Chapter 58

fifty-eight

ISLA

The next few months fly by in a whirlwind of stolen moments between games, phone sex when Maddox is away, and finding our new normal. It's been an adjustment. Ever since that night when Maddox publicly professed his love, we've gotten a lot of attention.

A lot.

It's gotten to the point that Maddox asked me to move in with him last week. His building has a doorman and security. Mine… Well, mine doesn't, and I've had more than my fair share of paps and obsessed fans ambush me on my way out the door in the morning. As much as I hate to admit to my protective boyfriend that it freaks me out, it does. He told me he's been wanting to ask me to move in with him for a while. This just gave him a reason.

My apartment was packed up a few days later thanks to help from Maddox, Griffin, Jess and Nev, Mira, and Camila. Maddox's mom is great, and Mira is starting to feel like a sister. They all helped move my things into Maddox's apartment yesterday.

Well, our apartment, now.

Everything has changed so much in such a short time.

We're celebrating our cohabitation tonight. The guys have a rare three day break in between games, so Maddox rented out a restaurant for us and all our closest friends. Normally, we'd just book a big table, but with all the fan and media curiosity about our relationship, this is the only way either of us will be able to truly enjoy ourselves.

"You rented out Rêveur?" I ask with a laugh as he pulls up to the scene of our first—sorry, our practice —date. "How did you manage that?"

He gives me a wink as he turns off the car. "I have my ways."

I giggle as he opens my car door and helps me climb out. "You offered box seats to the owner, didn't you?"

"And two jerseys signed by all the guys on the team, yeah." The grin he gives me melts my insides. The way his chocolate eyes crinkle in the corners tells me he's truly happy.

He smiles like that a lot these days.

So do I.

It hasn't all been sunshine and roses since we made up. We bicker and argue like every couple does. But the beautiful moments far outweigh the annoying ones, and I've never been happier.

I love him so much, and I no longer doubt he loves me. Maddox makes it clear every single day that he chooses me. That he's proud of me. And of being seen with me. He shows me off every chance he gets, and his Gravedigger moniker is rarely uttered these days. Now people love to give him a hard time for how often he gushes about me and our relationship. He's unapologetic about being my biggest fan, and I'm equally unapologetic about being his.

As long as it's not an afternoon game during the school week, I go to every single one of Maddox's games with Mira. I wear his jersey and cheer like a madwoman.

My boyfriend holds my hand as we stroll into the restaurant. We're greeted by Kacey, the same hostess who seated me the night I first met Maddox. Her eyes grow wide when she spots us, and a huge smile lights up her face.

"Welcome back to Rêveur! The rest of your party has already arrived. Please follow me." She gives me a wink.

"Surprised to see us here together again?" I tease.

She shakes her head. "Nah. I'm a hockey fan, so I saw the post-game spectacle a few months ago."

Maddox chuckles. "Is there anyone who hasn't seen it by now?"

"I got to tell my friends that I witnessed your first date." She snickers. "Who would have thought it would lead here?"

"Yeah." Maddox squeezes my hand. "I was a dick that night, that's for sure."

"Well, I'm glad to see it didn't get in the way of true love." She gives us both a broad smile as we make it to the massive table full of the people who've become like family. "Please let me know if you need anything." She starts to walk away before pausing. She hesitates for just a moment before saying, "Do you think I could get a photo with you two? Is that weird? I just feel like a fangirl after everything."

I laugh. It's still completely bizarre that anyone would ask for a photo with me, but it happens occasionally. With Kacey, it's a no-brainer. She was so sweet that day. "Of course."

We take a quick photo with just the three of us, then Maddox ropes all of his teammates into taking a photo with the star-struck hostess. She nearly floats away from our table.

Maddox and I exchange hugs and greetings with everyone before settling down in our seats. The table is raucous and full of laughter. I grin when I spot Nev flirting with Sebastian, who smiles politely at her, but it's obvious she's not going to snag the goalie. His heart is elsewhere. I can tell. I just don't know who holds it. Jess tries to flirt with Griffin, but he's too busy joking around with Mira and making her cackle loudly. When it's clear Jess isn't going to get anywhere with Wright, she turns her attention to Logan.

It's chaotic and wild. It's perfect.

A voice greets us right as my stomach rumbles.

"Good evening and welcome to Rêveur. My name is?—"

"Alex?" Jessica's incredulous voice cuts through the din, and my head whips up.

Alex? As in my ex-fiancé, Alex?

"Jess?" Alex's blue eyes are full of shock as he stares at my best friend. Then his gaze shifts as he takes in Nevaeh and the table full of hockey players. His face pales when he sees Griffin before his eyes land on me. And Maddox's arm around my shoulders. His voice comes out in a croak. "Isla?"

