Epilogue

Aelin cheered as the Snowballs took the ice, her eyes searching for a familiar face among the players. There he was. Number eighteen, Ryan Vargo, his hair peeking out from under his helmet as he did a few warm-up laps.

"Go Ryan!" Amaya shouted beside her, nearly bouncing out of her seat with excitement. On Aelin's other side, Bailey clapped and smiled shyly.

The atmosphere in the packed arena was electric as the Snowballs faced off against their rivals. Aelin glanced down the row where Jenna, Rhonda, Melissa, Emma, and Penny sat decked out in Snowballs jerseys. Russ and Laura sat next to Amaya, a blanket spread over their laps.

The referee's whistle pierced the air and the crowd roared as the puck dropped. Aelin leaned forward, absorbed in the action on the ice. Ryan skated with powerful strides, maneuvering around defenders. She didn't know anything other than that they wanted blue to get the puck in the opposite net, so she kept quiet as the other women commentated next to her.

"Did you see that hit? Our boys aren't messing around tonight!" Rhonda laughed as a Snowballs player checked an opponent into the boards .

"Jordan is playing dirty though," Jenna noted with a frown.

Aelin leaned forward. "Who's Jordan?"

Jenna pointed. "Captain of Pucks Deep. He's always taking cheap shots behind the ref's back."

"He's just doing what everyone else out there is doing." Rhonda shrugged. "Trying to get under their skin."

Jenna gave her a sidelong glance, but didn't comment. As the game intensified, so did the cheers and shouts from the stands.

"REF! Are you blind? Call something!" Emma hollered.

"Go Brett!" Penny cupped her hands around her mouth.

Aelin got swept up in the moment, in the simple joy of being here with friends and watching her boyfriend cut it up on the ice. She let Russ answer the girls' questions about the game and bought them hot dogs between the second and third period.

As the final buzzer sounded, the crowd erupted. Aelin was fairly sure the Snowballs had won, but before she could ask which team was home and which was away, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and sighed.

Clark:

I won't be able to pick Bailey up this weekend. Something came up

Aelin drew a breath, then tapped a response

No problem. I'm sure it will work out next time

It rarely did these days. She and Bailey had plenty of chats about why that was, and Aelin hoped someday Bailey would understand that it had nothing to do with her.

After the game, Aelin walked with the girls hand in hand, weaving through the buzzing crowd to wait at the top of the stairs leading down to the locker rooms. Aelin loved this part best.

Tyler emerged first, his dark hair still damp from his post-game shower. He grinned and greeted the girls, then stood and shook his head. "I'm telling you, I can never keep good managers at the townhouses."

"There are only four units, Bowen." Aelin grinned. She hadn't had to do one showing or hand over any keys the entire three months she'd been there.

"I'm sure I'll survive somehow." He winked, then headed off to find Emma.

Moments later, Ryan appeared, his grey eyes immediately finding Aelin's. Her heart still jumped into her throat at the sight of him even though now she got to see him every single day.

Before Ryan could take a step, Amaya and Bailey bolted toward him.

"Dad, you were amazing!" Amaya threw her arms around him.

"You killed it." Bailey added herself to the hug.

Ryan pulled back and all three of them lifted their hands and sang, "Slay!"

Straightening, his eyes locked onto Aelin, and he walked between the girls toward her. She met him halfway, melting into his arms.

"You left your hair down," she murmured.

He leaned in and whispered, "This Ryan is just for you."