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One slow smile.
Her lips tip up as her eyes brighten, and I instantly know she wants me, too, even without her saying the words. Doesn’t mean I’m going to let her get away before she says it out loud.
She glides her palm up my chest and wraps her hand around my tie, gripping it. I lean down to nip at her mouth. She playfully stays just out of reach.
I remain silent, waiting for her to tell me how she’s feeling even though it’s written across her expressive face.
Say it. Tell me you want me too.
She takes it a step further.
“I’m in love with you.”
Mads has always tried to one-up me, repeatedly reminding me that she can’t be placed inside a box. She’s a constant surprise. Exhilarating. Challenging. Beautiful.
“Took you long enough to admit it,” I scoff.
She shoves at my chest while still anchoring me close with her other fist wrapped around my tie. “I could say the same about you.”
I dip until our foreheads are pressed together. “I love you too.”
I fuse our lips together, quickly deepening the kiss. I almost groan when I taste her sweetness on my tongue. My hands pull her hips even closer.
Mads leans back a little, breaking our kiss, when we hear the singer announce that it’s time to send the bride and groom on their way. But our eyes never disconnect. The flush across her cheeks is now there because of me, because of us. She looks as happy as I feel, making me wonder why I didn’t give in to this a long time ago. She’s been right in front of me this entire time. I was just too stubborn to let her in. And look at all I was missing.
I pull her into a hug before reluctantly shifting her to my side. We walk together and grab sparklers, lining up with the rest of the reception. The lights glow from the tips of the wands through the dark night sky as Celeste and Brent walk arm in arm through the crowd. He stops to dip his bride and kiss her in front of everyone. Celeste laughs gleefully, and I can feel Madison smiling at my side. She laces her fingers through mine and squeezes my hand.
Celeste stops right in front of Madison and pulls her into an embrace. I hear her tell her daughter that she loves her, and Mads returns the sentiment. I know there’s a mountain of resentment built up between these two, but I hope this can be a new start for both of them. A way to move forward.
Celeste wipes a tear from her cheek as she leans back, beaming lovingly at her daughter. Celeste glances over at me, squeezing my biceps with a sweet smile before she climbs into the car. Brent shuts the door behind her and waves goodbye to the crowd gathered specially for the two of them.
Celeste leans out of the passenger window as Brent starts the engine and starts to pull away from the curb. “Nobody call me for the next two weeks!”
Everyone laughs, and there are a few catcalls and whistles penetrating the air. Madison rolls her eyes, but she’s still smiling.
We spend the next hour laughing and dancing and drinking with the others at the reception before we’re able to sneak away. It takes another thirty minutes for Mads to say goodbye to everyone there. I could blame it on the affair being a family one for her, but in truth, Mads attracts attention and love, even in a room full of strangers. She’s always been magnetic in that way.
I watch her, memorizing the way her neck extends when her head falls back from laughing so hard at something someone said. And the way strands of her hair stubbornly fall to her face, unable to be contained. The silhouette the dress creates as it drapes across her luscious curves. I want to picture her like this on those long weeks when I’m on the road, missing her. And I will miss her.
My mind drifts back to Coach’s words.
“It’s a hard life, even for someone who loves hockey as much as you and I do. It becomes important to have something to come home to.”
I’m looking at my something.
And I’m not letting her go, no matter how hard the distance gets.
CHAPTER THIRTY
MADISON
Sex is just different with someone you love.
It’s better.
No one tells you that, but it’s true. I think it’s about feeling safe with another person. And I’ve never felt safer or more uninhibited with another man than I do with Ollie. There’s an intimacy with him that has been missing from past conquests. And the level of desire between us …
I shiver.
