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Hank snickers, reaching toward us. I take his hands, but he frowns, slapping them away. “I don’t want you. I want Olivia.” She shoves me out of the way with one hip and embraces Hank. “This is so much better than what we had planned.”
I flick her ear. “Do your job.” She does, with as much flourish as I do most things, one foot popped as she sprinkles the cheese over the sauce. “Does she know you wanna marry her?” “What?” My gaze ricochets between my annoying sister and Olivia. “I said does she know you’re in love with her.”
Olivia’s eyes narrow as she pins her arms across her chest. “Oh, I see. You two Beckett children are one and the same.” “Assholes?” Mom guesses. “Yeah, blame their father, not me.”
Adam reaches for my Oreos on the table, but frowns and crosses his arms when I shoot him a look. “Seriously, how long are you two gonna dance around the words we all know you’re dying to say?” “Give them a break.” Emmett flops down beside me, smiling at Olivia, and I’m grateful for the distraction. Until he keeps speaking. “Carter’s still coming to terms with the fact that he loves someone more than himself and Oreos. Ollie’s struggling to admit to herself that she’s in love with the world’s most arrogant, controlling, annoying man. It would be impossible for anybody to wrap their head around
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“I’m gonna score a goal for you!” she shrieks. “What about me?” Jeremy asks. “You gonna score one for your old man?” Alannah scoffs. “Get lost, Dad. There’s a new man in town.”
“And I … Courtney was … she was …” His voice cracks as he whispers out a barely audible fuck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know who to call. I don’t know what to do. I don’t think I can drive, but I can’t stay here. I need to get the hell out.” Each word comes out faster than the last until it sounds like he’s on the verge of a panic attack. “Okay, man, take a breath.” I wait until I hear that staggered inhale. “Tell me what happened.” “I caught Courtney in bed with someone else.”
Leaning my forehead against hers, I lay her wet hair over her shoulder before kissing her lips once more. My next breath rocks me to my core, and yet not as much as my next words do. “I want to show you how much I love you.”
“I love you, Carter.” Throwing my arms around his neck and my body in his lap, I tackle him to the ground—all two-hundred-and-twenty-five pounds of him—and assault him with an onslaught of kisses that I cannot foresee ever ending.
“I love you.” “Again.” “I love you.” He growls, , fingertips digging into my hips as he pushes off the ground, nipping at my lip. “One more time.” I drop my lips to his, a slow kiss coasting across his mouth. “I love you so much, Carter.” “If I had to choose between you and Oreos for the rest of my life, I’d choose you every day, always.” “Such a loaded statement.” His nose trails my jaw. “You know how much I love Oreos.”
“I love you, Olivia. Thank you for loving me back.” How could I not? He’s a dream I never dared to dream. Flawed only in such a way that makes him wonderfully perfect. Kind and goofy with a massive heart, fiercely loyal, wildly passionate. I had been so afraid to love this man, a man who holds so much love in his heart, because I was too scared to see through his past, to know the real Carter.
“I’ve made so many mistakes in my life. So many. But you, Ollie? You’re the first thing I’ve done right.”
“One kiss, Olivia. One kiss and I was done. My world obliterated the second my lips touched yours.”
But there are still those quiet moments, those days where she doesn’t speak, where all she does is think, remember. They were so in love, and I know they’ll never lose that, but now all she has is the memories of what that felt like.” Those green eyes shine with unshed tears as he looks down at me, and my nose tingles with my own urge to cry. For once, I’d like to be the strong one for both of us, so I kiss his chest and run my fingers up and down his arm. “I guess I never wanted to be able to have that effect on a person, or vice versa. It’s scary to think that losing somebody can absolutely
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“I know you think your tears are a weakness, Ollie, but they show me how huge your heart is.”
He tucks my hair behind my ear. “You know what I think? I think we’re afraid of the things that have the power to change our lives. My life changed for the better that day I locked eyes with you. So much for the better, Ollie. I’m better when I’m with you.”
“I’m gonna love you the way you deserve to be loved every single day for the rest of your life and my life. I promise.”
Ollie Girl, I’ve made a lot of mistakes, lived my life a little too carelessly, in ways that people didn’t approve of. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Because I was waiting for you. Waiting for a love that would walk into my life and blow my whole world up. I want to celebrate every Valentine’s Day & birthday with you. Love, Carter
Olivia takes my face in her hands. “You’re perfectly flawed, and I’m going to love you through all your faults, because you love me through mine.”
I barely see Jem before Jeremy is shoving him into my arms. “Would you quit shoving our son off like you can’t wait to get rid of him?” Kristin scolds. “He wanted to see his Uncle Carter.” He smirks as he says the name, but the joke’s on him; I secretly like it.
“Carter,” she breathes into the dark. “I didn’t see you.” “But I saw you. And I love you, so fucking much.”
