Page 140 of Goal Line

I wonder if loving someone means you feel the same anticipation, and all the highs and lows, right along with them? Probably. Which makes it a tad more understandable why my mom was always so invested in my skating career—she felt every win and every defeat almost as much as I did.

Chicago wins the face-off and Luke crouches into a defensive position, but instead of taking a shot, the player takes the puck behind the goal in an attempt to come in from the other side. Luke anticipates the change and has already moved, and after Chicago makes a few passes, Zach manages to intercept the puck and skate across the center line. He passes to McCabe, who sends the puck across the ice to Walsh as they move closer to Chicago’s goal. With the way they’re passing the puck back and forth, it’s unclear whether they’re hoping to score once more or just want to run down the clock. But with seconds left, Drew sees a shot and scores, cementing our win.

With seven seconds remaining, the two teams return to center ice after a line change. Even though Chicago wins the face-off, we quickly steal the puck, and when the buzzer sounds, the entire team spills onto the ice and heads toward Luke. The crowd is ecstatic, chanting “Shut Out” in syncwith the words flashing on the screens running along the perimeter of the balcony.

My eyes fill with tears as I jump up and down with my friends, celebrating the team’s victory, and Luke’s 100th win. And once he manages to emerge from the dogpile on the ice, he skates over near the bench, motioning for me to meet him at the glass.

It takes me a minute to fight my way down the stairs through the fans who are headed up toward the exit, but when I finally do, he holds his hand up to the glass and I press mine against it.

“Love the way you look in my jersey, Peaches,” he yells, trying to be heard over the noise.

I just wink and say, “I know you do, Hartmann.” Then I blow him a kiss, tell him I’ll meet him at home, and saunter back up the stairs. I’m certain he’s watching the sway of my hips as I walk away, and is already picturing me at home, waiting for him in nothing but the jersey.

Maybe we’ll get lucky and Gigi will stay asleep for long enough for us to celebrate this win however we want, or maybe she won’t. Either way, we’ll be okay because we have forever together.

Want more Luke and Eva? Get their sentimental and steamybonus epilogue, here.

Curious about Zach Reid? He has his own novella, THE TRADE UP, which you can download here.

Want more Boston Rebels? How about more of Luke’s brothers? Keep flipping to see what’s coming next…

THE END