35. Bristol

Chapter 35

Bristol

"I'm going to start charging you for ice cream," Dakota said as she handed me a pint and plopped down beside me on the couch.

"You can afford it," I shot back. Even if she wasn't practically married to a professional athlete, she was a best-selling author and made way more money than I did. Supplying me with a few gallons of ice cream wouldn't break the bank.

She hummed. "What I can't afford is seeing you so defeated. He's coming back."

I couldn't stop the snort as I shoved a spoonful of mint chocolate chip into my mouth. Once I swallowed, I countered, "Then why hasn't he called? It's like I'm right back there with Nix, ears trained on the phone for when he's ready."

Dakota turned to face me, countering, "You know he's nothing like Nix."

Ignoring her, I muttered, "When am I going to stop doing this to myself? Emotionally unavailable men are apparently all I'm attracted to." Sighing, I reclined on the couch. "Can we not talk about him for five minutes? Please? Distract me with wedding talk."

"Okay." Dakota perked up at the mention of her upcoming nuptials, less than six months away. She ticked the items checked off her list on her fingers. "We've got the date, the place, and Lucy's handling my dress."

My chest warmed at the thought of my best friend in a custom-made couture gown by one of the world's most famous fashion designers. My bets were already on Braxton bawling like a baby when she walked down the aisle.

"Wedding party?" I asked.

"I've got most of it figured out." She pursed her lips, tapping on her chin. "Still in desperate search of a maid of honor, though."

Rolling my eyes, I chucked a pillow at her. "Jerk."

"There's a smile!" she exclaimed triumphantly when a corner of my lips turned up.

I quickly schooled my features. "Nothing to see here."

She bumped shoulders with me. "I can't wait to see you as red as a tomato when Jaxon escorts you back up the aisle as the best man."

Shrugging, I replied, "He doesn't quite hold the same appeal anymore."

"Why? Because an even older hottie has caught your eye?"

"I hate you," I groaned. But she wasn't wrong. Apparently, older men were my kryptonite. "If I'm with Jaxon, who's paired with Natalie?"

"Maddox."

I pretended to check a non-existent watch on my wrist. "Yep. Exactly five minutes."

Dakota laid her head on my shoulder. "Sorry, babe."

I knew there was no escaping him, even if things didn't work out between us. Eventually, he would come back as the Speed's head coach, and at least for now, I intended to keep my position reporting on the team. Even without that working relationship, we would forever be tied together by our common friends.

I couldn't run from Maddox, like I had from Nix. And I didn't want to. Even if it hurt not to be with him, it would be exponentially more painful not to see his face every day—a fact I became acutely aware of during his leave of absence. He'd become a constant in my life, and the rink wasn't the same without him.

There was a knock on the door—more of a banging, really—that had both our heads lifting and turning toward it. Braxton had gone out with the team post-win, so it was just the two of us girls here alone, and it was approaching midnight.

"Expecting someone?" I asked Dakota, my voice strained as panic seeped in when the heavy banging continued.

"Braxton should be home soon. Maybe he drank too much and had a car drop him off."

She stood to check who was beating down the door, but I gripped her wrist, holding her back. "You can't answer it!"

"It's okay," she reassured me. "I'll check the doorbell camera on my phone."

That did little to quell my fear as she silently padded toward her front door. I was left with two choices: watch my best friend get murdered or hide so I wasn't the next target. I wasn't proud to say that self-preservation won out and I chose the latter, ducking behind the recliner.

My muscles were coiled tight and shaking as I heard Dakota turn the deadbolt and open the door. I squeezed my eyes shut, preparing to hear her screams. But they never came.

"Well, I have good news and bad news," her cheery voice called out .

I was paralyzed, unable to move from my crouching position, so I asked, "What's the good news?" I knew most usually asked for the bad first, but I needed a boost.

"It's not a serial killer come to murder us," Dakota chirped.

Why the hell was she so happy? The bad news must not be all that bad.

"And the bad news?"

"It was for you."

"Me? Who would come here this late at night for me?"

