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ELLA

Jack and I are quiet and awkward, like two people who’re on a date for the first time, and not as if we’ve been slowly falling in love or into foolishness. I’m still not sure.

I take a sip of my milkshake. It’s creamy and refreshing, bringing me back to our first night together at the resort.

Before I knew who he was.

Before my life changed.

Before I fell …

Yeah, I’m in love with Jack Bouchelle. Does that make me too dumb to be alive? The kind of woman who’d wander into a witch’s hut and eat an apple? To prick my finger on a spindle?

But there’s no denying the way I feel. He’s like a walking, talking hug. He warms me and protects me like a refuge in a storm. We connect in a way I’ve never done with anyone before. There’s mutual respect, listening, sharing, and communicating. He makes me laugh and smile—the glue to a relationship. The way he makes my heart beat and my stomach flutter is like all my romantic dreams come true.

After he left earlier, I had a good, long soaking cry in the shower, told Bark Wahlburger all my woes, and called Leah. She said she’d come pick me up, but I had a feeling Jack was going to be back. Although I would’ve liked to make a grand exit, kicking my heels up at Aston, Allain, and, to a lesser degree, Jack, I also wanted to talk to him. I’ve lost too many people in my life without being able to have closure.

But another part of me hoped everything could make sense.

Leah said up until we met, Jack had money but no meaning. I had mere pennies and believed more of those would’ve been the solution to my problems. Neither of us was wrong, per se, but what we really needed was each other, which seems like the summary of one of Gracie’s romance novels—but maybe there’s some truth to our star-crossed love.

Jack breaks the ice and says, “I’d like to explain.”

I relay what Leah said, then add, “I found your note and the watch.”

Before he left, he must’ve quickly scribbled these words, Take all the time you need. I’ll wait for you always. Xo, Jack.

“Money can’t buy love?—”

“But it can buy power, influence, and?—”

“I’m not looking for that. But I wasn’t done with what I was saying.”

“I wasn’t either.”

Lengthening my spine, I continue, “My love isn’t for sale. But I do?—”

“I wouldn’t ever try to buy it. But I do?—”

Our eyes meet for a fleeting moment as if those two particular words have a deeper meaning.

“You go first,” I say.

The corner of his lip lifts. “No, you. I insist.”

“How about we both say it at the same time?” I suggest.

We nod in agreement.

“Okay, on the count of three,” I say .

“One,” he starts.

“Two,” I say.

“Three,” we say at the same time Bark Wahlburger barks, followed by us blurting, “I love you.”

My smile is bigger than the state of Nebraska. “You do?”

He nods and his eyes sparkle.

I try to take another bite of my cheeseburger, but I cannot suppress the goofy grin that’s on my face. I haven’t heard those three words spoken to me in years. I didn’t realize how much my heart needed them because it does something now that makes it feel full.

“I thought it was over,” I say.

“I never lose, even if it may look like it at first. I thought my career was over. Relationships were a four-letter word and not the one I used. The last game with the Storm appeared to be a loss, but I gained a new team and we’re on a hot streak.”

“Well, aren’t you Mr. Confidence?”

He chuckles. “I just mean that it can feel like life is beating us up, but then just around the corner, there’s something even better waiting. In the end, it all works out for a win. You know?”

I nod. “Working at the resort while not having a place to live, sneaking around, and scraping by on room service scraps sure felt like I’d hit rock bottom.”

“Now, here we are.” He reaches across the table and takes my hands.

My heart does a little leap.

Jack rubs his thumb on the top of my hand, gazing from the engagement ring to me. It didn’t even occur to me to take it off.

“There will still be hurdles. My father can be snooty and cold. For all his business prowess, he turned into an idiot—Aston, for example.”

“The trouble is, I don’t fit into your upper-class world.”

Jack comes around the table and sits next to me. “We belong together wherever that is. Also, ignore Aston and her ilk.”

The cheeseburger’s wrapping crinkles, muffling his comment and I snort a laugh. “Did you say ick?”

“Ilk, like the company she keeps, but ick works too, as in her personality is gross.”

“Easier said than done. She’ll be my mother-in-law.”

“Did you say monster in law?”

We both laugh again.

Jack’s phone beeps and his expression quickly falls and gets serious. Mine beeps, too, but it’s across the room. I get up and see that it’s a message from Leah.

