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twenty-eight

Wyatt

“You’re such an asshole,” Mitchell says to me as we find our seats at the pub. Henry and Puppy are beside him, arguing over who played the better game tonight.

It was me. I played the best game of my life. I didn’t score any goals, but I laid some fantastic hits—including on this schmuck.

“Not denying it.” I can’t help my smug smile as I help Elsy into her chair, then take my own beside her, my arm draped around her shoulders.

“You just had to make a scene,” he continues, shaking his head mockingly. “Such an attention whore.”

“Hey, it worked. She won’t be wearing your name again.”

Elsy rolls her eyes. “Yes, yes, I’m yours and now everyone knows it. Thanks for that.”

I squeeze her arm. “Well, I didn’t think yelling out I love you in front of fifty thousand people was very romantic.”

Her jaw drops.

“Fuck.” I wasn’t supposed to say that. I definitely wasn’t supposed to blurt it out with absolutely no finesse.

“You lo-love me?” Her eyes go wide and glassy, like she’s trying not to cry.

Mitchell laughs. Loudly.

Fucker. I want to flip him off. It takes everything in me not to.

Turning to her, I take her hands in mine, my eyes locked on hers.

“I probably should have said that better,” I admit.

“Say it again,” she demands. “I need to hear it. For real.”

“I love you, Elsy.” My heart thuds in my chest, trying to merge itself with hers. “I’m so fucking in love with you. You’re the light in my life.”

“Is this because of last night?”

“Even before the panic attack. I’ve been trying to find a way to say it for a while now, I just didn’t have the words. Even now, I’m not sure I do. I just—I love you so fucking much.”

She makes everything better. Every second I’m away on a road trip, I’m counting down until I see her again. When we’re apart, my only desire is getting back to her. She settles my system in a way nothing else ever has. I’m not crawling out of my skin with anxiety. Yes, it’s still there, but it’s tamed, beneath the surface. It’ll never go away, not completely, but I can live with it.

When I go to sleep at night, she’s my last waking thought, and when I wake up, she’s the first thing I want to see. Her happiness supersedes mine. Her wants and needs are my priority.

Above it all, it’s the way I know she prioritizes my wants and needs, too. There’s a careful balance to it, but it’s a tentatively stable ebb and flow. We take care of each other. We prioritize each other.

It took us a while to find our way here, but now that I know what true happiness is, I never want to let her go. Not again.

She sniffles, her eyes glassy.

“I’m saying this all wrong. I’m sorry. Pretend I didn’t say it. I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

Elsy wipes at her eyes. “You said it. You didn’t ruin anything.”

“But you’re crying.”

“It’s not ruined,” she insists. “It’s better now.”

“So…” I wait expectantly for her to say it back.

She lifts her eyebrows, a teasing smile on her face. “So?”

She knows exactly what she’s doing and I love her for it.

“Do you love me?” I hold my breath. What if she’s not there yet? What if she doesn’t feel the same?

There’s no need to rush. We don’t have to be in the same place as long as we’re on the path together.

“Eh.” She shrugs, her eyes bright with mischief.

I stare at her. “Eh?”

“Eh. I’m getting there.” Her hand lands on my cheek, her calming touch so familiar. “I like you a lot. I’m crazy about you. But love? Eh.”

Laughing, I kiss her, and she kisses me back, and we’re finally, finally one. She winds her arms around my neck, smiling against my lips.

“I’m fucking crazy about you, Wyatt Whitney,” she whispers. “You make me so incredibly happy. Every day.”

“That’s all I want. You and me, happy.” I breathe her in, her subtle jasmine perfume heating my bloodstream. “Can I take you home?”

She nods insistently. “Yes. Please.”

A throat clears, and I realize Mitchell and Henry are watching us—along with half of the team.

“After we spend time with your bestie,” I add belatedly.

Elsy laughs. “Yeah, okay. That can work.”

“You’re adorable,” Mitchell says, a teasing smile on his face. He lifts his beer in toast. “I’m happy for you, Els.”

“Thanks. I’m happy for me, too.” She winks at me and my smile stretches my face as she curls into my side.