I stroll through the extensive home theater next to the game room—I know, the irony that we prefer to build a fort—and finally find them in the impressive home gym. Jem is strapped to Carter’s chest, gnawing on that silicone hockey skate he loves so much. The sight has my lady parts doing a little dance, and I shift a little uncomfortably where I stand. “Hey, pumpkin. You found us.” He and Alannah are sitting side by side, doing bicep curls. Alannah’s weights are tiny and pink, and with each curl, she grunts out a huuu. “Hey, Auntie Ollie. Oh yeah, baby. Feel the burn!”
The reporter looks my way, as do the rest of them. “And what do you think of Carter dating your, uh …” I resist the overpowering urge to roll my eyes. They’re beating around the bush, trying to figure out what they want to know, which is whether I’m a single mom to two kids. Alannah doesn’t give her a chance to finish the question anyway. She throws both arms around Carter’s neck and smooshes her cheek to his. “I hope they get married and I’ll be the flower girl and they’ll have lots and lots of babies.” Oh shit.
His shaky hands bracket my face, and he clothes his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. Then, with a squeal, he hoists me into this arms and dashes down the stairs. “She said yes!” The volume in the room promptly dies, and I drop my face to my hand as every surprised gaze lifts to us. “You’re getting married?” Garrett finally asks. Carter’s face scrunches. “What? I mean, eventually, yeah, but …” He drops me to my feet, spreads his arms wide, and does a spin. “Olivia’s moving in!”
I nudge her shoulder with mine. “And stop calling it mine. It’s yours too. Not just the balcony, the whole damn house.” “Not yet, not officially.” I roll my eyes. “It’s been yours since you first stepped into it.” Her cheeks tint pink. It’s adorable she still blushes sometimes. “You belong there, Ollie girl, and you always have. It’s yours, whether or not you’re waiting to officially be out of your house and never ever sleep anywhere but our bed again.” “Never ever?” I brush a kiss across her lips. “Never ever ever.”
“Hmm …” She raises her palm in a half shrug. “Plus, you only have seven fireplaces, and I was kinda hoping for an e—” Her words dissolve on my tongue as my mouth takes hers, and I lift her, setting her on my lap, hugging her to me. “Stay, please.”
“He taught me how to set up my rod, how to knot my hooks and bait them. He taught me how to skate, how to puck-handle, how to take a slap shot. He taught me how to turn my shoelaces into bunny ears and tie them, how to make my mom’s favorite dinner to get her to stop being mad at me when I messed up, how to work hard and save money. He taught me how to be a good son, a brother, and a friend.” “And a partner,” Olivia adds. “He taught me how to love. I know how to love you so well because I watched him love my mom so well, love me and my sister so unconditionally. Does that make me a good
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Theodore ‘Theo’ Beckett LOVING HUSBAND & DEVOTED FATHER BEST FRIEND “Remember me as I lived: full of love, laughter, and passion”
I don’t know how long we stand there in silence, but when I’m ready to leave, Olivia presses a kiss to my lips. “Just a second, Carter. There’s something I want to do first.” She approaches my dad’s grave, and when she kneels in front of it, head bowing, my throat constricts. Her head lifts after a moment, and she lays her hand over his name before she stands and makes her way back to me. I don’t know what to say, but she doesn’t ask me to talk, so we ride in silence, her hand in mine in the center console.
“Sure, baby. Where do you want me to stop?” She points at the building up the street. “Just at your condo.” “We can’t go there.” “I’ll be quick.” “I sold the condo, Ollie.”
“It was never my home, Ollie. Not without you.” My home is wherever Olivia is. When we’re lying on the balcony an hour later, freshly showered and wasting away the rest of the afternoon, the warm breeze tickling our skin, this is where I feel it the most, where I could stay forever, so long as it’s with her.
“Can I ask you something, Ollie? What did you say? To my dad? When you knelt down …” “Thank you.” “Thank you?” “I thanked him for bringing me another family, trusting me with loving them. I thanked him for raising the man I love, and for bringing him to me.” Her hand glides along my jaw. “I thanked him for you, Carter.” My chest constricts, my throat squeezing. I look to the sky, and a single tear drips down my cheek. Olivia’s lips trap it, stopping it in its track, and when she whispers how much she loves me, I bury myself to the hilt in the best thing that’s ever been mine.
“Am I speaking with Carter?” the voice on the other end asks. “This is Carter.” “Hi, Carter. My name is Dr. Murphy. I’m a doctor at Vancouver General Hospital. You’re listed as Hank De Vries’s emergency contact.” The barbecue tongs in my hands clatter to the floor, and I barely register Olivia’s voice calling out to me. “There’s been an accident.”
“Check, please. Can I write one check for the whole year and pay upfront?” Sherry’s jaw hangs and she blinks about twenty-five times. “That’s … unprecedented. Typically, month-by-month payment is our standard because we can never guarantee …” She trails off, gaze sliding to Hank, and he grins. “I might be dead before the year’s up is what the nice lady’s trying to say, Carter.” “Fucking—” I drop my forehead until it hits the white metal desk. “You are unreal, old man.”
My eyes land on my girlfriend. She’s got that sad puppy look, one that looks pretty damn similar to what Dublin’s sporting. “You want us to take Dublin?”
