Page 76 of Dirty Play

Thirty minutes later, we are walking down the hall toward Kennedy's room with a bunch of balloons and flowers. Cade wanted her to feel special and refused to show up empty-handed. I had to stop him from buying her all-new Cyclones gear, telling him there was plenty of time for him to spoil her and her family later.

“Hi, Kennedy,” I say as we walk in, smiling at both her parents, who, for the first time since I’ve known them, look rested and happy.

A damn near clean bill of health will do that for you.

“Hey! I’m so glad you came,” Kennedy says, smiling as she sees Cade walk in, carrying the million balloons he got because I refused to help. “You came, too?”

“Of course I did, little K. Had to come see how that kidney was treating you with my own eyes,” Cade says, his smile wide as he sets the balloons and flowers down on her table.

“It’s been treating me good enough that they’re finally letting me go home.” She beams from her hospital bed, although she’s wearing real clothes in front of me for probably the first time ever. “I can’t wait to finally be home. I miss my dog and my bed.”

“I heard, and I’m so excited for you. Although it’ll be a bummer not to be able to stop by and say hi. But your parents have my number if you ever want to check in,” Cade says, turning to her parents. “Don’t forget to let me know whenever you guys want to come to a game. We’ll get you set up with a suite and make sure you get the whole experience.”

Josh stands up, his arm outstretched to shake Cade’s, but when he grabs it, they pull each other in for a bro hug. “Thank you again—for everything. For saving my little girl and trying to make her time here not suck so much. You’re an incredible person.”

I see the moment Cade almost doesn’t believe him, his old insecurities rearing their ugly head. But a second later, he pulls his shoulders back. “Thank you, it’s been my pleasure. Honestly, this whole experience has helped me as well. It helped me work through some stuff from my past. Guilt I’ve been dealing with for years that I’m finally able to let go.”

We all chat for a few more minutes, knowing when the nurse comes in to get her ready to go home, we’ll be leaving, and I’m bummed. I’m obviously not sad that she’s getting out of here, but I’m definitely sad I won’t be able to sneak her out to get milkshakes in the middle of the night or come in to see what new show they were watching.

“Wait a second,” Kennedy says, her eyebrows scrunched in as she looks between Cade and me. “Did you two come here together?”

My cheeks redden immediately, but Cade just chuckles.

“Yes, little K, we did come here together,” he says, smiling at her parents, who are laughing as well.

“Does that mean you two are boyfriend and girlfriend now?” she asks curiously, but Cade looks at me to answer this one.

“We are,” I tell her.

Without missing a beat, Kennedy turns to her mom with a smirk that I can only imagine means trouble.

“You lose, mama. You owe me fifty bucks.”

“Did you two bet on us?”

“Yeah, we were trying to figure out how long it would take for you two to realize your feelings. Mom thought it would take a while, but I guessed before I left this hospital. So, thanks for stopping by and helping me win that bet.”

“Anytime,” I reply with a chuckle.

If I never see a moving box again in my life, it’ll be too soon. Who knew that a tiny one-bedroom apartment—in New York City, mind you—could hold so much stuff?

It took all of us hours to finish packing and carry the millions of boxes that Cade and I had already packed down to the U-Haul. I think if I had to do this without all of them, I’d have either died of old age right here in this apartment or sold myself on the streets to afford movers.

Thank God for the six NHL players who have become family to me.

“Is this everything?” Miles asks as he sets down another box in the living room.

The girls have been helping me unpack some of the stuff. Cade basically gave me full rein to put things where I want, change things if I want—pretty much anything as long as I’m happy.

His words, not mine.

“It better be,” I grumble, grabbing another box and bringing it into the bedroom, where the girls are putting clothes away for me.

This apartment really is perfect. Not only does every bedroom have a walk-in closet, but the primary bedroom has two, making this whole process so much easier because he doesn’t have to make room for me—it’s already there.

“So… now that we’re moving your things into Cade’s home, would this be an appropriate time to say I told you so?” Sawyer asks with a grin.

“I mean, I can’t really think of a more perfect time,” I joke. “I did just bring my entire collection of sex toys into his bedroom, so I’d say it’s pretty clear you all were right.”

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