I'm gaping like a fish. I know I am. But I mean, what the hell? What is Alex doing here, waiting tables? The last I heard, he'd gotten that prestigious position at the law firm he'd been grasping at. "Alex? What… What are you doing here?"

"I—" His face blanches even further before a furious blush overtakes his face. He opens his mouth, shuts it, then opens it again. Then, he turns on his heels and sprints out of the dining room.

Silence stretches over the table until Sebastian turns to Nev and says, "Wait, was that Isla's ex?"

Nevaeh nods.

The table is silent for a few beats, then everyone's talking over each other.

I turn to Maddox, my eyebrows hitting my hairline. "What just happened?"

"I have no idea." His nose scrunches. "I thought he was a lawyer."

"Me too," I say.

Kacey, noticing the commotion, comes back over to our table. "What happened? Is everything okay?"

"Um, we're fine, but I think we're going to need a different server."

Kacey frowns, her attention swinging to the doors leading into the kitchen. "What happened to Alex?"

"He's probably massaging his bruised ego in the bathroom," Griffin offers.

Our hostess waits for an explanation. Griffin grins.

"You know. Because he's Isla's asshole ex-fiancé, and the last thing any of us knew, he was claiming to be some hot-shot lawyer."

"No way," Kacey says, her eyes going wide. She turns to me. "That guy's your ex?"

I nod.

"I hate that guy! "

The whole table laughs at her frank statement, and Mira leans forward. "Do you know what happened?"

Kacey cackles like she's a super villain who's about to ruin someone's life. And maybe she is about to ruin Alex's, but I have a feeling she's about to make mine better. "Oh, yeah. I know what happened. A few of us made it our mission to find out after he started, because he's such an insufferable asshole. He acts like he's better than everyone, even though he's working the same job as the rest of us."

"Well, don't leave us hanging, Kace," Griffin says with a wink. Kacey blushes at the nickname.

"Apparently, a few months after getting some fancy job at one of the biggest law firms in town, Alex's boss walked in on him boning his much-younger wife against the boss's desk." My jaw drops and Kacey shakes her head. "Can you believe that guy? He wasn't even banging her in his own office. He did it in his boss's because he thought banging the boss's wife in a corner office with a view of the city would somehow manifest the success he thought he deserved in life." Kacey snickers.

I'm just gaping at her. I wish I could say I can't believe Alex would do something like that, but the fact of the matter is, I can. He was probably banging other people's wives while we were together, too.

"Needless to say, he got fired, and now he's been blacklisted. Apparently, he couldn't even get a job as a public defender. So here he is. Well, for now. He'll probably get fired from this job too, after the stunt he just pulled."

"Oh my god," I murmur. I can't believe any of that just happened. "What an asshole."

Maddox chuckles, squeezing my shoulder. "What an asshole, indeed. Good to see Karma getting it right, occasionally."

"Here, here," my besties agree, raising their water glasses.

"Let me just grab a pencil and a pad and I'll be right back to take your order," Kacey tells us.

"You good?" Maddox asks me. He studies my expression, looking for any signs of distress.

But I don't feel distressed. I don't feel anything at all for Alex Jones, outside of a deep sense of gratitude that I didn't end up married to him.

To think, if he hadn't dumped me, I'd probably be at home tonight, miserable and alone, while he was off screwing some busty blonde at a work dinner . The thought is truly horrifying. I suppose, in a way, I owe Alex my thanks. If he hadn't been such a colossal asshole, I never would have met Maddox. I wouldn't be living with the sweetest grump that ever lived or sitting around a table filled with hockey players who have my back like brothers, or a woman I hope will become my sister-in-law one day.

"I'm good," I answer honestly. Leaning into Maddox's arm, I sigh deeply. "I'm so good."

Maddox flashes me an indulgent smile before pressing a searing kiss to my lips. Everyone at the table cheers.

Who could have predicted any of this when Jess and Nev won that date auction? They thought they'd bid on a night of no-pressure fun to help me out of my post-Alex shell. In their minds, they won a fun night out on the town for me.

In reality? It was love I won that night.

And when Maddox looks at me like I'm the best thing that's ever happened to him, I know this is a love I'll keep winning. We both got a taste of what it would be like to lose each other, and neither of us will ever let that happen again.

Leaning against Maddox's strong chest, I say a silent thanks to Alex, my best friends, and I even take a page out of Jess's book and thank Chris Hemsworth. However it happened, I found the kind of love most people spend their whole lives hoping for.

I can't wait to see what comes next.