EPILOGUE Mer - Six Months Later

“Last chance to run,” Piper whispered, wagging her eyebrows. Her white-blonde hair was pulled back in an updo and she looked beautiful in a light green dress that perfectly matched her eyes.

“No way,” I said with a laugh. I wanted to go to a courthouse as soon as Colt asked me to marry him, but I think he wanted a party, so we waited and planned. I was glad we did it this way because Lucy and I had so much fun shopping and picking everything out. But now I was ready. I wanted to call Colt my husband. I wanted to be his wife.

“Didn’t think so.” Piper smiled. “If only our teen selves could see us now.” She gave my hand a squeeze and then reached to pick up her little bouquet.

Lucy, dressed in an adorable white flower girl dress with a big bow on the back, peeked out a little window to see the lakefront where a hundred chiavari chairs had been set up. “Daddy’s up there in his fancy suit!” she said excitedly. “Is it time?!”

Piper went to her side to look through the little window, then shared a look with Lucy. “It’s time.”

Lucy let out a little squeal of excitement before twirling in her dress. She stopped suddenly and patted her head. “Did I mess up my hair?” Her hair was twisted into french braids which ended in a little bun.

“Not at all,” Piper told her with a smile. “Alright, ready? Remember how we’re gonna walk?”

“Poised and chic and confident!” Lucy repeated.

“That’s right,” Piper smiled proudly, giving her a high-five. “Let’s go.”

I just laughed. Piper had been giving Lucy ice dance lessons and I predicted Lucy would be prioritizing ice dance over freestyle sometime soon.

The three of us headed out into the breezy June day and the crystal blue water came into view. This place became our peaceful oasis this year, and I loved it. We still mainly lived closer to the city during hockey season, but Colt purchased this lake house as a getaway for us. The log-cabin A-frame build resembled a ski lodge, and the exposed wood on the inside gave the whole house a cozy feel. I loved that we had enough rooms for all our friends to stay, and it honestly looked a lot like the house we saw when pond skating as teens, but this one had a bigger porch.

The fact that we were using our own house as our wedding venue made the whole thing feel more special. We hired a company to come out and place chairs and cocktail tables and a huge tent out on the property. It was perfect.

Lucy, Piper, and I hid behind a corner of the porch and waited for Ellie, our wedding coordinator, to motion for Piper to start walking. Lucy was practically bouncing with excitement.

“You ready?” I grasped her hand in mine.

Her lips twisted to contain her smile and she gave a nod.

Ellie gave her the okay and Lucy bounded down the stairs. I swear, the whole crowd let out a collective “aww” and Colt beamed with pride at his little girl.

“Oh shit,” I mumbled to myself. I couldn't believe I almost forgot. Flashing a one second sign to Ellie, I quickly stumbled back inside to dig through my purse. Before walking back outside, I caught sight of myself in the mirror and stilled. Because of figure skating, I’d worn a lot of dresses in my life, but this one was my favorite by far. I’d chosen a simple white gown with a small bow at the back. My hair was pulled into a low bun with some face framing pieces hanging loose, and I completed the look with light makeup.

For so many years, I thought I missed my chance at this. I thought if I did ever get married, there’s no way it’d be a time of celebration, but a day of doom, because there’s no way I’d ever love another person the way I loved Colt. The fact that we made it back to each other and to this day felt like a miracle. Standing there, my eyes filled with tears– which I quickly sniffled up because I didn’t want to ruin my makeup.

Grabbing up my bouquet of white flowers and greenery, I took a steadying breath, did a little shimmy to fix my dress, then marched outside.

As soon as my eyes found Colt, everyone else faded away. He stood at the front in his black tux with his hair neatly pushed back. As he watched me walk, his jaw clenched, then his chin quivered, then his eyes turned glassy.

And that’s when my own eyes filled with tears. I let out a little laugh to control my emotions, but I was just so happy. It took all I had in me not to run at him.

When I finally made it to him, I plucked the hundred dollar bill out of my bouquet with shaky fingers and tucked it into his front pocket. When Colt registered what it was, he wiped his eyes and his face split into a huge grin. Pretty sure the whole crowd started simultaneously laughing and crying.

“Best bet of my life,” he said gruffly while dipping down to pick me up. My hands went around his neck and I kissed him deeply, making him groan.

“Woah, woah, not yet,” the priest said behind us, making everyone laugh more.

Colt didn’t even take his shiny eyes from mine when he grinned and said, “Sorry, my wife is just so beautiful.”

________

As soon as the ceremony ended, Colt and I posed for a few pictures, but then I had to excuse myself because I was about to pee myself.

I ran up the stairs and burst into the master suite bathroom as quickly as I could with Piper following on my heels.

“Wait, wait, wait,” she called, ripping out a small package. “Here.” She thrust the small test into my hands.

