’s exactly how it’s meant to be.

Our future is ours to plan how we wish. But before we can really dive into all that, I need to finally sever my connection to my past.

It’s time to deal with it head-on so I can focus on my future.

It seems like forever when Hayden finally disappears from the screen, and my heart rate picks up knowing that he’s probably heading this way.

Every time the door opens, my heart jumps into my throat, but it’s quickly followed by disappointment.

But then, there he is. Dressed in a Vipers athletic T-shirt and shorts, his hair still a little damp from his shower, his cheek red and swollen, but his eyes are alight with happiness, and they only get brighter when they land on me.

A lopsided smile spreads across his mouth, and he races over.

“Hey,” he breathes, wrapping me in his arms and pressing his lips to the top of my head.

I chuckle against his chest, listening as his heart beats rapidly beneath my ear.

“Did you miss me?” I tease.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” he confesses.

“Was it okay? Did I say the right thing?” he asks anxiously.

Pulling back, I gaze up at him. “I didn’t watch,” I admit. “But I trust you.”

He blinks down at me, disbelief flickering through my eyes.

“What if…what if I told them that I’m madly in love with you and that one day I’m going to marry you and we’re going to have loads of kids?”

My brows shoot up? “Loads? How many is loads?”

His mouth twitches with a smile before a laugh erupts. “Is that the only thing that concerns you about what I said?”

“It doesn’t concern me as such. I’m just curious. I’m getting on a bit. Might not have much time to pop out loads of kids.”

His large hands cup my face, and he lowers down until the tip of his nose grazes mine.

“I don’t care how many we have. None, two, five, ten.” My eyes widen in horror at ten, and he chuckles. “All I need to know is that my future is with you by my side.”

My smile grows. “I’ll be there,” I promise him.

“Me too, baby. Always. Whatever tonight brings our way, we’ll deal with it together. Same as what comes next week, next month, next year, or the next decade. It’s you and me now, baby.”

“You and me,” I agree as someone sniffles behind me.

“Trudy,” Hank teases.

“I’m sorry, it’s just…look how happy and perfect they are. And they’re talking about giving us grandbabies. It’s just…it’s all so perfect.”

I fall into Hayden’s arms again before he focuses on his parents, allowing his mom to see that he really is okay.

The time goes too fast, and long before I’m ready, Hayden is heading back down so he can get another session in with Darcy before they have to pack up their stuff and get on the bus.