Page 275 of Saving Forever with the Hockey Captain

That is the part that nearly undoes me. I look toward the house. Light spills through the front windows. Shadows move inside. Someone crosses the living room carrying what appears to be a giant bowl of chips.

I had expected to return to Jamie. Only Jamie. I had not allowed myself to imagine that there might be other people waiting for me too.

“I didn’t leave them very gracefully,” I whisper.

“You said goodbye.”

“Barely.”

“You were hurting.”

“So were they.”

Jamie watches me for a moment, then he leans across the console and kisses me.

It is not a desperate kiss like the ones at the cabin. This one is slow, certain, a promise instead of a plea.

When he pulls back, his forehead rests against mine.

“They love you, Annette.”

My throat tightens. “I haven’t done anything to earn that.”

“You showed up.”

“For you.”

“That’s enough.”

He gets out of the truck before I can argue further. A second later, my door opens, and Jamie holds out his hand. I take it and we walk toward the house together.

Before Jamie can knock, the front door swings open.

Toby stands there holding a paper plate in one hand and a bottle of soda in the other.

“About time,” he says. “Do you have any idea what it takes to assemble twelve adults with less than an hour’s notice?”

His gaze shifts to me. He freezes. The bottle slips in his hand.

Behind him, the house goes strangely quiet. I see Liam look around Toby’s shoulder.

Then Paige.

Then Caleb.

Then Coach.

For one suspended second, no one says a word.

Paige gasps, actually gasps. Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my God.”

Liam’s jaw drops.

Caleb blinks once, which for Caleb is the equivalent of falling over.

Becca makes a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob.

Then everyone starts moving at once. “Annette!”