Page 50

ELLIE

Two and a half years later…

O wen?” I called out, dropping my bag onto the kitchen counter and pacing through the apartment I’d been calling home in Seattle for the last few years. One we wouldn’t call home much longer, since we’d just bought a house in the suburbs. It was still close enough to the rink for him, but not too far from the school I was now teaching at.

Sometimes I still missed skating, the feel of the ice under my blades and the rush of flying around the rink, but I loved teaching. It fulfilled me in a way I couldn’t explain. The best way.

But then again, so did Owen.

A sparkling ring rested on the second finger of my left hand. The one he’d given me two years ago, when he’d gotten down on one knee and proposed to me.

Maybe we were still young, but I was blissfully happy. Our second chance had given me everything I’d ever wanted. I had a career, a fulfilled life full of friends I loved, and family that was close enough to see multiple times a year, but far enough away that they weren’t over every evening. And a dog, who normally was wagging her tail and waiting for me when I got home from work.

I frowned. “Zambi? Babe?” Heading into the bedroom, I found a little note on the bedside table. Two years later, and he still left me notes all the time. It was just our thing.

Took Zamboni out for one last run in the park. Be home soon. Love you. -O

One last run, since tomorrow the movers were coming. Sitting on the bed, I looked around our bedroom. It was bittersweet to leave. We’d had so many wonderful memories here. Moving in back when we were trying to convince ourselves we could be friends, like we weren’t inevitable. Like I hadn’t loved him all my life.

I would have followed him anywhere, and I knew that was true now more than ever. Even if one day he got traded to a different team, I’d be right behind him, cheering him on.

For now, though, we both loved Seattle, and we loved our friends. Sophia had been one of my bridesmaids at our wedding last year, along with my sister, Penelope, Quinlan, and Avery. She was Owen’s cousin, but we were friends, and now I got to call her my cousin, too.

Owen and I had tied the knot last summer, since it was a lot easier to host a wedding during the off-season, with their hockey schedules being what they were. And now he was mine .

My husband. I sat on the bed, fidgeting with my ring.

“Ellie baby,” he called out as the front door opened, and I heard the sound of Zambi’s nails clicking against the hardwood floor. “We’re home!”

His footsteps padded into our room, and there was that gorgeous smile I loved.

He ran his hands through his blond hair, our fully grown golden retriever trotting behind him. She jumped onto the bed and laid her head in my lap, and I scratched her head. “Hi, sweetie pie. Did you have a good walk with Daddy?” I made some kissy noises at her, and she barked excitedly at me.

She was my girl, one who loved cuddling with me, always sleeping next to me in bed when my husband was gone on a road trip. And though I’d never expected him to get us a puppy when he did, I’d never regretted it. Not once.

When I looked up, Owen’s eyes were full of heat. It was intoxicating, even after all this time, to see how much he wanted me. To know how much he loved me, every single day.

He kneeled in front of me, his arms resting on my knees. He laid his head on them, looking up at me. “What are you thinking, El?”

“That everything is about to change,” I admitted. “That I’m going to miss this place. It’s where we’d brought Zamboni home. Where we…” I bit my lip. “You know.”

He smirked, leaning in to press his lips to mine, and his hand slid over my still flat stomach. “Oh, I know.”

It was still really early, but I’d found out last month that I was pregnant with our first baby, and we were over the moon. Owen’s mom was even more excited to have her first grandchild, though I wasn’t the first of my siblings to have a baby. Though that wasn’t my story to tell.

Owen kissed me again, his hand still resting over my still-flat stomach.

“I love you so much,” I murmured, cupping both of his cheeks in my hand. “Thank you for loving me. For our second chance.”

“Oh, El.” He nuzzled his nose against mine. “I’m the one who should thank you for chasing after me. For showing me just how much I’d been missing for all those years. What a fool I was to not fight for you sooner.” His lips brushed my mouth, just a tender touch. “I love you and our little Daisy. I can’t wait to meet her. ”

My eyes watered. “You think it’s a girl?” We wouldn’t find out for a while, but I liked the idea.

He nodded. “I can’t think of anything better than having a little you running around our house.”

God, my ovaries were crying. If he hadn’t already knocked me up, that would have had me melting for him. I placed my hand over his. “I know it’s too early to know, but I feel like it’s a girl, too. As long as they’re healthy, that’s all that matters.” Girl or boy, they would be cherished.

“Our little skater.” He looked at my stomach in wonder.

