Page 115 of Home Ice

There's no way he could have overheard her quiet whisper, but Kayden sets a box onto the kitchen island and looks up at us right then. The corner of his mouth tilts up as he does. More accurately, it tilts up as he looks at Em.

"See what I mean?" She rolls her eyes so dramatically I can see it in the corner of my vision.

"Kayden? He's such a sweetheart. You might realize that if you'd listen to your best friend's begging and move to Salt Lake so you could see her all the time."

Em drops her arm from my shoulder and moves in front of me, taking my hand, and deliberately turning her back to Kayden who is still staring at her. Just before she blocks my view, I see his attention move down her body. "And give up my exciting life in Denver?"

"You mean the one where you work seventy hours a week at a job where you don't feel appreciated, and the only break you take is to hook up with random guys you meet at a bar?"

"Living the dream, right?"

"So, what do you think?" Brant walks up and pulls me into him before I get to plead more with Em. I close my eyes as his arms go around me. His muscular body gives just enough to make room for me to be tight against it.

Em looks around the room, avoiding the spot where Kayden is doing his best to act like he's not staring. "You mean this? Straight off the cover of Hospital Waiting Room Weekly. The only thing you're missing is a sick woman sitting over there sniffing snot. If you had that, I'd say you captured the vibe perfectly."

Brant chuckles. "Yeah, Lily kind of said the same thing the first time she saw it. She might have been a little more polite about it, but the sentiment was there."

"I was way more polite than that."

"Sorry." Em twists her lower lip in her teeth.

"Don't be." Brant rolls his shoulders. "You're not wrong. I've hated it from the time the designer told me what his vision was. I just never had a different vision to take its place. Until now."

"Until now," I repeat as I turn to wrap my arms around him. It's the end of January, but Brant has a hint of sweat from helping to move me. My heart speeds a little. I can't wait until everything is done and everyone is gone, so I can help him get clean in that enormous shower in the primary bathroom.

"Hey, so what's for dinner? I was thinking maybe pizza? Or Mexican or Chinese. Just anything that Lily doesn't cook would be fine."

I let go of Brant to playfully swipe at Chloe, who is just out of my reach. Of course, Chloe will be here tonight once everyone else is gone. I'm so used to her leaving at the end of the day, but this house is just as much hers now as it is ours. She is ours now. Not officially, but where it counts.

Maybe my plan for the shower will have to wait a little longer, at least until she goes to bed.

FOUR MONTHS LATER: CONFERENCE FINALS GAME SEVEN

LILY

How can people do this? The seats are almost as comfortable as the ones at home, the view is great, and the food is catered by professional chefs. But this has been the most miserable two hours of my life. How can people watch a game this important from up here at the club level? I miss watching on the television in the dressing room with the other staff. There was a distance between me and the game then. Now, it's like I'm involved in every play. And each time Brant has to make another save, I'm sure I'm going to throw up my heart along with that amazing peach cobbler. Caramelized peaches, browned butter ice cream, and a bourbon caramel sauce drizzled over it all? Maybe there's one good thing about these seats.

Shortly after Brant and I made things official and public among the entire organization, not just the team, the Vice-President of Operations for the Sting called me into her office. She's a very nice woman, and the few times I've spoken to her, we've gotten along well. That didn't relieve any of my nervousness as I entered her office. We both knew why I was there, so she didn't waste time. Dating Brant created a conflict of interest, and since we made it public, the team management couldn't pretend to look the other way. We either needed to end our relationship or I needed to resign. Of course, they would never ask the world-famous hockey star who earns millions of dollars each year to make that sacrifice. I knew it would happen, so it wasn't a surprise.

What was a surprise, though, was when she told me she arranged an interview for the head trainer position with the Salt Lake City Gulls. My dream job. They're pro baseball's newest expansion team, so they still had a lot of vacancies in the support staff, even though spring training was just around the corner. The Sting's VPO is the former college roommate of the Gull's General Manager, so she was able to get me the interview. She stressed it was only an interview and a very strong endorsement. I would have to earn the job myself. And I did. I interviewed three-days later, and two days after that, I had an offer. Apparently both the Sting and my old boss at the Colorado Lightning made for very enthusiastic references.

Building a training staff and program from scratch didn't leave me a lot of free time. So all the dreams I had of traveling with the Sting and sneaking into Brant's room had to remain dreams. It would have been difficult to get away with a teenager at home anyway. A teenager who is now several steps closer to being our legal ward—a term I hate, so we just call her ours. Just like we're not her guardians, we're just her people. Of course, the legal system being the legal system, there are still several obstacles in the way. Plenty more Utah Child and Family Services home visits and interviews, and plenty more chances for her parents to object. We're taking things one day at a time. Just like we all have through the playoffs.

But as the final horn sounds, I drop my head into my hands. It makes the friendship bracelets on my wrists rattle. They were Chloe's idea before the first round, and we spent three nights making them, enough to give to all the players' family members for game one. Everyone loved the idea. One-by-one the other families made their own and handed them out. So here we are now, each of us with our forearms practically covered by the twenty-two bracelets we're wearing, and each of us with our heads buried or flung backward, looking at the rafters. Two to one.

Two to one. And just like that, the season is over. One round further than Denver made it, but still one game away from a chance to play for the cup.

The first goal that made it past Brant was a fluke that deflected off two different players. No one could have stopped it, so Brant will forgive himself for that one. But I know the other goal is the one that will stick with him. It was a rocket from the face-off dot, and Brant was being screened. There's no way he could have seen it coming. When it went in, all eighteen thousand fans groaned. That's what he's going to remember. He'll remember the sound of the fans.

The fans who are now cheering? Chloe nudges my shoulder, and I look up to see the entire arena on their feet. The players aren't hurrying down the tunnel toward the dressing room. They're skating a lap around the ice. Kayden is even waving a Salt Lake City Sting flag like they just won the series. Seattle's players, who had been celebrating a second ago, are all standing to the side of the ice applauding with confused looks on their faces. "What's going on?" I ask Chloe.

"The Sting never even made the playoffs before, so I think everyone is just thanking them."

I look around the club section where we're all sitting. A few of the other wives and girlfriends are standing and cheering too. Zachary is standing on a seat, screaming down to Nikita. When Nikita hears him and blows a kiss up to his husband, I laugh. "This is so strange. Imagine if we would have won."

Brant looks up and finds us just as Chloe slips her hand in mine. The three of us share a simple wave, nothing like the enthusiasm of Zachary or Kayden, but a moment just for us in the middle of all this noise. "Kinda feels like we did win, doesn't it?" she asks.

"It really does," I say. "Let's hurry and head down so we can get the good seats in the family lounge."

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