Page 37 of The Love Comeback (Glaciers Hockey #3)
His lips curve into a smile. “I heard you,” he says, his voice raspy. “Every word.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “How long have you been awake?”
“Long enough.” His thumb strokes the back of my hand. “Say it again.”
I swallow hard, but there’s no going back now. No more hiding. “I love you, Kade Santos.”
“I love you, Ella Smart,” he says, the words coming out with such conviction, such certainty, that I can’t doubt their truth. “I never stopped. Not for a single day.”
Fresh tears spring to my eyes, but these are different—they’re warm and cleansing. I lean forward, resting my forehead against his, careful of his injuries.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper. “For running away back then. For not giving you a chance to explain. For pushing you away these past few weeks when all you were trying to do was be there for us.”
“I’m sorry, too,” he says, his free hand coming up to touch my cheek. “For letting my parents convince me that I couldn’t have both you and hockey. For not being strong enough to stand up for what really mattered.”
“We were kids,” I remind him, pulling back slightly to see his face. “Kids trying to make adult decisions.”
His eyes search mine, a question in their depths.
“And now we’re adults,” I say softly. “With adult problems and adult fears. But maybe also with enough wisdom to know when something’s worth fighting for.”
His smile widens, making him wince slightly. “And this is worth fighting for?”
Instead of answering with words, I lean in closer, feeling the warmth radiating from his skin, and press my lips softly against his.
With exquisite slowness, he responds. The kiss is tender and cautious, mindful of the bruises that mar his features, yet it conveys the profound weight of a decade’s worth of longing, of unspoken emotions, of second chances.
His fingers, warm and scarred, flex around mine as the kiss deepens. I savor the taste of him, the essence of him—warm, steady, familiar in the marrow of my bones.
His tongue grazes the seam of my mouth, the contact featherlight. I respond by parting my lips for him, inviting him in. His tongue finds mine with a tentative curiosity, sending a shiver down my spine. I mirror his rhythm, learning the shape of his mouth anew. Each movement feels like a promise.
He exhales softly, and I breathe him in as his other hand settles against my cheek. His thumb traces the edge of my jaw, a silent reverence in his touch. He pulls back just enough to look at me, his eyes storm-dark and full of everything we’ve never said aloud.
“I take it that’s a yes,” he murmurs, and I can’t help but laugh softly.
“Yes,” I confirm. “You and me. Us. It’s worth everything.”
He shifts slightly, making room on the narrow hospital bed, and I hesitate only a moment before carefully settling beside him, my head resting in the crook of his shoulder. His arm wraps around me, solid and warm, and for the first time in years, I feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
“What happens now?” I ask after a comfortable silence falls over us.
“I don’t know,” he admits. “But I do know I want to be part of your life. Yours and Colton’s. However that looks like.”
At the mention of Colton, my heart swells. “He adores you, you know. He talks about you constantly. When he saw you were hurt…” I trail off, remembering the tears in Colton’s eyes when I told him Kade was taken to the hospital.
“I adore him, too,” Kade says simply. “He’s an amazing kid. You’ve done an incredible job with him, El.”
“He needs a father figure,” I say softly. “Someone stable. Someone who won’t leave.”
Kade’s arm tightens around me. “I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you want me to. ”
“And what about hockey?” I can’t help but ask, the specter of our past looming before us yet again. “Your career, your team…”
“Hockey is what I do, not who I am.” He squeezes me tight. “I’ve spent years building a career I’m proud of. But at the end of the day, it’s just a game. You and Colton—you’re what matters most.”
The certainty in his voice makes my throat tight with emotion.
“Besides,” he adds, a hint of his old humor returning, “this concussion might be a blessing in disguise. It’s forcing me to take a step back, to seriously evaluate what I want for the future. And when I picture that future, Ella, you’re always there. Front and center. You and Colton, by my side.”
I close my eyes, letting myself imagine it—a life with Kade. Mornings making breakfast together, evenings helping Colton with homework, weekends at hockey games where we’re both cheering from the stands. Holidays, birthdays, ordinary Tuesdays. All of it, together.
“I want that, too,” I whisper.
“Good, because this time, I’m never letting you go.”
I feel Kade’s warmth enveloping me as he pulls me even closer, our lips meeting once more. But this time, the kiss holds a fierce intensity, a raw passion that neither of us can contain. His hands roam the small of my back as my fingers tangle in his hair.
Our kiss deepens, fueled by years of longing and missed chances.
The world fades away, leaving only the sensation of Kade’s lips on mine and the warmth of his touch searing my skin.
I feel a rush of emotions—love, longing, desire—pouring into every fiber of my being, melting away all the walls and fears that had kept us apart.
A soft moan escapes my lips as our kiss becomes more fervent, more urgent. My legs intertwine with his, melding us together as if to erase all the years we spent apart.
In this moment, there’s no room for doubts or misunderstandings. There’s only the overwhelming certainty that we belong together—that our love is true and unbreakable.