EpilogueOlivia

EPILOGUE

AARON

“I miss her,” I complain as I take a sip of my beer—yes, beer, because it’s New Years Eve, and this is a party, and tonight, I’m relaxing and having a drink with my teammates.

“It’s been three days, bro,” Jake responds with a scowl, but his eyes are twinkling. “What time does she get in tonight?”

“Around 11:45. She’ll probably drop by here after, if she’s not too tired.”

I was looking forward to ringing in the new year with my new girlfriend, but we both have jobs that take us to different places, and right now, she’s on a plane flying in from Tokyo. Tomorrow, we’ll move her into her new apartment. I’m excited to see how things play out from there, because no matter what, we got this.

Our relationship, no matter how it started—going from hate to love and living together before we were even dating—will always be ours. A story that’s completely unique to us. Right for us.

I even sent her an invite to Words With Friends so we can play Scrabble when we’re apart. She’s going to make fun of me for that and call me a nerd, and I’m going to love it.

Nothing could make me stop loving her.

“And let me guess, if she is too tired, you’ll leave the party and go home to her,” Jake says drily as he cracks open another Dos Equis.

My lips slide into a smile. “Busted.”

“Whipped as all hell, my man.”

“Takes one to know one,” I say with a smirk, because even as he says the words, Jake’s eyes are firmly on Sofia, who is currently dancing up a storm with Lena, Stefani, and none other than Coach Torres.

Our coach lets his hair down precisely once a year: at our annual team New Year’s Eve party. This year is no exception—the guy’s wearing a pair of huge, sparkly comedy New Year’s glasses and absolutely dominating the dance floor. Like, to the point that I’m worried he might sustain a groin injury.

“I’m gonna get another drink,” I tell Jake, but he’s not listening. He’s making a beeline for the dance floor to scoop Sofia into his arms.

As I make my way to the bar, I notice that Reagan and Triple J are cozily whispering together at the edge of the dance floor. I also spot Lieberman and his wife slow dancing to a pulsing rap song, which is pretty hilarious to witness.

The GM sees me and gives me a nod, which I return, before he looks back down at his wife.

After the press conference the other night, I was pretty sure Lieberman was going to insist I be demoted, but I ultimately knew that, no matter what happened, I would never regret speaking the truth about the woman I love.

Turns out, he was impressed with the way I dealt with the press. Apparently, one of the main reasons he vouched for Slater as captain in the first place was because Seb’s a family man and he believed Seb would bring the same maturity and commitment to the role as Mal did.

Lieberman went on to admit that I’ve shown much better leadership than he thought I would, and that I clearly have a team-first mentality. He said I’ve shown myself to be a man who fights for what he loves, and he respects that. We shook hands and left things on a good note that gives me hope for the rest of this hockey season and beyond.

And honestly, I see what he meant. After the guys on the team heard my impassioned speech—because, of course, it aired absolutely everywhere—they seem to have even more respect for me. Faith in me.

They believe in me, and I believe in myself too. I know I won’t let them down.

At the bar, I’m surprised to find Dallas—who turned up without a date tonight—slinging back a shot, alone.

“Hey, Cap.” He hiccups. “Let me buy you a shot. ”

I chuckle at my teammate’s flushed cheeks and slightly slurred words. “Sure.”

The bartender pours a couple more tequilas, and I down mine with a wince. Dallas, meanwhile, doesn’t even flinch, and instead, he beckons the bartender for yet another.

I hold up a hand to signal that I’m good, then turn to my teammate with a brow raised. “Everything okay, Coop?”

He slouches against the bar. “Yeah, don’t worry ‘bout me, Cap.”

But he isn’t smiling.

Nope, he’s staring straight into the bottom of his empty shot glass, lost in his thoughts.

Hmm. This is definitely out-of-character for sarcastic, confident, easygoing Dallas who’s usually the life of the party. And usually flirting and dancing with every woman at said party.

Girl trouble, maybe?

I suddenly remember something he said on the way to the Christmas tree farm.

“Hey, whatever happened to that girl you met a few weeks ago? The one you talked to all night?”

Dallas laughs, but the sound is almost bitter, and I have a feeling I hit on something. His eyes fix on something—some one ?—on the dance floor. I follow his gaze and am surprised to see that he’s looking at Coach Torres. “A definite no-go.”

I frown in confusion, but don’t prompt him. Just wait.

