Page 104 of Playing the Player

And I have finally found my home.

EPILOGUE 2

Conor

The final buzzer echoes through the arena and for a second… I don’t move. Thousands of people erupt in the stands, their cheers and screams ricocheting off the walls surrounding me.

My teammates spill over the boards, helmets flying as they rush onto the ice as they celebrate our win, but still, I just stand here.

Breathing.

Searching.

Everything disappears when I see her. Sasha’s there, waiting exactly where she’d been before puck drop. Her eyes are glassy and a smile stretches across her face, somehow brighter than every light in the arena combined. She’s breathtaking.

I smile before I can stop myself. No goals or assists or wins compares to the fact that this woman is waiting for me.

I close my eyes for half a heart beat and just let it all sink in. The ache in my shoulder, the sweat dripping down my neck, the weight of my skates digging into the ice beneath me.

Every miserable physio session, every sleepless night, all of it was worth it to be back here today.

“Matthews!” A pair of gloved hands slap against my helmet. Josh throws an arm around my shoulder, shaking me hard enough to nearly knock me on my ass. “You alright?”

I laugh, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “Yeah, Cap. I’m good.”

He studies me for a second before the corner of his mouth tips up. “Are you crying?”

“What? No.”

“Liar.”

“I’m sweating.”

“From your eyes?”

“I sweat emotionally.”

Josh barks out a laugh before pulling me into a hug. “I’m proud of you.”

Four words and that’s all it takes. The dam breaks. I squeeze my eyes shut as I hug him back. “I told you you’d get back here.”

“I know.”

“You just refused to believe me.”

“I know.”

He slaps my back twice before stepping back and clearing his throat. “Now stop getting emotional before Ollie starts taking photos of this.”

I look towards where Josh’s fiancé is standing behind the glass. Too late. She has a smug smile on her face as she lifts the camera in my direction, snapping a photo of me looking directly into the lens. When she catches me looking at her, her smile turns genuine and she wipes a stray tear off her cheek. “Love you.” She mouths in my direction.

I huff a laugh, smiling back at her. “Love you too.”

My eyes drift to where my girl is still sitting, deep in conversation with Charlie. But once my eyes settle on her, it’s like she knows. Her gaze moves up to mine and another grin splits across her face.

I tap two fingers over my heart and then point them straight at her. I’m coming.

She laughs and then nods, standing from her seat and walks up the steps to come to me.