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Beneath the touch of my lips, I feel her body relax, and she leans into me, looping her arms around my shoulders.

“I’ve never given a speech before. I’m one hundred percent going to fumble my words.”

I rest my hands on her hips, the satin material soft against my fingertips. “You’re going to kill it.”

Her brown eyes, framed with thick black lashes, soften in response. “I just can’t believe Tyler decided to turn up. Seems a little too convenient if you ask me—I’m confirmed as the speaker for this year, and he suddenly announces his attendance.”

I set a kiss on her forehead. “I can’t say I blame him.”

Her eyes grow wide. “What do you mean?”

“Stuck in the farm team over in Connecticut. This is the only chance he’ll get to see you. Unlikely he’ll be invited to NYPAG this year.”

It’s even more unlikely he’ll be returning to the NHL anytime soon since I’ve had the greatest season of my life as center. Sure, we didn’t lift the Stanley Cup, but we did make the playoffs, and that’s insane progress from where we were in September. Right now, the team has no use for him.

She bites down on her bottom lip, and I take her hand in mine, pulling her out of the bathroom and heading for the door.

“Wait.” She stops in her tracks as my hand reaches the door handle. “Do you think I should practice again? One final run-through so I can be confident I haven’t forgotten everything I want to say?”

I planned on doing this when we got back up to our room later tonight. But from the anxious look on her face and the way she grips my hand, I conclude that maybe it’s the distraction she needs.

Releasing the handle, I reach into my pocket and pull out a folded piece of paper. “Sure. Last night, I noted down all the areas you wanted to cover. Women in sports, the rise offootballin the US.”

I hand her the slip, and she narrows her eyes at me.

Eight months together, and she still won’t admit I’m right.

“Thank you. That’s really thought …” She trails off and stares down at the paper in her hands. “T-these aren’t notes for my speech.”

I step toward her and bring my hands back to her waist, dropping my head so I can read the flight confirmation once more. “Is it not? What does it say, Kitten?”

“Two first class tickets to Heathrow. Leaving in two days.” Her voice is a mixture of excitement and wonder as she reads the details.

Bingo. Relaxed Kendra is back.

I take the paper from her and throw it on the bed beside us. “It will be a quick turnaround when we get back to New York, but Mum and Jon have lent us their cottage in Oxford for two weeks.” I duck my head to meet her shocked gaze. “Just you, me, the English countryside, and as much tea and cakes as we want.”

Kendra rolls her lips together and lets out an excited squeak. “I love you so much!” She throws her arms around me and goes in for a kiss. “Ope. Shit, you’re wearing my gloss now.”

She goes to wipe it away, but I reach up and run my finger across my bottom lip, bringing it to my mouth.

Her eyes hood at the sight. “And now I’m going to be horny when I deliver my speech.”

I tip her chin up to meet my eyes. “Let’s go downstairs and see our friends. Then I’ll bring you back up here, and we can play with Scarlett.”

“Women have always hada place in sports and will continue to thrive not just over here in America, but across the world and in many disciplines. Young girls should be inspired to reach fortheir dreams of becoming a famous marathon runner, gymnast, tennis player, hockey player.”

With my jaw agape, I watch on as my girlfriend knocks her speech out of the park, just like I knew she would.

For a brief second, she flashes me a cheeky grin. “Orsoccerplayer. I’m stoked to see more girls with aspirations of turning their incredible talent into careers, and I’m honored to be one of the many athletes helping to push female sporting excellence forward.” She pauses and swallows thickly. “Unfortunately, my teammate and good friend, Jenna Miller, couldn’t be here tonight since she’s traveling back from Brazil with the Golden Glove.”

She pauses while a few people in the crowd cheer and applaud Jenna’s incredible performance in the World Cup. They narrowly missed out in the final to England.

“But I wanted to take tonight as an opportunity to announce our plans to establish an academy for girls up to the age of sixteen. This will be backed and funded by the New York Storm, but over time, we hope to expand its accessibility across the country.”

The crowd morphs from applause to full-on cheers as Kendra steps back from the microphone, and I take a second to look around the room. Her college friends all push back their seats and rise to their feet, clapping and appreciating her incredible delivery. And as I stand along with them, I can’t help but notice the only person not offering their congratulations is Tyler.

I don’t know what smart-ass sat him there, but when we reached the table and she clocked his place card next to hers, I offered to switch things around, which earned me a firm no.