Page 150 of Edging Coach
Grimacing, I nodded. “I had to have security with meeverywhere I went for almost four years. Including in the locker room.”
“Crisse,” Devon whispered. “That sounds terrifying.”
“It was.” I stroked his hair. “The League was a very different place back then.” I paused, then laughed quietly. “I definitely wouldn’t have gotten away with dating a coach.”
Devon laughed, too, his sleepy smile making me warm all over. “To be fair, I wouldn’t have tried to get away with it back thenornow.” The smile faded a little as he held my gaze. Trailing his fingertips along my jaw, he added, “But this wasn’t about dating my coach. It was about dating you.”
I sobered, too, and lifted my head for another light kiss. “Same. It was never about wanting to be with a player. Just… you.”
A wicked grin came to life. “And now you’re stuck with me.”
“Oh no.” I drew him down. “What ever will I do?” We were both laughing when our lips met, but then we were drawing out another long, lazy kiss. My God, I loved everything about this. The bumpy roadgettinghere had been more stressful than I would’ve liked, and I wouldn’t have minded the opportunity to check Hairs into the boards myself, but this? Devon and me, openly and unapologetically together? I couldn’t ask for more.
As he settled on my chest and I wrapped my arm around him, I closed my eyes and smiled to myself. No, things wouldn’t be perfect. No relationship would be. We also had some minor additional headache because losing my job also meant losing my visa. Vancouver was close to the border, though, so if I got a place in Blaine or even Bellingham, it wouldn’t take much to see each other. We’d have to spend a fair amount of time apart anyway during the regular season, thanks to the grueling schedule of practices, games, travel, and media engagements,but I wasn’t worried. After the stress of trying to keep our relationship a secret, navigating a very-slightly-long-distance living situation would be a piece of cake.
And that was only during hockey season. During the off season, we could make up for lost time. Maybe travel together. See the world together.
Justbetogether as much as his career allowed.
Down the line, we could think about making things more permanent in a way that allowed us to live on the same side of the border. Or he might decide to play for a US team when he was eventually a free agent.
However the logistics shook out, we’d be together. As improbable and mismatched as we probably looked to other people, I couldn’t imagine beingmorecompatible with someone than I was with him. Even during my happiest days with my ex-husband, I’d never felt as blissfullyrightas I did with Devon.
We were both perfectly imperfect, and we were perfect for each other.
And I couldn’t wait to see how this life together unfolded.
EPILOGUE
DEVON
“Winning this game clinches our playoff spot.” Karim, our captain, gazed at all of us. Wheels as a nickname somehow suited him.
The Vancouver locker room buzzed with excitement—both from the players as well as pretty much all of the city of Vancouver. I’d thought Toronto was hockey-obsessed. Vancouver rivaled them, that was for sure.
Finally, Wheels gestured to me with his chin. “Rookie deserves a Cup run.”
Heat raced to my cheeks.
“Yeah. Heroes deserve Cups.” Ricky, my D-line partner.
Everyone laughed.
Except me. I didn’t feel like a hero for coming clean about my relationship with Jack. For having survived that press conference and coming out.My cheeks must be matching Rudolph’s nose. Embarrassment burned within me. I’d tried so damn often to downplay the entirelife event.
“Let’s knock Dallas on their asses.” Wheels trying to refocus the rowdy bunch.
We had several more games left in the regular season, so tonight wasn’t do or die. Still, the sooner we secured our spot, the sooner I could exhale. Hopefully, a Cup run would refocus fans’ attention on the entire team instead of just a rookie D-man.
Cederqvist had never recovered from his injury. In the end, the doctors explained that even if he fully recovered, he risked his future health. Some guys wouldn’t give a shit about the future—the game today was all that mattered. Ceders wanted to be able to play with his kids and grandkids, so he was calling it quits. He was getting older anyway, so this gave him a gracious exit.
As we headed out of the locker room, Wheels punched my arm. “You focused?”
“Yep.”
“Your man here?”
“Yep.”