“I’m probably not,” I said, trying to dull my own hopes.

She rolled her lips together and nodded thoughtfully as she sat on the edge of the tub.

My heart sank. “You think I’m not?”

“No,” she said quickly with wide eyes. “I’m trying to be neutral. If you are, then it’ll be an even happier day. If you’re not, then we can do shots together on the dance floor. Win-win, really.”

“Yeah, win-win,” I repeated, completely distracted while I peed on the stick.

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. Today is about you and Colt. You two have a whole beautiful future ahead of yourselves. You’ll have plenty of time to take care of this particular subject, okay?”

I nodded. I never would’ve even thought to take this test, but when I tried on my dress last night, I complained to Piper that my boobs hurt and I was bloating and cramping like on my period, but it wasn’t coming for some reason.

She paused. “Mer…”

“What?” I adjusted my dress, hissing because my boobs were so sensitive.

“You’re missing your period?”

“Yeah, late,” I said distractedly. “Probably the stress of the wedding.”

“Yeah… or…?” She laughed.

I didn’t.

And now we were here, taking a pregnancy test right before the reception.

“Can we think about something else?” I asked. My neck was starting to itch. “I’m getting nervous. Please distract me.”

“I’m afraid I’m not gonna get another partner in time,” Piper blurted out.

“Shit, I’m sorry, P.”

Her shoulders sagged. “It’s okay. It’s my own fault.”

“No, it’s not. Don’t think that way. It could still happen.”

She shrugged. “I’m the one who got myself labeled as a bad sport.”

Unfortunately, after the last Grand Prix, a camera caught Piper going off about the judges and the unfairness of the competition. She was pissed and she had the right to be. Her and Patrick should’ve won gold. They were ripped off.

But here's the thing that’s more unfair– in other sports, when players got mad at refs or other officials, half the people agreed with them, and then the incident was forgotten about after the next game. But because it was figure skating, and all of us were trained to contain our emotions and portray a perfect facade, what she did wasn’t okay.

“That’s not fair and we both know it.” The people who labeled her that way had no clue what it took to make it in figure skating. You had to be a competitor to stay in a sport like ours. You had to be even more competitive to make it as far as Piper.

“Yeah.” She frowned and took another sip of her champagne. “You don’t think it’s true, do you? What they’re saying about me?” She twisted her lips.

“No Piper, not at all,” I swore. “You’ll find another partner and you’ll win your Olympic gold, and that will be what you’re remembered for, not one stupid moment, which you were in the right about anyway,” I pointed out.

“Yeah.” She rolled her lips together. “Okay, it’s time,” she said, wagging her eyebrows.

We both leaned over the stick.

Two little lines appeared. My body froze.

“I’m gonna be an auntie times two.” Piper fanned her face to stop from crying more, then grabbed me up into a tight hug. “You have to go tell Colt. He’ll be so happy.”

“You think?” I hiccuped, still in shock.

“I don’t think , I know ,” she said firmly. “Go tell him. I’m so happy for you,” she whispered while hugging me tighter.

I laughed for a second, then my laughing turned into crying. A baby . Me and Colt. We made a baby. My hand flitted to my abdomen and then even more tears pooled in my eyes.

“Oh my God, I’m a mess.” I sniffled. “You’re okay? You need to talk more? I’m sorry I changed the subject.”

“No, it’s your day. I’m sorry I even brought up my own shit.” She waved it away. “We can talk about all that any other day. Today is a happy day, okay?”

“You’re sure?” I asked doubtfully.

“One hundred percent. I will be mad at you if you worry about me right now, got it?” she said sternly. Then her face broke and she pulled me into another bone-crushing hug. “I’m so happy for you.” She pulled back. “But I call Godmother, okay? I’m gonna fix my lipstick real quick.”

Still half-laughing and half-crying, I pushed out of the bathroom and bumped into another large hockey guy in a tux.

Kappy turned around and quickly steadied my shoulders. He took one look at my face and his own creased in worry. “What’s wrong? Don’t cry, dance instead! Did you know that dancing can be more helpful than SSRI’s?”

I felt like I'd heard that before, but I couldn’t remember where. I shook my head. “No, I’m crying because I’m happy.” I laughed, wiping my eyes and smiling.

“Oh.” His face relaxed and he rocked back on his heels. His bowtie was already missing and the top of his shirt was undone. I was sure he’d lose his tux jacket pretty soon too. “That’s good then. You deserve to be happy, Mer Bear.” He pulled me in for a hug, then looked down at me with a creased forehead. “Where’s Piper the Viper? Thought she went in there with you?” His eyes went to the bathroom door.

“She’s coming.” I patted his chest.

“Is she on a warpath?” he joked with an easy grin.