Tina delivers our burgers. After the last few weeks, we don’t even need to order anymore. She’s brought Elsy’s with no tomato products, whereas mine is slathered in ketchup.

We eat and drink and talk and laugh. Mitchell is a lot more chill now that he can see firsthand how we are together.

A younger, more insecure version of me would have been ashamed of him witnessing my panic attack. A part of me might have been afraid he’d mock me for it, or spread it around the league that I’m a weak crybaby who crumbles under the pressure.

I’m not weak. I’m not a crybaby. And I might splinter sometimes, but I don’t crack under the pressure of playing in the most elite hockey league in the world. If anything, I thrive under the gun.

I’ve come a long way from the scared, insecure person I was the last time we were playing together. I’m not that same guy anymore. Finally, I think I’ve proved that to him.

I’ll treat Elsy like the queen she is. I’ll take care of her in every way she’ll let me. And most importantly, I’ll be there for her, through thick and thin, no matter where her career—or mine—takes us.

It’s too early to talk about marriage. Hell, I don’t even know what I want to do after hockey, whenever that will be. There’s too much up in the air.

But there’s one thing I know for certain: Elsy is the one for me. I can bide my time until she gets on my level. I’m not going anywhere—not without her.

* * *

After giving Mitchell a long hug goodbye, Elsy slips her hand into mine.

“Let’s go home,” she says. She sweeps her gaze over my body, everything inside me heating.

As soon as I help her into the car and slide in beside her, her hand lands on my thigh like it belongs there.

Before I shift the car into gear, I lean over and kiss her, my hand diving into her hair.

“I love you,” I murmur against her lips. She smiles into the kiss, fisting my tie to bring me closer.

“Take me home,” she repeats. “I need you.”

My heart hammers in my chest cavity, trying to break free.

“Anything you want.” My voice is hoarse and raspy.

Elsy gives me a teasing smile, her hand sliding up my thigh, dangerously close to my hard-on, until I move her palm back to my knee. As much as I crave her touch, I know if I let her play, we’ll never stop. And I don’t really want to fool around in the car. The SUV’s back seat is way too small for someone of my size and the things I want to do to her.

Instead of heading to her apartment, I drive to my condo. I live only a few blocks from her, but I’ve always gone to her place; I’ve never brought her to mine. In the last few weeks, I’ve barely spent any time here, only coming home for pregame naps and to pack for road trips.

“Where are we going?” she asks when I pass her street.

“Do you trust me?”

She nods readily. “I don’t like surprises.”

When we hit a red light, I look over at her, her blond hair shining in the moonlight. Her dark eyes are focused on the road ahead.

“We’re almost there. Can you trust me for a few more minutes?”

Although she fidgets in her seat, Elsy nods again. “It’ll be worth it?”

“I hope so.”

I wasn’t hiding my place from her, but I know she thrives with a routine and likes her creature comforts. There wasn’t a reason I kept her from coming over; it was simply easier to go to her. I didn’t want to make things any more complicated or give her any more reasons to end this.

But now… I’m ready to fully incorporate her into my life. No more holding back. No more half measures.

As I pull into my building’s garage, the gate lifts automatically, and she looks at me with surprise.

“Is this your place?”

Nodding, I navigate to my parking space, throwing the car into park. As I round the hood, I run my sweaty palms on my suit pants, then open her door.

She takes my hand, as natural as breathing, and I lead her to the elevator.

“I know we have different jobs, and our incomes aren’t the same,” I start as I hit the button for the penthouse. “When you’re ready, and I’m absolutely not rushing you, I’d love for you to live here. With me.”

Elsy gapes at me. “You want me to move in?”

“When you’re ready. I know you just moved into your apartment, so you probably have a lease. And we’re so new.” I squeeze her hand. “But that’s my goal. I’m okay if it doesn’t happen anytime soon.”

She cocks her head. “Wait. So you don’t want me to move in?”

“I want us to figure out a timeline that works for us, that doesn’t adhere to any arbitrary schedule.”

We reach the fifteenth floor, and I swipe my fob at the door.

“I just want to be with you. However you’ll let me.”