Page 34 of Offside and Off-Limits (Love in Maple Falls #2)

CADE

Cramming this many people into Clara’s home was going to be like trying to fit the entire Ice Breakers team onto a Zamboni, which is why we’re all here at my place today.

The November sun is weak in the sky, the large windows showcasing the view of the trees, bathed in soft light.

The football game on the big screen above the fireplace is on, even though no one’s paying much attention to it, my living room full of family, both Clara’s and mine, congregated here today to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Looking around at the quiet chaos, I’ve come a long way since last Thanksgiving, when I was totally over the life I’d created for myself, contemplating a move to this small town in Washington state I now call home. Now, I cannot imagine having a Thanksgiving any other way.

Benny is showing my nephew, Oliver, his Max Griffin toy—once a “collectible” but since having spent the last two months out of its packaging, going on adventures with Benny including ending up in the bathtub a couple times, definitely reduced to “toy” status—telling him all about The Timekeeper Chronicles and why Max is the hero of the series.

Oliver is a few years younger than Benny and is hanging on his every word.

I make myself a mental note to talk to Oliver later.

Everyone knows the true hero of the comic book series isn’t a hero at all but a heroine by the name of Zara Kazan.

I think Benny and I will have to choose to disagree on that one.

Hannah is in her full-on big sister mode, sitting at Bess as she shows my niece, Olivia, how to play the Taylor Swift song “Enchanted” that she and I played together for Show Quest a few days ago.

Helping her overcome her stage fright was such a satisfying feeling for me, and yeah, it was pretty dang good when Clara’s dropkick of an ex got all antsy with me after the show about it.

Well, not to my face exactly. I find guys like him with the big talk and swagger rarely front up in person.

Coward.

Hannah didn’t win the overall event. That honor went to Leo Garibaldi, although I’ve already agreed with Hannah, we’ll do our darndest to beat him next year. But she did win Best Duet, and she insisted I get up on the stage with her to receive her award.

I’m not going to lie. It felt amazing.

My sister Tori, her husband Lionel, and my mom are still a little starstruck despite having been here for the last hour, although it’s not just thanks to me, Dawson Hayes, or Dan Roberts, the resident hockey pros in the room.

Dan and Emmy’s brother, Ethan, is here and not only is he a huge Netflix star on one of my favorite shows, It Came One Winter , but his wife is a princess.

As in a literal princess. King and queen for parents, a sister-in-law who’s a queen of a country called Malveaux, and a tiara collection the women have shown way too much interest in.

That said, Princess Amelia is a total sweetheart and is as down to earth as the rest of us, even if her life is a little more gold-plated state dinner than pizza night in sweatpants.

Clara is adding a layer of marshmallows to the deep dish filled with yams, and I come up behind her, sliding my hands around her little waist and breathing in her soft floral scent. “Mind if I take one?” I ask, reaching onto the marshmallow bag.

But she’s too quick for me, pulling the bag away before I can dip into it, spinning around in my arms.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You’ll spoil your appetite,” she teases, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

I throw her my best smile, which she’s been known to describe as “knee-weakening,” much to my delight. “Please may I have one?” I say, adjusting my hold on her so I can feel her soft curves pressed against me.

“Since you asked so nicely.” She reaches up and places a marshmallow in my mouth, and I bite down on it, enjoying its soft, gooey sweetness, my eyes trained on her. “You tried one of these?”

“I don’t want to spoil my appetite,” she replies.

“You should, Triple. They’re delicious. I’ve got an idea.” I lean down and press a sweet, marshmallow-y kiss against her soft lips.

“Mm. You’re right, honey. Delicious,” she murmurs.

It’s been the best part of two months since I inadvertently made a fool of myself at the Inaugural Bash when I made my big announcement that I would walk away from my contract with the Ice Breakers if Clara lost her job over our relationship.

I got ribbed mercilessly by the guys for weeks after, but you know what?

I would do it all again because I meant every word of it.

I would have walked away if Management had been short sighted enough to let Clara go. That's how much she means to me.

Since then, our love has only deepened, and spending time with not only the woman I love, but with her kids, too, has shown me what I missed out on all those years.

I was so busy dodging commitment and not allowing myself to feel anything for a woman beyond attraction, now that I have it, I feel sorry for that guy.

