Page 3

TWO

but she plans weddings

MIKHAIL

T he deafening roar of the jet engines gradually diminishes while we taxi to our gate. My teammates and I exchange triumphant cheers as per usual whenever we arrive home from a successful road trip. And this was a good one, adding five points to our already impressive season record.

A tie in Edmonton, a shutout in Calgary and a hard-fought win in Winnipeg at the end of a double overtime with my goal sealing the deal. Thank God. It was looking like we might go to a triple overtime round before we closed the damn thing out. Still, it was a nice wrap-up to five days on the road that has me more than ready to get back home to my own bed. More importantly to the person who shares that bed with me. I miss her badly when I'm away even though we text all the time and usually have a video call each night if I'm traveling.

Out the window I recognize the typical Vegas skyline stretching across a perfectly blue November sky.

Las Vegas.

It's hard to believe a homegrown Detroit boy like me now calls the desert my home. But that's exactly what happened. Even more so since I found Reagan.

Aiden leans across the aisle, chomping on his gum like he always does after a flight, yapping about our goalie’s celebration-engagement-our-wedding-is-in-two-months-whatever the fuck kind of party it is, this upcoming weekend. Cal Lefleur is gettin’ married. To Billie Hirsch. The literal Taylor Swift of drummers in the music industry. She's about that famous these days. They’ve been engaged for a while, but just now getting the chance to celebrate it officially. Most of the team will be going to their swank Hollywood engagement party at some big mansion in the hills of LA, including Reagan and me?—

“Dude, doesn't matter if she's a rockstar. No way I'm ever gettin’ ball n’ chained.” He laughs and waggles his eyebrows at me. “Too many tasty fish in the sea for that, you know what I’m sayin’? All I need is to hit the clubs and find me a pretty little thing to be my date for the weekend.”

I stare out the window and answer him with my typical grunt of a response. Aiden doesn't get it. He hasn't found the one yet. Not that he’s going to find her among the puck bunnies he prefers to “date” if that's what he's calling it. More like a fumbling bathroom hookup in the latest club he landed after a few too many drinks.

Nope.

I'm not like that anymore. Not that I ever really was even when I was in my wildest pro athlete era of one-nighters with women I hoped to never see again. Aiden's just getting warmed up if his rookie season was any indication. He's a good kid, but his partying gossip wears me out. I've got more important things on my mind anyway because I did find the one a year ago.

Reagan Marlowe, my gorgeous Warrior Princess who is probably the bravest person I’ve ever met in my life.

And I love her even more today than when I first fell for her. Now, I just gotta figure out how to propose so it’ll be perfect for her.

Easier said than done when your girl plans weddings for a living. Lucky me. And I mean that only in the best way, of course. I have zero qualms about asking her to marry me—or her answer. That’s the easy part. It’s the actual proposal making me stress.

The how.

I just need to figure out how to propose to her. Reagan's not the type to be impressed by some flashy, over-the-top gesture. As a wedding planner, she's seen it all. But still, I want it to be special, and show her how much she means to me.

How to come up with something good enough?

That’s the question.

And it’s like trying to impress Van Gogh with a paint by numbers.

FML for real.

As we’re waiting to get off the plane, my phone buzzes with a text. It's from Jerry, the realtor I've been working with. I try to angle the screen away from Aiden's prying eyes as I open the message. He’s sent a picture of a sprawling house in a style the listing is calling “Pueblo Revival” set against the red rock hills of Summerlin, the upscale suburb in the greater Las Vegas area. It’s the go-to place for family living where several of my teammates have homes already. Jerry's text reads: Thoughts on this one?

My heart starts thumping along with a little dip all the way down to the soles of my feet.

It really is fuckin’ perfect.

There's a giant yard with a huge pool and a pool house that looks bigger than our whole apartment right now. I can just see Reagan sipping her morning coffee out on that deck by the pool with the view of those mountains behind her. There's even a guest house adjacent to the main one that our families could stay in when they come to Vegas. This could be our dream home.

