Chapter 39

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

LUNA

I race as fast as my legs can carry me toward the family box.

I've already missed the first period which wasn't helped by the new security personnel refusing me access to the suite since I "wasn't family." Surprising Zach a week earlier than we planned has gone anything but to plan .

"Babe?" A strong British accent calls from behind, just as I push the door open to the family box allocated to Jon and Zach.

I spin around to find Felicity standing twenty feet away, dressed in one of Jon's jerseys. She's flanked by her children, Jack and Darcy. I've seen so many photos, but to meet them in the flesh has me beaming. Jack is every bit the tall and confident college hockey player she described him as, and Darcy, yeah, wow, she has her mom's looks.

"Surprise!" I say, doing jazz hands.

She lurches forward, taking me into her arms. "Does Zach know you're here and wait, are you here, here? As in for good?"

"Yep. I kind of told a few white lies about when I would finish. My notice was two weeks instead of three." I look down at my watch and wince. "I was hoping to catch Zach before warm up, but my flight got delayed, and then I got held at security until I pulled up an image of Zach and me at the gala to prove I was his girlfriend."

"What?!" Felicity exclaims. "They should have your name on a list. Jon always sends tickets for his box because Adam loves them, and—" She stops in her tracks. "I'm getting carried away." She holds out a hand in the direction of her daughter. "Darcy, this is one of my closest friends, Luna. And Jack." She stomps her foot at her son, who's casually scrolling through his phone. "Jack!"

"Huh?" He looks up at me. "Oh yeah, hi. Wait, you're Zach Evans's girlfriend, right?"

It still feels alien when people refer to me as his girlfriend, and I often wonder what my sixteen-year-old self would say. She'd likely lose her mind that she was about to move in with her high-school crush. Maybe all that manifesting back then paid off?

"Yeah, nice to meet you both," I say. Darcy smiles and blushes slightly. She's blonde but reminds me so much of her mom.

We begin walking toward the box when Felicity chuckles. "Zach's going to get the shock of his life if he manages to catch a glimpse of you." From all the way up in the box, I doubt he'll notice, but it's kind of nice to watch him play in secret.

We take our seats, and I look around.

"Kate couldn't make it," Felicity clarifies, reading my mind.

"Oh?" I reply in question.

"So last night she called me and said Tom's taking her on a random weekend away."

"Where to?"

"Some fancy spa a couple of hours south."

I'm confused by the frown Felicity wears. "What's the issue with that?"

"I think Kate and Tom want very different things."

The players begin skating onto the ice as the noise of the crowd picks up and loud music starts to fill the stadium. When I see number sixty-six, my heart rate races. If I wasn't so terrible at skating, I'd grab a pair and go to him myself.

I tear my gaze away and focus back on my friend. "I guess she'll have to be honest with him then."

"Yeah, not that she'll have a problem with that." Felicity claps for the boys as they get into position ready for the puck drop.

From the moment the second period starts, I know Zach is a different player. I've watched all his games religiously, but seeing him out there tonight tells me the hesitation and uncertainty that spilled over from the hit last season has subsided. He moves with the same purpose I remember from seasons before; he commands the ice like the Zach Evans we all love and the opposition fears. Pride flows out of me, and I watch my boyfriend with awe as he runs the show. I wonder if his control on the ice is a reflection of the stability he's now found in his life with me. I hope so.

Felicity leans in next to me. "You're in love with him, aren't you?"

I don't even hesitate. "A hundred percent. He's everything to me."

She squeals with delight. "Did it just come to you? Like you just knew you had to be here and together?"

I think back to the day of the gala when Felicity said it would happen that way. "You were right."

"And your mum? Is she on board? Not that it matters—you have all of us in your corner," she tags on.

I sigh deeply, my shoulders sagging. "No. Well, I don't think so. We've spoken a bit, but as soon as she found out I was moving to Seattle, she hasn't answered my calls."

"That's on her, you know?"

Right at that moment, Jon sinks the puck with a slap shot, making the score two-zero. "They'll miss him next season," I say, looking over at Jack, who's going wild with Darcy.

"They will. But it's time," she replies. "He's carrying a knee injury which is only getting worse."

We retake our seats, and my eyes find Zach again, swooning at the way he boards one of their players, but my mind travels back to Mom. "I know it's on her, but it still hurts."

"Of course it does. It's amazing how changes in our life can reveal things about people we thought we knew when, in fact, we know nothing about them at all."

"Why do you always know the right thing to say?"

"It's a gift," she says, sitting back in her seat and picking up her popcorn before offering it out to me.

I take a piece. "You're actually perfect, you know that? Sweet and salty popcorn is my utopia."

"Kindreds." She winks. "Seriously though, babe. Let your mum come to you in her own time. Soon she'll see the error of her ways and that Zach is every bit the man she would want for you."

"And every bit the man she's never had," I add. "And if she doesn't?"

"Then she's a fucking idiot."

I almost choke on my popcorn. "Don't hold back there, Ms. Thompson."