“No, be nice to her, okay? She’s having a hard time right now.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Her and Patrick broke up.”

His jaw dropped. “What? Why?”

I shrugged. “Patrick wants to retire.”

His face fell. “Well, what about her? What’s she going to do? Can she get another partner before the Olympics?”

“She’s gonna try.” I didn’t say aloud how hard it would be to find someone. Not only was she on the taller side for an ice dancer, but it was also late for the Olympic cycle coming up. And now that she was working against a bad reputation… Yeah, it was going to be a tough find.

He smoothed out his jacket. “I’ll talk to ol’ Patty boy. He’s here, right?”

“What?” I laughed.

His hands went to his hips. “Yeah, I’ll convince him to twirl with her again or I’ll break his fuckin’ legs.”

A laugh popped out of me and I patted his chest. “You sound like the Godfather. And you will do no such thing. He’s tired, he’s allowed to retire, Kappy.”

“No, he’s not. It’s not right to leave her hanging. I’m upset now.”

Wow, okay. I did not think he’d be so affected by what was happening to Piper– his sworn enemy since we were teens.

“She’ll be okay, Kappy. It’s Piper, she always finds a way.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look too convinced.

Scooching past him, I spotted Colt outside mingling by the cocktail tables. The sun had set and we had the perfect, glowy blue night. The lanterns and lights placed all around the lawn and in the tent were beginning to sparkle brightly. The DJ was just getting started and Lucy and a couple other little kids were all running around with glow sticks.

As I made my way across the lawn, I heard Hans and JP talking about Aliona, and I stuttered to a stop.

“Oh, did you guys see Ali?” I asked hopefully. “Did she come?”

JP stiffened. Hans shook his head and gave a sad smile.

Dang it. My shoulders sagged. “I invited her. She said she’d come, but maybe she couldn’t get time off,” I spouted off the lame excuse.

“She’ll come home one day,” Hans said, giving a somber smile.

JP shifted uncomfortably before throwing back what was left of his amber-colored drink and stalking away.

I knew why she didn’t want to come, and I bet Hans probably had a pretty good idea too, but it wasn’t my place to share her reasons with anyone else. She was still hopping around on different skating tours– exactly what I’d done until this last year. Over the past couple months, Piper and I tried inviting her to Chicago, but she ditched out on every plan we made. I understood it. I just hoped she’d come here one day and see that it was possible to stop running and create a home. Laying my eyes on Colt in his tux, I was sure that settling down was the best decision of my life.

Lucy and the gaggle of little kids holding mini-sticks ran up to Han and asked him to play the ref.

Excusing myself, I walked toward Colt, who was chatting with some of his old teammates.

As soon as I walked up, he fully turned his back on his friends and picked me up in his arms.

“There you are,” he said softly. “You look like an angel. My angel. So beautiful, Mer.” His eyes were hazy with lust and a little alcohol.

“Are you drunk?” I laughed, patting his cheek. He was walking us toward the lake and I was glad for it because I wanted a little privacy for this conversation.

“No,” he lied. I arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m a little tipsy,” he conceded. “The guys made me take shots.” He chuckled. “Are you?”

I shook my head and bit my lip. “I have something to tell you.”

“Me first,” he grinned, making his dimple pop out. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I giggled and traced his eyebrow with my thumb before kissing him once more.

He placed me back on my feet and grabbed my hand while we walked the edge of the property by the lake.

“Remember my seventeenth birthday?” I asked.

He stopped and dropped his head back in thought for a second, his tongue peeked out the side of his mouth. “Pond skating, right? I was a smooth little bastard, eh?”

“Yes, you really were.” I smiled and looped my arms around his waist. “Remember when we were talking about our after?”

“Yeah,” He smirked down at me. “I was gonna buy you a big ring.” He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles. “I’d say check, eh?”

“Definitely. What else?” I mused, echoing my younger self.

“And a big old house,” he said, making my heart swell over the fact that he remembered the conversation just as well as I did. His eyebrows lifted and he gestured to the house behind us.

“Check,” I said, biting my lip.

“And as for the babies.” He dipped lower and inconspicuously trailed his strong hand up my leg. “We can–”

“Check.”

His hand paused. His face went slack. His gaze darted to my abdomen. It was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Then his apple watch went off, telling me his heart rate was spiking.

I burst out laughing with tears in my eyes, probably destroying my makeup. I always wanted us to have this version of after, but at seventeen, it felt like such a pipe dream.

He stood to his full height and took my face in his hands. “Mer, baby,” his voice wavered, “are you serious?” He tried his hardest to fight off a grin, but he was losing.

I nodded, smiling through my tears.

In an instant, he wrapped me up in his arms. “You’ve got my whole fucking heart, Mer. It’s completely yours, it’s always been yours. I love you, baby.”