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EPILOGUE

Lennon

T hree Months Later

“Are you ready for this?”

I look up at Luke. “I think I should be asking you that question.”

He fiddles with the cufflinks on his jacket as the elevator ascends at a dizzying speed. The walls are covered in mirrors so everywhere I look, all I see is Luke. He looks dreamy in his white button up, grey jacket, and black slacks. I reach up to smooth a rogue lock of hair behind his ear, and he smiles gratefully at the gesture.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he says on a deep exhale. His jaw is tight, but something in his eyes softens as he looks at me. “You look beautiful.”

I soak in his compliment and push my shoulders back. “Thanks for the dress.”

When he invited me to join him for his former teammate’s engagement party, I immediately worried about what I would wear. I had borrowed my dress for the fundraiser earlier this year from Charlotte, and I hated to ask her again.

Plus, I didn’t exactly want to explain to her that it was for a party with Luke. After the Frozen Four and our kiss in the parking lot, the two of us were no longer a secret. And while some of my friends have been supportive, like Grace and Maria, others, like Aubrey and Charlotte, have regarded me with trepidation. I’m not sure if it’s because I lied by omission for so long, or because we broke the rules, or if it’s jealousy.

Doesn’t matter at this point.

I’ve graduated, the season is over, and two of us are together in New York City.

“You should wear purple more often,” he muses, running a hand over the open back of my dress, sending tingles down to my toes.

“It’s lilac,” I correct.

“Whatever.” He chuckles.

In the mirrors, I check out the soft material that drapes elegantly down my body and hits mid-thigh. Even with my three-inch heels, Luke still towers next to me. We look good together. Like we belong.

The elevator stops, and as soon as the doors open, all the relaxation I tried to coax into him on the ride up disappears. His shoulders hike as he places a hand at my back and guides me into the party. The elevator spills right out into the open area, and my breath catches at the view.

Windows entirely encompass the room, giving a 360-degree view of the city. The sun is beginning to set, bathing the room in dreamy, golden lighting, and soft music from a singer with a guitar floats through the room.

It’s a large enough space that even with the amount of people here, it doesn’t seem crowded. The room is decorated in shades of white and cream, with gold accents. A few heads turn our way as we walk forward, and Luke immediately steers us toward the bar.

“You don’t want to find your friend first?” I ask.

He keeps us on course as he answers, “Drink first. Socializing second.”

“Are you actually going to drink with me?” I tease, thinking back to how that was one rule he didn’t want to break on New Year’s Eve with me.

We sidle up to the bar, and Luke ignores the specialty cocktail menu. “Whiskey neat, and a glass of pinot grigio.”

I elbow him. “How do you know that?”

“Because you had three bottles of it in your trashcan after your wine night with Grace.”

“Didn’t know you were going to dig through my trash,” I mutter and accept the glass the bartender slides over. Luke takes a deep gulp of his as he turns and eyes up the room.

I follow his eyeline and immediately recognize quite a few of the faces here. Any hockey fan would. Suddenly my nerves for Luke transfer into nerves for myself. How the hell did I end up here, mingling at a party with professional athletes that I watch on TV? My skin grows tight, and I shift in my heels.

Luke lands a comforting hand on my waist. “Ready to make the rounds?”

I spot a group of three guys beelining our direction and tell him, “Ready or not, looks like you got company coming your way right now.”

Luke tenses, but the moment the first guy pulls him in for a hug when he reaches us, he begins to relax little by little. The guys are ecstatic to see him, and when Luke introduces me, they all greet me with the same amount of enthusiasm. They all spend a good amount of time catching up before Luke excuses us to go see some of his other former teammates.

He takes me around the room, his hand never leaving mine. Each new face we approach lights up when they spot Luke. And slowly, the apprehension he held within his shoulders melts away with each and every kind greeting.

On the plane here, he told me he was scared of how his old teammates would react to seeing him after he cut them all out and never looked back. And his fear of being replaced so easily that he thought he got over was once again starting to weigh him down.

But I watch that all fade away. Each one of them greets him with a huge smile and one of those bro-hugs that is more back slapping than anything else. I pretend like I don’t already know most of their names when introductions are made and preen a little bit each time Luke calls me his girlfriend.

Out loud.

To other people.

And no one bats an eye at it. Obviously, no one knows how we met, but at this point, it doesn’t matter. Despite Luke disobeying Coach Maver’s request to stay away from the game, she gave him absolute hell about the show the two of us put on in the parking lot after, but she kept her word and didn’t open an investigation.

There was some slight pressure from a few concerned parents who were there, and word quickly spread around campus, but titles and money can go a long way. And Haulton got their first ever Frozen Four title in school history. Plus Luke had brought in some hefty donors earlier in the year.