"Why don't you stop hiding and find out?" she prompted.

I counted to three in my head, taking deep breaths, unsure of what awaited me when I stood. Gripping the soft leather of the recliner, I hauled my body upright. At the sight of the tall man beside Dakota, the breath seized in my lungs.

Maddox had come for me.

He looked about as ragged as I'd felt this past week. His dark hair was sticking up like he'd run his hands through it a few too many times. Dark circles were present under his eyes, and he hadn't shaved, sporting a scraggly beard.

Even though my heart begged me to run to him, I held my ground.

Throwing both hands on my hips, I forced out, "Took you long enough."

"Hold that thought." His husky voice rolled over me like honey as he strode forward, pulling me into his arms.

Warm lips crashed over mine, and I gasped. Maddox took that opening, using his tongue to claim my mouth, reminding me of how well we fit together, how he was the only man I wanted to kiss for the rest of my days.

A whimper worked its way up my throat when his hands cradled my face, and he pulled back. "Tell me I'm not too late." When all I could do was stare up at him in disbelief that he was really here and I wasn't dreaming, he begged, "Please, Bristol."

I swallowed, at a loss for words.

Thankfully, Maddox had enough for both of us.

Taking my hands in his, he stated. "We have no business being together. I'm too old for you and we're going to keep butting heads at work, creating all kinds of drama. But you know what? I'm selfish when it comes to you, and I don't care. I already lost everything that ever mattered to me in an instant, and then you waltzed into my life with your sexy smile and atrocious singing, and I felt something again. I was dead inside for so long, but you made me come alive. I don't want to live without you, Bristol. Please tell me I'm not too late to make things right between us."

"You still want me?" I hated that I sounded so needy, but the past week had planted a seed of doubt in my brain, and it had taken root.

"Of course I still want you," Maddox breathed out, reaching a hand up to caress my cheek. "I love you. You are my heart. Even if you tell me to walk back out that door, that will never change. There's no one else for me. Only you."

Blinking furiously, I was unable to stop the first tear that slipped down my cheeks.

A pained expression crossed Maddox's devastatingly beautiful face. "Baby, please don't cry. I'm so sorry I hurt you."

Sniffling, I pulled his head down so his forehead was pressed to mine. "I love you, Maddox. Take me home."

His arms pulled me tight, and I clung to him, my face pressed to his chest, comforted by the sound of his steady heartbeat—a heart I knew beat only for me.

"Now that was book-worthy. Bravo, Maddox." Dakota's voice cut through our little bubble of love .

Turning my head to the other side, I saw that Braxton had made it home, his arms looped around Dakota's waist from behind as they witnessed our reconnection.

Maddox's chest vibrated as he chuckled, his hands running up and down my back. "Not sure which one of you I'm expected to thank for meddling in our lives."

Braxton squeezed Dakota, pressing a kiss against her temple. "That would be my brilliant matchmaker wife. She's got an eye for these things."

"I'm not your wife yet," she teased.

He hummed. "But it sounds so fucking good, Firefly."

Dakota playfully rolled her eyes. "He might want to give me all the credit, but Braxton got the two of you to Pipes, even if it wasn't his intention for you to end up together. I'd say it worked out pretty well in the end."

Snuggled against the man I loved, I was never more thankful for the friends who were there for me in my darkest hour, knowing they would always have my back.

"Thank you both," I whispered.

Smiling softly, Dakota made a shooing gesture with her hands. "Go on, then. Get out of here. Live your happily-ever-after. I think you've earned it."

Lord knows I'd walked through fire to get to this moment, but if given the choice, I would have willingly done it all over again. Heartbreak was a part of life, and until you experienced it firsthand, you couldn't appreciate the beauty of true love when it stared you in the face.

So, as much as I hated him, I had to thank Nix for shoving me aside. Because without that push to branch out on my own and find myself, I would never have discovered Maddox. I wouldn't know what it felt like to be at the center of his universe, where he worshiped and cared for me like I was the most precious thing ever to walk this earth.

And this was only the start. The best was yet to come.