Aiden's still going on about his latest hookup and if he should ask her to be his date for Cal and Billie’s engagement party. Probably not since she’s the one who flashed her tits on national television with AIDEN and KENNEDY written in black marker from left to right so it could be read from behind the bench while NHL On-Ice was going live with the coach . But all I can think about is Reagan walking barefoot across that deck towards me in a white dress with a glowing sunset and the striking mountains behind her.

“Hey there, Mik.” Aiden nudges me on the shoulder. “You're too quiet, man. Don't tell me you're thinking about ball-n-chaining yourself, too,” he asks with a horrified expression on his face.

“Leave him alone, Aiden,” Viktor chimes in. “You won’t get it until you meet someone who makes you want to be a better man.”

Vik’s one hundred percent right about that.

“Hey, guys, I've got to take this.” I turn my attention back to Jerry’s message as Aiden and others continue conversating about relationships and marriage.

Tuning them out as I study the listing, all I can think about is how much Reagan would love this place. I can imagine her setting up a home office in one of the spare rooms. There’s even space to make an awesome home gym complete with boxing equipment and mats for sparring. A huge gourmet kitchen to test out all the things I’ve learned in cooking class. A private spa off the master bedroom in a secluded walled courtyard where we could use it naked any time we want.

And I would feel like using it naked a LOT.

This is the kind of home I want for us. For her.

Because Reagan deserves it. She’s had a rough life, especially the last several years, and she’s such a good person. Always kind to people and such a hard worker. I’m so grateful I found her. Well, she is my superhero as much as I am hers. My Warrior Princess to her Mr. Hockey ever since she helped me rebuild my relationship with my father. And I want to give her the world. If I can make it happen I wi?—

“Earth to Mik!” Aiden snaps his fingers in front of my face as I’m jolted back to reality. “Man, you'd think Cal was royalty with this elaborate engagement party they're throwing,” he says, shaking his head.

“Weddings are a big deal,” I say with a shrug, my thoughts drifting to my wedding-planner girlfriend who happens to know everything there is to know about making such events special. “Hey, what do you think of this place?” I show Aiden the pictures on my phone.

“Wow, that's really nice. You thinkin’ of buying it?” His eyes get big as realization dawns. “Wait, dude, are you proposing to Reagan?” He raises his eyebrows over wide eyes.

I don't answer, but the vision of Reagan walking towards me in a white dress across the deck of that beautiful house appears yet again so clearly in my mind. I'm more determined than ever to make it special for her.

“Earth to Mik, two-point-oh.” Aiden snaps his fingers in my face for a second time.

“Sorry. Thinking ’bout something important.”

“More important than discussing the pitfalls of marriage?” he quips back at me as the crew open the doors to let us out.

“Most. Fucking. Definitely.”

The dry Las Vegas air hits my face as I stand in front of our apartment building not far off the Strip. It’s a welcome change from the freezing rinks we've been playing in, but the constant buzz of the city streets not so much. It was perfect when I was single and traveling as much or more than I was home and focusing on establishing myself in the NHL.

Well, I did that.

Successfully, I might add, and no longer need to live so close to the arena for games or in walking distance to the practice arena for my workouts.

I’m not single anymore either.

And honestly, that’s the biggest reason my living situation has become far from ideal. Reagan and I have been living together for nearly a year now, and we’ve both just been crazy busy focusing on our careers to think that much about the living arrangements. But whenever I imagine our future, I do not picture us living here, in an apartment building a few blocks off the Strip with all the “colorful” characters and touristy traps that frame the famous street culture of Las Vegas.

Nope.

It’s time to make some big changes.

I’m far past ready to take us away from here and out to the suburbs where all my teammates with wives and families are smart enough to live.

After dropping off my bag and checking my schedule to make sure I’m free for the rest of the afternoon, I send a single text to Jerry. Can you meet me there now?