Page 148 of Double Puck

I pull him back over the railing.

"Fine." I shove the bear into her arms. "But he rides in the back seat. I'm not having him watch us from the front."

She laughs, and I pull her against me properly. I kiss her at the end of the pier like the whole world isn't watching, even though this is Beachside, and it absolutely is.

Somewhere behind us, the carousel spins its slow circles, and the ocean keeps crashing, steady and endless, completely unbothered by the fact that Beck Morrison…

The tradeable asset, the bundle deal, the Morrison who never got chosen…

Just got chosen.

And dammit, he chose right back.

Epilogue

Darcy

Two weeks later, I'm sitting in Colin Holden's office watching my boyfriend.

Yes.

Beck Morrison is now officially my boyfriend.

And for a girl raised in a world of ballet classes, French lessons and gala dinners…

It feels unusually… settling.

Colin is standing behind his desk in a full neon-green wetsuit that's peeled down to the waist. There's a surfboard leaning against the filing cabinet in the corner, and he's bouncing on his toes like a man whose parole hearing is going well.

"Right there. And there." He taps the paper, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Initial there. Great. Wonderful. Fantastic."

Beck signs with a flick of his wrist, smiling the entire time.

"Is that it?" Beck spins the pen between his fingers. "Feels like turning down millions of dollars should involve more fireworks or a laser light show. A ceremony, maybe."

"That's it." Colin snatches the paper and shoves it into a folder. "Alright! Trade discussions are officially dead. Vegas has been informed you want to stay here, and the league has been informed." He exhales the way a man does when a franchise-destroying headline evaporates. "Beck Morrison remains a Beachside Bear."

A warm rush floods my body.

He chose us. He chose here.

Beck catches me looking and smiles like he knows exactly what I'm thinking.

"One last thing." Colin moves to gather his surfboard. "You've got a final session with Dr. Sinclair this afternoon. Closes out the evaluation file and ticks all the boxes we need if we're ever audited."

Beck's head drops back. "Are you kidding? There's paperwork for personal growth?"

"Welcome to professional sports. There's paperwork for everything, son." Colin pauses at the door, and points at me. "Darcy, you should go with him. That should round out the file nicely."

Beck's eyebrows shoot up. “Wait. Darcy gets assessed now?”

“That's not what he said.”

“Doc's gonna love you.” He stands, grinning as he offers me his hand. “Just don't tell her what happens when I take my belt off and tell you to behave.”

“Oh my God. Beck!”

“See?” He looks at Colin, and winks. “She's already defensive. This could take hours.”