That kind of lifestyle can only last so long before it begins to feel empty, and now, looking out at our blended family, I know I'm exactly where I want to be.

“Hey, you two. This is a family show,” Dawson says as he steals a marshmallow from the bag and quickly returns to the living room.

“I can’t help it,” I reply with a shrug. “Clara’s the woman of my dreams.” She snort laughs. “What?”

“You’re telling me the woman of your dreams has next to no money, two kids, a horrible ex, and CFS?”

“Now that you mention it…”

She bats me playfully on the arm and I plant another kiss on her totally kissable lips. “I told you, Triple, you’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”

“That’s better.”

A short while later, with the candied yams in the oven, the turkey is almost finished cooking, and the rest of the meal ready to go, we join the rest of the family in the living room.

“So, tell me, Ami, do you have servants and live in an actual palace in Ledonia?” Tori asks Princess Amelia, who turned up in jeans and an Ice Breakers hoodie and insisted we all call her Ami the moment she stepped through the door.

“We do, although they’re more like family, really, Theresa, my lady’s maid, in particular,” she replies.

“You have a lady’s maid?” Tori’s eyes are the size of pucks. “You’re so Downton Abbey .”

“They weren’t royal, honey,” Mom corrects .

“Or real ,” Ami says with a laugh. “Theresa and I have the best gossip fests. She’s always telling me what goes on in the servants’ quarters. I tell you, we royals are dull by comparison. So much gossip.”

“Didn’t your brother give up his crown to marry a Texan princess?” Mom asks.

“Didn’t your sister fall in love with the brother of the guy she was meant to marry?” Emmy asks.

“Don’t forget the fact we met when you had run away from the palace,” Ethan adds.

“I didn’t say we were dull, did I?” Ami replies with a smile, her eyes dancing, and from what I know about her family, they sure aren’t dull.

“That’s for sure,” Tori replies with a laugh.

“I heard a rumor,” Keira says. “Cade got Asher to bid on him at the Bachelor Auction, using Cade’s money—and won a date with himself! Is that right, Cade?”

“Sure is,” I say without missing a beat.

“Why? Did you worry no one else would bid?” Ethan asks with a laugh.

Dan shakes his head. “Tragic, Lennox. Tragic.”

“What can I say? I’m not as popular as I once was, and I like it that way,” I reply as I flash a smile at Clara.

Knowing that Clara didn’t have the funds to bid on me for the forty-five minute date to raise money to save Maple Falls, I got Asher to bid, using my money.

She and I had already been together for a while when the Bachelor Auction came around, and I didn’t want to go on a date with anyone else, even if it was for charity.

And besides, I was happy to donate the money to the worthy cause of saving this town I now call home.

This town I want to stay in past the end of this season and beyond.

Yup, I’ve made the call. I’m sticking around with the Ice Breakers for as long as they’ll have me, making Maple Falls my permanent home.

I’ve told Mom I’ll move her across the country if she wants to live in Maple Falls, on one proviso: she stays well away from Mary-Ellen McCluskey and her gossip superhighway.

Mom’s dangled a rather big carrot: she’ll move to Maple Falls when Clara and I have kids.

When I told Clara, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would she widen her eyes in shock, telling me there was no way she was ever having any more kids? Or would she fall into my arms, telling me she couldn’t imagine not having kids with me?

I was ecstatic to find out it was the latter, and although I’m not diving into marriage with her just yet, I have commissioned a ring I know will be perfect for Clara when the time is right.

And I have the feeling that time will be soon.

Although I don’t know if they’ll sell, I’m planning to approach the O’Connors to make this place my home. Our home, eventually. I’m hoping they’ll say yes. You see, with six bedrooms, there’s plenty of room for Clara, her kids, and any more kids who might come along in the future.

Yeah, I’ve become that guy, the one who’s got his life all mapped out. But you know what? I could not be happier being that guy, looking at a wonderful future full of love ahead.

“You must be pleased with the Ice Breakers stats so far this season,” Dan says, and I’m happy to move the conversation on.

“Yeah, I am,” I reply. “We’ve won most of our games so far, with one draw and a loss. That one hurt.”

“Pretty good for the newest team in the League, I’d say,” Dawson says.

“Not to boast, but the Ice Hawks have a perfect record so far this season,” Dan says, looking proud.

“Which city are they from?” Mom asks, and a few of us laugh. “What? I haven’t heard of them before.”