“You know,” Hank chuckles, ruffling Dublin’s fur. “He’s a half-assed guide dog, but he sure is a damn good friend.” Reaching into the backseat, I give Hank’s hand a squeeze. “Dublin will always have a home with us.”
“Are you sad to be saying good-bye to your house?” She thinks for a moment, chewing. Her eyes find mine and she smiles, shaking her head enthusiastically. “Honestly, no. I thought I might be, but the truth is it’s never felt like a home. I can’t wait to share a home with Carter.”
“You know, I always knew there was someone out there for you, but I couldn’t have dreamed up a more perfect match than that girl back there. You’re a teddy bear for Ollie.”
“I know you do. There’s nothing more obvious in this world than how much you two love each other.” He runs a hand over his mouth. “So when you gonna ask that girl to marry you?” I stare out at the crystal-clear water, the way the sun makes it sparkle. The breeze makes it ripple, rushing slowly and quietly down the stream. “It’s soon.” Hank clicks his tongue. “True love doesn’t wait for anything and it sure as hell doesn’t follow a timeline.” My teeth find my bottom lip and I squash the urge to gnaw on it. “I never thought about marriage before Olivia.” “But you think about it now. With her.”
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Brad holds the door to the parking lot open. “Just so you know, you were the best teacher I ever had. You treated us like real people, not a bunch of kids you had to work with every day to take home a paycheck. You made school fun.” He gives me a salute. “Thanks, Miss Parker.”
“Do you even know me? I need an audience. I need flair. I need to embarrass the fucking shit outta you.” His fingers dig into my hips as he pushes me against the cold stone counter. “When I propose to you, everyone in the fucking world is gonna know, and you’re gonna be standing there with your gorgeous face buried in your little hands, because I sure as shit won’t be quiet about it, and you’ll be all like, Carterrr, stop ittt. You’re embarrassing meee.”
His fingers thread through my hair, pulling my head taut. “One day, I’m gonna ask you to marry me. You’re gonna say yes, because that’s the only acceptable answer; no isn’t an option.”
Bloodcurdling shrieks drown out everything around me as the buzzer glows red, and the Vancouver Vipers flood the ice, falling to one big blue and green pile. They won. They’re coming home, and they’re going for the cup.
Win or lose tomorrow, I don’t have to spend a single night away from you for the next three months, and nothing makes me happier. I fucking love you.
“It’s a celebration. It’s the weekend this house officially becomes our family home, and the weekend I bring home the cup.” So much joy lives in his expression, endless excitement dancing in his eyes, and it only spurs my own happiness. “I can’t honestly tell what you’re more excited about.” My arms fly overhead with my yawn, and I note the heaviness to my left hand. “You being with me. Forever.” I hear the words. I appreciate the hell out of them. But I’m too busy staring down at the red Ring Pop he’s stuck on my ring finger. “Why do I have a candy ring on my finger?” He sucks his own ring
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Thankfully, he shakes it off and climbs back to his feet, but Jennie’s not having it. She leaps to her feet, tossing the licorice at me as she slams her palms on the glass. “Toss that fucker in the penalty box! Go back to New York! We play real hockey here, you fucking douche-waffle!” Adam drops his head in his net, shoulders shaking with laughter. Emmett slaps the glass and hollers, spurring Jennie on, and Garrett peers up at her with this little half smile as he shuffles down the bench.
“Yeah, you sit your ass in there!” Jennie screams at the offender as he makes his way to the penalty box. “Get nice and cozy in there, dipshit, ’cause that’s your home for the next five minutes!” She drops back to her seat, ripping the licorice out of my hand, hitting me with a dazzling, dimply smile. “I’ve got a little bit of my older brother buried somewhere deep down.”
“We’ve come way too fucking far to let this slip away. The transformation we’ve made from day one to here is un-fucking-believable. I’ve never been prouder of a group before, and let me tell ya something, this is one hell of a fucking group!” “Oh my,” I accidentally murmur out loud. Heat rushes through me, and I barely resist the urge to fan my face. “I’ve never been more attracted to Carter in my life,” Cara breathes. “I will literally let him do whatever he wants to me tonight.” I’m more meaning to think it, not say it out loud, which is probably why Jennie jabs me in the ribs. “Sorry.” I
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Carter waves me over before stepping onto the ice. He taps his cheek. “Good luck kiss.” “Oh, baby.” I take his face in my hands. “You don’t need luck.” I kiss his lips, then his cheek. “Now get your sweet ass out there.” His crooked smile is electric, pulling his dimples in. He winks, and before he steps onto the ice, he gives me the words he gave me so many months ago. “I’m gonna score a goal for you.”
“It’s you!” Emmett hollers from behind. The entire arena is on their feet. Garrett races up his right, trailing him. “Let it fly!” And the crowd is silent.
The arena’s a freaking zoo. All of us are crying, even Hank, and Carter gets tackled to the ground as his entire team piles on top of him. Adam whips down the ice, throwing his stick, glove, and blocker to the side as he finishes the dogpile, jumping on top of everyone. Seriously, I can’t stop crying. I regret letting Cara do my makeup. I wipe at my cheeks and my fingers come away smeared with black. Cara’s weeping. Weeping.