"Yeah, well. Kate's not the only one who can put it straight."

I look at her with heart eyes. "I'm in love with number sixty-six, but I think I might love you more."

Tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear, she smiles sweetly. "This is absolutely the right decision for you and Zach. And, if it doesn't work out, which it will , but if the world somehow implodes and it doesn't, then we can always get hitched. It's not too late for me yet."

"I'm good with that. I think Jon might kill me though."

She chuckles. "We set a date yesterday. I was going to text you and tell you. And…well, since you're here early, how do you fancy joining Kate, Darcy, and me on Monday? We're starting the hunt for the one ."

I audibly gasp, and Jack looks over. "They pushed it back to June thirtieth because the Scorpions are winning the playoffs this season."

"Ohmygod! That's still only six months away."

My best friend's face lights up. "I know."

"So much to do."

"Oh, I don't need to worry about that. He's taking care of it all. I just need to get the dress, apparently."

"He." I point at number twenty-two, flying across the ice. "Is planning a wedding?"

She smiles down at her fiancé sweetly. "He wants to take care of it all."

I shake my head in awe. "He really is the love guru."

"Apparently, he has very specific plans."

The Scorpions get another goal thanks to their insanely talented winger, Jessie Callaghan. He, thankfully, recovered from the wrist strain quickly. Zach skates across to congratulate him, removing his glove and bumping fists. That's when Jessie points over his shoulder toward our box, and it's at that exact moment that I know he's registered I'm here.

He skates across the ice to the part nearest to me and removes his helmet. Pointing up at me, I'm sure I see a wide smile spread across his face. The jumbotron flashes to him, which confirms exactly that. He kisses his palm, blowing it up toward me. The crowd roars as I watch him smiling at me through the screen. I know he can't see the jersey I'm wearing, but I can feel every single butterfly in my stomach as they dance around happily.

He's beautiful, and finally, he's all mine.

Zach stands between my legs as I sit on his kitchen counter.My lips are swollen, and my cheeks are sensitive from the way we haven't stopped making out since we got back to his place.

Our place.

Our apartment.

Kissing my forehead, he stares down into my eyes. "I'm serious, you know; I want you to make this place exactly how you want it. Color it with all your brightness."

I look around at the beautiful interior. "Actually, I kind of like the monochrome feel you have going on."

He balks at my admission. "This is a joke, right? Where's the Luna who wanted to paint every wall in the beach house yellow?"

I shrug. "This is you. This place, it's a reflection of you. A part of the man I love."

He plays with a few strands of my hair, wrapping them around his tattooed fingers. "I want you to keep your place in Florida."

There's no way I can afford that with zero income. "Zach, that's just not?—"

"Luna." He runs both of his huge palms down the sides of my face and then through my hair, sweeping it over my shoulders. "Let me take care of this for you. You're the one who's uprooted your career, your whole fucking life, so we can be together."

"But it's what I wanted too."

He parts my thighs wider, and I feel the way his hard cock brushes against the insides as he steps closer, making my core tighten with anticipation. I feel breathless. He makes me want everything, to experience everything. Just with him.

"You might've wanted it, but I was desperate for it, Rocket. Desperate for you. Just like I always am."

"Well, I'm here now."

He rubs his palms across the tops of my thighs. "Jon told me you're going with the girls to help Felicity pick out a wedding dress."

"I am."

Leaning into me even more, every nerve ending fizzes at the way his lips brush my ear. "Luna Evans. Kind of has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

My body tingles. "Sounds like it could work one day."

Smiling against my mouth as he kisses me, his lips move gently over mine. "I fucking love you so much. Thank you for coming to me. Thank you for being the most incredible woman I know, and thank you for choosing me."

"Never thank me. My world wouldn't be complete without you in it." I pause and hold his gaze. "You seemed more free out there tonight, no hesitation."

"I was. I've been making progress with the psychologist, but in the end, I figured out what the problem was."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Since last year, I've been living my life waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Waiting for the next mistake or bad decision. But with you by my side, I feel safe and secure. Asking you to be mine was the greatest decision I could ever make. Everything else just doesn't seem that important as long as I have you."

My pulse quickens at the intensity in his eyes. "You will always have me, Zach. Because you have always had me."

"I'm in so deep with you, and I don't feel any fear. All I feel is the way my heart beats for you—for us." He reaches forward and places my hand over his heart. "Your name is etched into this. It's my deepest tattoo, one that can never be removed."

"Good. Because you're stuck with me."

He kisses me with an urgency we've never shared before, a desperation and promise of more. Tonight is the first night we'll spend as a couple officially living together, and I want him to spend all of it inside me. I trace a fingernail over his chest. "Is it true what they say about hockey players after their games?"

He narrows his eyes playfully. "Be more specific."

"That they have a lot of pent-up adrenaline."

Wrapping my legs around his waist, he pulls me toward him until he presses against my core, our clothes the only thing stopping us from going further. "Oh, it's true."

I kiss him once more. "Then take me to our bed."