Page 129 of Slap Shot Surprise
“When I want something, I go after it,” I said with conviction. “When I dream something, I make it happen. And when I love something, I will dedicate my life to it. For as long as I can remember, that something was hockey. I devoted practically every waking hour to being the best player I could be—for the people who believed in me, for my team, for the adrenaline rush I got from it. I thought hockey was the answer to every question. I thought winning was my purpose in life. I thought nothing would ever make me feel as good as the game. But I was wrong.”
“You were?”
“Yes. None of it matters to me nearly as much as you do. It doesn’t make me feel as good as being with you does. And I don’t love it the way I love you.”
“Joe Lupo,” she whispered, her eyes filling. “What’s happening right now? Am I dreaming this?”
“No. I’mthe one, Mabel. I don’t care that we haven’t been dating forever or that we’re doing all the things out of order or that people might say we’re crazy. I’m the one.” I thumped my chest, getting worked up. “I’m the one you were destined to sit next to on that plane. I’m the one whocouldn’t stay away from you at that wedding. I’m the one who couldn’t stop thinking about you afterward. I’m the one who fell in love with you. And I’m the one who drove all the way here to ask you to live with him.”
“Live with you?” Her blue eyes widened. “But—but we barely?—”
“Don’t say it.” I took her hand again, rising to my feet and sitting at her side. “Don’t say I don’t know you, because I do. I know how much you hate to fly because some dipshit fifth grader told you a lie about your future. I know you like the aisle seat more than the window, and I’ll always give it to you. I know you had an alter ego named Montana Swift when you were young. I know you ran cross country in high school. I know you make a little sniffle noise in your sleep. I know you got the dimple in your smile from your mom. I know you’re scared to lose people you love, but Mabel—cupcake—” I brought her hand to my lips and kissed her fingers. “You will never lose me. I will fight harder to win you than I have ever fought to win anything in my life.Youare the prize—you and our baby.”
She smiled through her tears. “We are?”
“Yes. I forgot to mention it, but I’m also the one who put that baby in you.” I leaned closer, lowered my voice. “And when you let me, I’m gonna put another one there. I know how to put the puck in deep.”
She burst out laughing, but it turned into a sob.
“That’s you too,” I told her. “Laughing and crying at the same time. I love how your emotions show up on top of each other like that. I love everything about you, Mabel Jane Buckley.”
When she held her arms up, I pulled her closer, gently pressing my lips to hers before holding her to my chest, careful not to jostle her too roughly. “I feel like maybe Ididn’t wake up yet,” she said, her voice muffled in my coat, which I hadn’t even bothered to remove. “I’m scared to open my eyes.”
“You don’t have to be scared.” Releasing her, I put two fingers beneath her chin and lifted it. “There’s nothing to be scared of. I’m here, and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She smiled, and her dimple about broke me. “When do you have to go back? How did you even get today off?”
“I took a personal day,” I said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t miss a game. Just a practice. But I did promise to be in Philly by tomorrow morning.”
Her eyes glistened. “You really took a day off and drove all the way up here just to tell me you love me?”
“Yes.” I grinned at her. “But I’m getting a little anxious to know howyoufeel.”
Color rose in her cheeks. “Joe, you know how I feel.”
“I want to hear it.”
“I love you too,” she said.
“You’d better,” I told her. “Because I am not easy to live with. I hog the remote, I leave kitchen cupboard doors open, I take my shoes off anywhere I feel like it, and I take up all the space in bed.”
“You really want me to live with you?” she asked.
“Yes! I’d carry you out of here right now and force you to come back with me today if I could. I don’t want you living alone anymore. And I don’t want to be without you.” I took her hands again and held them in my lap. “We’ll figure this out, cupcake. It’s you and me from now on. But I know your family and friends are up here. And if you say you don’t want to move to Chicago, I’ll understand. I’ll finish out the season and move up here to be with youthis summer.”
Her eyes widened. “You would?”
“Yes. Would you move to Chicago in the fall when I have to go back for the season, assuming Chicago renews my contract?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation. “I would. And as long as I can find a doctor I like and trust down there, I’ll move before the baby is born.”
My heart bucked wildly. “You will?”
“Yes.”
“We will find you the best doctor in the city, cupcake.” I pulled her close again, kissing the top of her head. “I promise.”
A nurse knocked on the open door. “Hi there,” she said, smiling as she entered the room wheeling a cart with some machinery on it. “Just coming to check on you. How are you feeling?”