With my graduating and Luke turning in his resignation, the dean and Coach Maver agreed to shut things down as quickly, and quietly, as possible. But there’s still a knot in my stomach when I think about the way Coach looked at me the last time I saw her. I’m not sorry that I fell in love with Luke, but I am sorry about the fact that it ruined my relationship with Coach.

“There’s the man of the hour,” one of the guys calls out as a couple approaches our circle. By her white dress and his matching white jacket, I’d say this is Decker and Tasha.

“Woman of the hour,” Decker corrects, and Tasha gives him a knowing smile. It earns a chuckle out of the group, and Luke immediately steps forward, extending his hand.

“Congrats, man,” he says, and Decker brushes away the handshake, going in for a hug instead.

“Glad you could make it,” Decker says. When he releases Luke, Tasha takes his place.

“I was surprised when Deck said you accepted the invite,” she says when they break apart. Her eyes slide over to me. “And even more surprised when you took him up on the offer for a plus one. I’m Tasha.” She holds out a perfectly manicured hand topped with one of the largest diamonds I’ve ever seen.

My eyes must bulge out of my head because she laughs. “That was my reaction when I saw it too,” she says lightly. “But I earned this, isn’t that right, babe?” She looks over her shoulder at Decker who immediately nods.

“Yes, you did.”

The rest of the group pairs off, leaving just the four of us as Luke catches up with his old friends. From what he’s told me, out of all his former teammates, he was always closest with Decker. Which makes sense because I don’t know if any of the rest of them could’ve gotten him out here.

I like watching him like this. Animated, engaged, brimming with life. It’s so at odds with the Luke I was introduced to last year who could barely fake enough interest to hold a quick conversation.

The wine is crisp as I baby my way through the glass, not wanting to step away for a refill.

“So,” Decker says, pulling my focus back into the conversation. “How did you guys meet?”

I laugh nervously and lean into Luke’s shoulder. These are his friends, so I’ll let him take this one.

“That’s a story for a different time.” Luke smirks. We’re still trying to get our families onboard with our relationship and don’t really want to add friends’ approval into the mix just yet.

“Oh shit.” Decker grins. “Must mean it’s a good one then. Don’t think I’m letting you off the hook, but we should keep it moving.” He motions to Tasha, and she gives a small wave as she pulls him toward a group of older couples. “Thanks again for coming out, man.” Decker shakes Luke’s hand.

“Thanks for the invite. It’s good to see you.”

“Don’t be a stranger again, okay?”

Luke swallows thickly. “Okay.”

I squeeze his arm, and he turns to me with a relieved smile on his face. “Want to get some fresh air?”

The sun has almost completely set, but the city beyond sparkles with glittering lights. It’s almost as beautiful as it was during golden hour.

“Lead the way.”

Luke takes my hand and guides us outside. I set my glass on an empty tray, and he does the same. The breeze has a chill to it, but he’s quick to wrap his arms around me from behind as soon as we find a spot by the railing to look out over the city. His chest warms my back as I lean into his touch.

“I’m never going to take for granted being able to be touched by you like this out in public,” I murmur.

He gives me a light squeeze, and his cologne fills my nose. “You want me to touch you in front of all these people? Dirty girl, Killer.”

I slap his forearms that are wrapped around my chest. “I was trying to be sweet.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Lucas.”

“You know that’s not my real name.”

I jokingly scolded him one night, calling him Lucas and assuming that was his legal name, but nope. He’s just Luke.

My Luke.

“Are you glad that you decided to come?” I ask, peering up over my shoulder to look at him.

He stares out over the city with a peaceful expression, and I already know the answer before he says it. “Yeah. I can’t believe that I was ever worried about it. When I retired, I truly thought that cutting it all out was what I needed to try to move on, but maybe I was wrong.”

“You were in pain,” I say softly. “They all clearly understand that.”

“I know that now. Just wish I would’ve known then.”

“I don’t.”

He frowns.

“Because then who knows where your life might’ve taken you,” I explain. “Maybe you would’ve stayed in the city. Maybe you wouldn’t have ever gotten that call from Coach Maver.” His eyes shine as he listens to me, hanging on my words. “And then maybe we never would’ve met. And I don’t like the possible universe where that’s the case.”

“Me neither,” he murmurs, leaning down for a kiss. My body comes alive with it, blood singing and heart skipping. The city is bustling below, but up here, it feels like it’s just the two of us as the wind lightly blows through my hair.

When we pull apart, I say, “It’s nice to be here with you.” And I don’t just mean at the party, here in New York City. We’re finally free of the labels that kept us apart, that made us feel like our love was wrong and needed to be kept secret.

Luke kisses the top of my head as he tightens his hold around me. “It’s good to be here with you too, baby.”