Page 18 of Shot on Goal at a Second Chance (Midlife Meet Cute #6)

Rebecca

EIGHT MONTHS LATER

Almost every seat in the arena is filled tonight. It’s the fifth game in the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs, and the score’s tied. This is also a deciding game. If we win, the team will move on to round two.

Zach and I are sitting on the high-top stools in the front of the executive suite with a clear view of the ring below.

My father’s playbook lays spread out on the table so I can continue adding my own notes and new pages.

Zach has his laptop open, comparing player stats and analyzing our current four lines.

“This could go either way.” His tone is nervous…unsure.

I push his laptop closed. “Trust your gut and watch the game.”

He leans in for a kiss. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Don’t.” I swat him on the leg. He knows I hate being called that, but still loves to tease me with it once in a while. I suspect he’s trying exposure therapy, so it won’t bother me so much.

Zach points toward the ice. “Jameson has the puck. He’s making a breakaway.”

We both lean forward as Luke, the team captain, approaches the opposing team’s goaltender and makes a slap shot. The goalie blocks it, but Payton flies up behind him, swings at the ricochet, and scores.

The crowd erupts, and we’re all on our feet, cheering as the clock runs out of time. The horn sounds, signaling the end of the game and our victory in round one.

I throw my arms around Zach’s neck as he pulls me against him. “See? Your predictions were on target.”

He brushes his lips over mine, then across my cheek, his voice warm at my ear. “So were yours.”

As the team floods the ice in celebration, I glance down at the playbook—my father’s handwriting on the earlier pages, my own messy notes filling the rest. Different voices, same dream.

I run my fingers over the corner of the page and smile. “He’d be proud, wouldn’t he?”

Zach looks over, his expression soft. “Of you? Completely. Of that slap shot? Probably mad it wasn’t prettier.”

I laugh, blinking back the sting of tears. “I don’t think it needs to be pretty to count.”

“Exactly,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as the players huddle and cheer below us. “Gabe made a great call, giving Jameson a second chance to play. He’s exactly what the team needed.”

When Gabe recommended Luke “Jammer” Jameson, who’d left the game to raise his sister two years ago, to not only round out our defense but also as captain, I had my doubts.

Especially when I learned about his full story.

He had baggage, but then, he met Sophie, the photojournalist who did a piece on me after I bought the team and later did an entire series on the Sun Kings, including the staff. “I think Sophie played a part in that.”

Zach draws me to him, his expression serious yet tender. “When the right person comes along, you stop looking back so much…because what’s ahead looks so much better.”

He’s right. And I know he’s not just talking about Luke. He’s also thinking of us and how we’re looking forward to what’s ahead of us in this adventure we’re on…together.

And as the roar of the crowd surges through the arena as the two teams line up to exchange words of encouragement and congratulations to the winners—our team—I don’t dwell on the lost years. I think about what we have now.

The team. The dream. This second chance…

And I know, deep in my bones, we’re just getting started.

As we watch the team celebrate, my hand tucked in Zach’s, I realize something simple and true—sometimes, the best dreams in life come from taking a shot at a second chance.

Love, Laughter, and Second Chances—Who Says Romance Ends at 40?

Welcome to a collection of fun, feel-good romantic comedies where love comes with age, second chances are swoon-worthy, and happily-ever-afters are just as sweet the second time around.

Set in charming small towns, these later-in-life romcom novellas are filled with laugh-out-loud moments, sizzling-but-sweet romance, and unforgettable meet cutes.

Whether it’s enemies-to-lovers fireworks, a second shot at love on the ice, single moms rediscovering romance, or fixer-uppers that spark unexpected chemistry, these stories promise the perfect escape.

No steam, just swoon! So pour a glass of lemonade, settle into a porch swing, and enjoy these delightful love stories.