He swallows. Scrubs a hand over his eyes. “Can you keep a secret?”

“Always.”

“Turns out she’s Torres’ daughter.”

“Caelin?!” I’m unable to keep the shock out of my tone.

Dallas turns his slightly unfocused baby blues on me. “You know her?”

“We’ve met. How in the hell did you manage to spend a whole night talking to her and not realize who she was?”

“I don’t know,” Dallas replies with a groan. “I swear I had no idea. She didn’t seem to know who I was, either. But after the whole Sadie debacle, if Coach finds out that I made a move on his damn daughter , I’m gonna be traded in a heartbeat.”

“No.” I shake my head. “You’re a hell of a player. You and Griz together on the same line are practically unstoppable. Coach knows you’re a good guy, too.”

“Doubtful.” Dallas grimaces. “Do you know he hauled me into his office a couple days after the cockroach thing and tore me a new one?”

I bite my cheek. “No.”

“He figured out that Sadie’s apparent vendetta against you was actually rooted in something I did.” Dallas winces a little. “Which I’m very sorry about, by the way, dude. We did go out a couple of times, and after it ended, I suspected she wasn’t happy, but I didn’t expect her to go out of her way to take down anyone who might be seen as a playboy hockey player. You got caught in her crosshairs, and that was my fault.”

I pause for a moment, letting his words sink in, and then shake my head. “Sadie’s behavior was her choice, no matter what you did or didn’t do.”

This goes for both Sadie and Brandi.

The two have been quiet lately—we played Baltimore last night, and every question Sadie asked me before the game was actually related to hockey. As for Brandi, I had a high-tech security system added to both my house and Olivia’s new apartment, in case of any future incidents.

I’m not too worried about her, though. Thanks to some leaked info by an anonymous source (who was definitely Reagan), TMZ did a big write-up about Brandi’s antics and how she’s blackmailed multiple celebrities and athletes. Meaning that pretty much any credibility she had is now in the gutter.

I can’t say I feel one bit sorry for her.

Unlike for my teammate, who seems totally down in the dumps right now. I put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “I’d never blame you for all that ridiculous media B.S. And neither would Coach.”

“I think he does, though.” Dallas looks stricken for a moment, but he shakes it off, his jaw setting. “I liked Caelin. We had a connection.” He grabs another shot and pounds it. Wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and huffs a laugh. “But, oh well. You win some, you lose some.”

My thoughts turn to my beautiful, fiery redhead, and my lips quirk in a smile. “Never say never, bro. If it’s right, it’ll happen. Even against all odds. Love has a funny way of showing up when you least expect it—and where you never dare to imagine it.”

He snorts. “Maybe for you.”

“Either way, you’re a fundamental part of this team. And no matter what goes down, me and the guys have your back, always.”

“Thanks, Marino.” His expression softens at my words. “And speaking of all this mushy stuff, where’s our Lil Griz tonight?”

“Yeah, where’s Olivia?” Triple J appears beside us. He’s wearing a party hat and is holding a huge fishbowl cocktail with an umbrella in it. Holding it with two hands, to be precise—he’s carrying at least a gallon of liquid.

I explain to my teammates that Olivia’s flying back from Tokyo and she might not make it until after midnight, if she feels up to coming at all.

Jimmy looks appalled. “Well, that’s not good enough.”

“What do you mean?” I tilt my head at him.

“I mean, we should all be together to ring in the new year.” He nods firmly. “And whether she likes it or not, Olivia’s one of us now.”

“She is,” Dallas agrees.

A slow smile starts to spread on my lips. “You’re right. It’s not right that she’s not here.” My mind is whirring with a sudden idea. “In fact, if she can’t be here, I should be there .”

“You should,” Seb pipes up from where he’s walking up behind me, an arm wrapped around Maddie’s waist.

I face my teammates with a slight frown. “Would you guys mind if I bail on the party?”

Triple J takes a long, noisy suck of his drink through the crazy loopy straw. “Maybe we should come, too.”

“What?”

“Yes.” Dallas is grinning at Triple J. “Just like you have our backs, Cap, we have yours. So, let’s go get your girl. Actually, let’s round everyone up and we’ll all go.”

I chuckle. “So, what? Order a bunch of Ubers to convoy to the airport?”

Jimmy shrugs nonchalantly. “Or we could take the limo I hired for the evening.”