“What if they don’t want to skate?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He just gave me a look. I reached up, combing my fingers through his long blond hair. “Honestly, Ellie baby. With a NHL Superstar and a Figure Skater as parents? Our kids are going to grow up on the ice.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” I laughed. “One at a time.”

He kissed me softly. “However many you want to give me, I’m all in.”

I hummed. “I can’t believe we’re moving tomorrow.”

This apartment was large, but the house had more space. A yard for Zamboni. Room for a nursery. Bedrooms for our future kids. Kids, because we both wanted more than one. I’d grown up the youngest of three, and Owen had always been close with Penelope. I wanted that for this baby, too. Our families would always be big—overwhelming, considering the sheer amount of aunts and uncles they were going to have—but there was so much love.

Owen shifted his position, sitting on the bed and wrapping his arms around me to press me into his front. “I’m so happy that we’re going to have a place that’s ours .”

Shutting my eyes, I leaned my head back against his chest. “Me too.”

As much as this apartment was home, it had always been his. He’d lived here before me. This new place would be one that we always shared. We’d picked it out together, and everything in it was ours.

“You know, my mom sent me up a package,” I said, resting my hands on his arms.

“Mhm?”

I tilted back my head so I could look at his face. “Yeah. She found one of my boxes from high school.”

He raised an eyebrow, the question obvious on his face. “And what did she find?”

Turning around, I straddled his lap, lowering my lips to his ear. “Your old hockey sweater from high school. The one I always used to wear to your games.”

“Fuck.” He shuddered. “Don’t tell me that right before I was going to take you for a surprise.”

“I could put it on for you,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes. “We could live out whatever fantasies you had in high school.”

“Don’t need to,” he grinned, dragging his lips down my neck. “They all already came true.”

I tilted my head back, luxuriating in the sensations of his mouth on my skin. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Owen Harper.”

“Ellie Harper, my wife, the love of my life, my everything… I think it’s safe to say, without a doubt, that you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

How could I argue with that? Still, I laughed. “You could have just said ditto.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” He kissed my neck. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” I murmured, relaxing into his hold. He kept both hands over my middle, over where our baby was growing, and I shut my eyes, the warmth of his touch lulling me to sleep. It didn’t take much these days. Between the all day sickness—whoever called it morning sickness was a liar—and everything else that came with growing a baby, I was constantly exhausted .

When I woke up a few hours later, feeling well rested after my nap, Owen was no longer wrapped around me. He’d draped a blanket over me and tucked an extra pillow under my head.

That was my husband. No matter what, he always took care of me.

Yawning, I stood up, walking into the living room. Everything was pretty much packed, so we’d been going out to dinner the last few nights and just getting takeout instead. I was about to ask him what we wanted to order, but… I blinked a few times. The entire room was full of candles, and there was a vase of daisies sitting on the counter.

When had he had time to do all of this?

There was also a spread of breakfast food—because he knew that was my favorite—sitting on the counter. I let out a moan. It smelled amazing. “Okay, I’m starving.”

“Now, don’t go making that sound yet,” Owen said, padding up behind me and wrapping his arms around me. “I have to feed you first.”

A girlish giggle slipped free from my throat. “I can’t believe you did all of this.”

“Of course I did. It’s our last night in our first apartment together. The apartment that brought us back together. Even if it was because yours flooded.” He kissed the crown of my head, leading me over to the barstool. “We got our second chance here, and that means more to me than you’ll ever know. So I wanted to celebrate this place. Us. Even if we’re about to embark on a new chapter, I don’t want to forget this one, either.”

I leaned my head against his shoulder as he sat down next to me, moving his barstool close enough to mine that our thighs would touch. “Thank you.” My emotions were all over the place, and I was definitely blaming that on the tears that sprung from my eyes as he plated me pancakes, eggs, and perfectly cooked bacon .

Owen wiped the tears away from my face, and I just laughed. “Sorry you have to deal with all of this. I know I’m a lot right now.”

“You’re not a lot.” He shook his head. “You’re pregnant, and carrying my baby, that’s the biggest miracle ever. So I don’t care if you want to cry while you eat your eggs, as long as you’re eating.”

Laughing, I took a bite of the pancake, moaning at the flavor as it hit my tongue. My husband watched me eat with heated eyes, and I licked every tong of the fork as I pulled it out of my mouth, knowing it was driving him crazy.

By the time I finished eating, he threw me over his shoulder, carrying me back to our bedroom, and for the last time in our apartment, made me come so hard that I saw stars.

I fell asleep in his arms, dreaming of our little ice skater who was growing inside of me and all the wonderful memories I knew we’d make in our new home… together.