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I turn to the stands, seeking out Parker in the row behind the bench. All the wives are on their feet, but my girl is still sitting beside Kelsey, tears of pride streaming down her face.
I meet her gaze and smile.
She smiles back, so brightly I get lost in it. I memorize that smile and this moment. When I look back years from now, this is what I want to remember. Her and that look on her face.
It'll always be her.
Epilogue
Parker
Five Years Later
"Can't we wait another five years to tell him?" I ask Kellan, clinging to his arm.
"Uh, no. We're telling him now, Rebel."
I scowl at my husband. "You're so annoying. He just moved back to town yesterday."
"I'm aware."
"He's going to be mad."
"He'll get over it."
"He wouldn't have to get over it if you hadn't married me in secret," I remind him. "We could have waited like I promised."
"You promised. I didn't." Kellan shrugs, interlacing our fingers. "Don't make promises you know damn well I'm not going to keep next time, Rebel."
I roll my eyes instead of responding. Five years ago, I was so afraid Jonas would never forgive us, but he surprised me. I'm not exactly sure what Kellan said to him in the locker room after they left the arena, but it left an impression.
We had a lot of long talks when we got home from Minnesota. He said he felt like a jerk for making me worry that he'd really send me back to Canada and asked why I never told him about how people treated me. I didn't have an answer for him. I'm not sure I have one now. I guess maybe I'm a little overprotective too.
It was a good talk. But he did make me swear that we wouldn't get married until I got my green card. I think he wanted to prove to me that he truly didn't mean it when he threatened to revoke his sponsorship and send me back. Sometimes, I think he still feels immense guilt over ever saying it.
But I agreed to wait. Only the green card took longer than we thought it would. Kellan got impatient and dragged me to Vegas nine months later, demanding I make an honest man out of him. How could I resist? An Elvis impersonator married us in a tiny little chapel that same night.
My green card came in a week later.
We decided to wait to tell Jonas. And then Jonas got traded to Philadelphia. We've been putting off telling him ever since. I don't even know why. Old habits die hard, I guess.
Truthfully, I think Kellan just wanted to see how long we could get away with it before Jonas got suspicious. But my brother is either oblivious or trying to smoke us out because he's yet to hint that he knows. He hasn't asked when we're getting married either.
Now that he's officially back in Nashville, I guess it's time to fess up. Especially since I'm pregnant. Kellan has been trying to knock me up for years, but I told him he had to wait. There were things I wanted to do first. I spent my whole life on a ranch in Canada. I wanted to travel and see the world and just be a normal woman madly in love for a little while. But I've done that now, and I want his babies more than anything.
"Come on, little chicken," Kellan chuckles. "It won't be so bad."
"Whatever you say, Superstar." I pat him on the chest and sashay up the steps to Jonas and Jamie's front porch. I don't bother with knocking. They already know we're coming; half the team is here anyway. We're having a barbeque to welcome them back home.
Everyone who still lives in Nashville is here. Most of them have retired now. Logan and Kellan are the only ones still playing, though Logan plays for the Capitals now. Kellan will be joining the ranks of retired players soon enough. His contract expires next year. He told me he intends to retire when it does.
I'm not complaining. Being a hockey wife is exhausting.
"It's about damn time you two got here," Jonas says, grinning broadly when we step inside the house. "We've been waiting for you."
"It's nice to see you too," I mutter, flinging my arms around him in a hug.
He lifts me off my feet, swinging me around in a circle.
"Be careful with her," Kellan growls almost immediately.
That's all it takes for Jonas to plunk me back down on my feet and narrow his eyes on me. "You're pregnant," he growls.
"I am."
He shoots a dirty look at Kellan. "You're supposed to marry her before you knock her up, motherfucker."
"How can you possibly not know that we're already married?" Kellan demands, flinging his hands up. "We've been married for years. Everyone knows it but you!"
