AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I whack him on the arm. “You would say that!”
He breathes into my neck again. “Only because I can’t get enough of you, and if you’re my one-woman groupie, you get to follow me everywhere.”
I can’t help but laugh. We’ve only grown from strength to strength through the most challenging time of his life. It’s a testament to his character and how he’s been able to keep it together.
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you!”
He chuckles again. “You know it.”
We’ve been as inseparable as two people who live in separate cities can be.
It’s something we’ve been juggling back and forth since we said I love you.
Being away from him hasn’t been easy, but Tess has been an amazing support. Wren and Elle have kept me from moping when we’re apart by being their usual hilarious selves, and it’s kept me sane when I’ve been missing him.
We’ve not even gone two weeks apart. We try to meet up wherever he’s playing.
And next week it’s in Miami. I can hardly wait.
He cooked me a romantic meal on the last visit, he likes to cook for us regularly now, and I have to admit he is better than what he made out.
I know Ashton has taken small steps to repair the rift in his family.
I think it will take time before he can put it behind him and move forward. The hurt he felt from the betrayal is the thing he struggles with the most.
His mom, sister and I grew close really fast. It has been challenging to navigate the family dynamic while Ashton processes what happened and tries to mend things with his mom.
I’m glad that he didn’t cut his mom off altogether. He is still as close as ever to Kate. The family rift, and the fact they may not share the same biological father, took some getting used to on both their parts, but it hasn’t changed things between them.
The best thing about it all, other than the fact we’re together as a couple, is he hasn’t fallen down a dark rabbit hole of depression from it. He has a lot of good people around him, and I think that has really helped.
It also made me realize I had been too stagnant in my relationship with my dad. We get together once a week now, oras close to it. It turns out his girlfriend, Julie, is a nice lady, and she seems to really care about my dad. We have been getting along really well, and I’ve come to accept that things change, even when you don’t want them to.
My mom is as good as ever, though I don’t think she is ready to get back onto the dating scene anytime soon, but you never know.
The property market is through the roof, and I’m doing better than ever with my listings and sales. I have thoughts about moving to Seattle to be with Ashton, but he assures me it’s not necessary for the moment because he will come and live in Florida in the off-season.
He says he plans to move back to Florida once his hockey days are over or if he gets a transfer.
“You know, when the season is over, I’m going to take you on vacation somewhere really beautiful,” he tells me thoughtfully.
“Where were you thinking?” I muse.
“A secluded island where there’s only you and me.”
“That sounds amazing,” I sigh.
“For at least two weeks.”
“You’re on!”
“Oh, I will be on, babe. On, in, under, and over.”
I stifle a laugh. “That’s very specific.”
“Just tellin’ the truth.”
“I’m not going to say no.” A vacation together would be amazing.
