Page 117 of Defend Her Heart

I turn back to Becky and bow my head. “Sorry. I just had to live without her for so long, I don’t really need outsiders questioning the validity of my feelings. She’s it for me. Always has been, always will be.” I lift our adjoined hands to my mouth and kiss Avery’s knuckles. “Anything else you’d like to add, wife?”

Avery smiles and doesn’t tear her eyes away from me when she answers. “I think that pretty much covers it, husband.”

Jerry laughs and taps the table with his knuckles. “I’m notsure what’s in the water here at the rink, but I’m going to need to look into it. First you two”—he nods at Lincoln and Ellie—“then Niko and Sadie, and now you guys. I wonder who’s next?” He laughs again in disbelief.

Ellie shrugs. “I wouldn’t look into anything, Jerry. We’re about to be in first place heading into the playoffs. Seems to me like the more love in the air, the more winning in the building, too.”

We all laugh and then spend the next ten minutes going over what our response will be to the article. Becky is putting together a press release that pretty much negates the false claims of fraud and reassures fans, and the public, that our marriage and feelings for each other are real.

Just as we’re wrapping up and I push away from the table, Jerry chimes in one more time.

“Connor, I know you’re not much for the press or media in general, but if you could scale back the grumpiness, just for a couple days, I think it might go a long way.”

I scoff. “You want me to answer those vultures’ questions?”

Lincoln laughs, and Ellie swats him in the chest.

Jerry shakes his head, the ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “As we discussed, we’ll be asking the press to respect your privacy and any questions about your relationship are off-limits, but if you could play nice with any other hockey-related questions, it might help the optics.”

I open my mouth to argue when Avery grabs my arm and starts dragging me out of the room. “Connor will play nice. I’ll make sure of it. Thank you, Jerry and Becky. We’re very grateful for your help and support through this mess.”

We don’t stick around because Avery has dragged me out into the hallway before anyone else can get another word in. She doesn’t say a word, she just keeps a hold of my arm and pulls me around a corner until we’re alone.

She slinks back against the wall and exhales dramatically. “Well, that went better than I thought it would.”

I stand in front of her, placing my hands on the wall beside her head, caging her in. “This may have started for different reasons, but my feelings for you have never been fake, Aves. That is one thing I refuse to let people believe. It’s always been you.”

Leaning down, I gently press my lips to hers. Avery opens her lips and on instinct, I do the same. Our tongues collide, and although I feel myself growing in my jeans, this kiss isn’t about that. This kiss is another promise, telling each other that what’s happening here is real. My hand slides to the back of her neck, and all the accusations and doubt that were echoing around us before disappear. This may have started fake, but Avery is the only truth I’ve ever known. I press my mouth harder into hers. It’s desperate in a way only honesty can be.

This was never fake.

Avery kisses me back, matching my desperation with her own. Finally, when I feel like we’ve said enough, I reluctantly pull back, pressing my forehead to hers. We’re both breathing hard now, this moment feeling like something monumental.

They can call it fraud. They can call it a lie. Fuck, they can call it whatever they want.

But this?

This has always been real.

Niko is waiting for me outside of the locker room when I get there.

“Everything all right?” he asks, his face serious and eyebrows pinched.

His stern expression only makes me laugh. A real, genuine laugh, which completely catches him off guard.

“Did I miss the punchline?”

I clap my hand on his shoulder, the smile on my face impossible to wipe away right now. It just hit me that not only am I married to Avery, but I’m going to remain married to Avery because she wants this just as badly as I do.

“Nah, brother. Just really fucking happy, that’s all.”

His eyebrow raises. “Back up. I was afraid I’d have to confiscate your keys so you couldn’t track down Roger Park and murder him. Why is it that you’re so happy right now?”

The two stooges come barreling out of the locker room, soccer ball in hand, ready to warm up for today’s practice. As soon as Jefferson registers that it’s me standing in front of him, he launches himself at me.

He jumps up into my arms but I refuse to catch him. His arms fall away from my neck as he stumbles to the ground.

“Fuck, Connor. Way to be a good teammate.”