Epilogue

EPILOGUE

Anders

Ten months later…

“…I now pronounce you man and wife.”

Claudia looks up at me with a mischievous grin as I lower my mouth to hers. We’ve been legally married for nine months, but I knew she wanted the big wedding with all the bells and whistles, and I want her to have every single thing her heart desires.

So even though she’s only eight weeks postpartum, we’re having the wedding of her dreams.

We waited as long as possible, since training camp starts in two weeks, and I want to take her on a honeymoon. She resisted at first, concerned about leaving the baby so soon, but we compromised. We’ll take little Anderson—an Americanized version of my name, which my beautiful wife insisted upon—with us to Sweden. Claudia will have a chance to see my homeland and meet the family who weren’t able to come for the wedding. Then we’ll leave the baby with my parents while Claudia and I explore Hungary and Croatia.

“Is it time for the honeymoon yet?” My wife asks as we make our way into the reception hall. Neither of us is religious so we opted not to have the ceremony in a church. Instead, we’ve rented out the ballroom of a big hotel and now that the exchanging of vows is over, we’re ready for dinner and a party.

“Soon.” I close my hand around hers.

“Do you think Anderson is okay?” She wrinkles her nose. “I know he’s with your mom but…”

I hug her to my side. “He’s fine. I promise. If not, my mom or sister would come find us now that the ceremony is over.”

“Is it weird that I feel like we got married today?” she asks with a soft smile. “Like, we were already married, but saying the words in front of everyone we love made it more real?”

“I felt the same way.”

“You always do.”

In the months since we’d gotten married, we worked hard to get to know each other and took time to work on being a couple. Not that it was hard; it was simply a preemptive measure to make sure we do whatever we can to be the best versions of ourselves—both individually and as a couple.

“Congratulations, you two.” Coach Petrov comes over to shake my hand and hug Claudia.

“Thanks, Coach.” I nod.

“Where’s the little guy?” Coach asks, looking around. I never would have imagined the team’s tough Russian head coach has a soft spot for babies, but he does. Any time any of us bring our infants around, he’s all about holding them.

“With my mother,” I say. “And you’re welcome to go relieve her of duty.”

He chuckles and ambles in the direction of his wife. “Not if I want to stay married,” he calls over his shoulder.

“Claudia, you look gorgeous!” Hana gushes, coming over to hug Claudia.

“So do you.”

Hana was the maid of honor, of course, and the ladies all looked beautiful in the pale green (they called it sage, but what do I know? It looks green to me) dresses they’d picked out. Hana, Sloane, Claudia’s friend from work Dana, my sister, and Eden were all part of the wedding party with Johan, Aiden, Decker, Felix, and Jordan escorting them. I’d had a good laugh seeing my very married—and pregnant again—sister flirting with Jordan. It’s a good thing my brother-in-law has a good sense of humor.

“I can’t wait to dance,” Hana is telling Claudia. “You and me, girlfriend, on the dance floor. There has to be some Bruno Mars in our future.”

“Absolutely.” Claudia nods. “As long as this corset I’m wearing manages to keep these boobies from popping out.”

Since she’s breastfeeding, her breasts are huge, and while I enjoy them immensely, I’m also cognizant of how heavy and uncomfortable they’ve become for her.

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” I promise.

She gives me the side eye. “I’m sure you will.”

I spot a few of my teammates congregating by the bar and decide to go say hello. “I’ll be back,” I tell Claudia, kissing her.

“I’ll be here. Or on the dance floor.” She smiles.

God, I love my wife.

Claudia

“You look so happy,” Hana says softly once Anders has wandered toward the bar.

“I am.” I nod. “So, so happy.”

“I’m glad.” She says the word but there’s something in her eyes that bothers me.

“Everything okay?” I ask quietly. “You look funny.”

“I might be a bit envious,” she says. “I’m so happy for you, but it’s a painful reminder of how single I am.”

“I thought you love being single?”

“I did. But now that you and Johan are all settled down, it’s not the same. I want to have someone special in my life too.”

I don’t miss how her gaze travels to where Aiden is laughing with Anders and their friends.

“Aiden, huh?”

She sighs. “No. I mean, yes. But no. He’s just…well, even if he was interested in more than sex, he’s friend-zoned me.”

“But he wants to sleep with you.”

“Sure. But guys are good with friends-with-benefits. It’s different for us. At least, it is for me. I don’t think I could start sleeping with him without catching major feelings. And he’s not in that head space.”

“Then it’s time to move on.”

“Yup.” She glances in his direction, and I follow her gaze.

He really is a hunk and a half.

“Or you could shoot your shot,” I suggest. “I mean, you’re on the road Monday through Friday almost every week, so it’s not like you have to see him all the time.”

“I know. I just…” She sighs and then shakes her head. “You know what? I don’t want to think or talk about this today. I want to enjoy my bestie’s wedding, get drunk, and dance all night. I haven’t done any of that since I moved to the US.”

“Well, then, by all means, let’s go.” I link my arm through hers and we walk toward the DJ.

“Can you play Bruno Mars’ ‘Marry Me’?” I ask him.

He grins. “Before dinner?”

“Right now.”

“You’re the boss.” He fades the soft jazz song that’s playing and makes an announcement. “The bride wants to dance—let me see everyone on the dance floor!”

People look around in surprise, because technically, Anders and I are supposed to have our first dance before everyone else dances, but I don’t care.

My wedding.

My rules.

My life.

I look across the room at my husband—he really feels like my husband now, and I fucking love it—and he winks.

Then Bruno Mars is blasting through the speakers and Anders is moving in my direction.

“It’s beautiful tonight,” he says. “Are we looking for something dumb to do?”

I laugh.

“I could be convinced to marry you,” I joke, since we’re paraphrasing the words to the song.

“Again?”

“As many times as you ask.”

He presses a soft kiss against my lips before taking my hand and twirling me around.

This is definitely one of the best days of my life.