Leah: Did you see the video yet?

Me: Yeah. You showed me, remember? I saw it on repeat, along with the rest of the world.

The video of Jack at the club didn’t go viral, but it was picked up by a hockey news site and my name was mentioned. Charity texted me, asking me what was going on. Tiana followed up with numerous links—all the ones I’ve avoided that crowned me “Puck Princess.”

Leah said to embrace it. I don’t know what I want other than an explanation and to be told that what I saw was from last year or something. My phone beeps again while Jack types on his.

Leah: No, the other one is from my brother.

Me: Just answer this question. Have heart-eyes made me blind to some major red flags or is this Jack’s redemption moment?

Leah: HEA all the way!

Leah introduced me to Gracie, who owns the Once Upon a Romance bookstore. In addition to hockey lingo, I was also cordially invited to join them and received a glossary of terms, including HEA, or happily ever after. Along with Tbr, OTP, and others.

Plus, we have a puppy, er, dog. No one is really sure how old Bark Wahlburger is. Sometimes, he has the energy of a puppy. Others, he sleeps like a senior. Then again, I’m a fan of naps, too.

Jack says, “I didn’t really want to revisit this because I was telling the truth when I said nothing happened, but if you’re on the fence, maybe you should see this.”

“Is it from Carlos?”

He nods and passes me his phone.

I watch a grainy video much like the other one but from a different angle that shows Jack in the club, looking slightly bewildered. Two women approach him. In the other one, it loops back to leave what happened next to the viewer’s imagination. Jack’s reputation doesn’t do him any favors in that department because one would conclude that he hooked up with the gorgeous blonde or the brunette.

But in the video I’m watching now, his expression pinches, he feints to one side like he’s trying to fake out an oncoming hockey player, and then dodges to the other side before rushing away.

The audio is a cacophony of club music and chatter. However, amidst the din, I hear a female say, “Follow him.” Then, the frame goes dark.

“I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t stay home with you. I wanted to show the Knights that I’m a team player and attend their events. Should’ve known the second I walked into the club. That’s not Knights’s style. Aston set me up.”

“Leah is already thinking of a revenge plot.”

Jack laughs. “While I appreciate that. I think Aston will be her own demise.”

“I won’t try to stop her.”

“Carlos could have a second career as a private investigator. He’s a good man. A good friend.”

“Leah, too.”

“I hope she stops chasing hockey players and finds a decent guy to settle down with.”

I poke Jack in the ribs. “There are some decent ones.”

“Only one, I hope.”

I laugh. “She showed me around town earlier. I met some locals. She was a big help when we went house hunting.”

“Which one did you pick?”

“I think it’s a choice we should make together.” I pop a french fry in my mouth.

“Does that mean what I think it does?” Jack’s expression brightens.

Even though I have no backup, no safety net, I put everything on the line. “I kind of like the idea of a life together, but what do we mean to you?”

He doesn’t hesitate. “It means everything. The future. Ten kids. Maude, Clair, Amelia, Violet, Julia, James, Miles, Ethan, Archie, and Isaac.”

I cannot stop grinning at the fact that he remembered perfectly.

His is nearly identical, and he adds, “Can I choose their middle names?”

“And they get your last name, of course.”

Meeting my eyes, Jack says, “Before we met, my life was mapped out, but you changed the game. Some people would argue it was for the worst. But I’ve never felt better. More like myself. I’ve spent a lot of time taking—credit for wins, women’s hearts, accumulating stuff. But giving to you is the greatest joy. Before, retirement from the league loomed. Now I have a new goal and it’s a future together.”

Every word he speaks buoys me, but I have to be sure of one thing. “Are you afraid we’re moving fast? It went from fake relationship to fake engagement to?—”

“What about the three years before that?” He grabs his watch from the table. “Someone very smart once told me something important about time.” Turning to me, Jack adds, “I don’t want to waste another moment of it.”

One more question forces its way forward. “We’re from different worlds.”

He shakes his head. “We belong together and nothing about it ever felt particularly fake to me.”

I let out a shaky breath as my doubts make one last attempt to derail me. “I’m afraid I’ve been down this road before.”

His gaze locks on mine, expression serious. “Not with me, Ella.”

Just as when Jack gave me the key to the suite at the Jewel Island resort, I felt like I was stepping into something new, now, I feel a nudge to close another door behind me.