Page 186 of The Pucking Wrong Man

“Anastasia,” he began, his voice soft but filled with emotion. “From the moment I saw you, I knew my life would never be the same. You are the reason I breathe. You’re inside me, I can’t even remember what life was like without you. I can’t live without you.”

Tears welled up in my eyes, and I struggled to keep my breathing steady. I took a step forward, and then another, eventually falling to my knees in front of where he was kneeling. Because I just wanted to be wherever he was.

He opened the box, revealing a stunning diamond ring that sparkled in the candlelight. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to make you happy every single day. Marry me, baby girl.”

“It sounds like you’re telling me to marry you, rather than asking me, Camden James,” I said with a hitched laugh because I was feeling so much.

He grinned, and the sight of it took my breath away. “That’s because the only acceptable answer is yes.”

I was crying then, my body wracked with happy sobs as I stared up at him. “You know you’re completely wrong for me,” I whispered.

He wrinkled his brow, immediately beginning to protest, and I silenced him with a kiss before pulling back.

“But only because I was completely wrong for you…until you made everything right. You’re my hero. Perfectly imperfect. You say you’re obsessed with me, Camden. But I’m obsessed with you right back. All of you.”

“So, I’m assuming that’s a yes,” he growled, rubbing his nose cutely against mine.

“Yes, Camden. Yes, a thousand times, yes.”

He slipped the ring onto my finger, and I threw my arms around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He stood, lifting me off my feet, and spun me around as we both laughed through our tears.

“I love you so much,” I whispered into his ear, my voice choked with emotion.

“I guarantee I love you more,” he replied, setting me down gently and pressing his forehead against mine. “I am now the happiest man in the world.”

That was the key, wasn’t it?

Apparently, that was what I’d been missing all those years.

I’d been doing my best to find my own happiness, and I’d been failing miserably.

I'd tried to do everything right, on my own, thinking it would give me results.

I thought when Camden James came swooping in, that it wasn't going to work.

I’d been so sure he was all wrong for my disaster of a life.

Evidently, what I’d been missing...

A possessive, intense, overwhelming NHL star willing to battle all my demons in whatever way was necessary.

The pucking wrong man…turned out to be the right one.

EPILOGUE

CAMDEN

The crowd’s roar was deafening. The tension in the air tasted like ash on my tongue.

This is what I lived for.

Well, this and Anastasia James, but that one was obvious.

It was Game 7 of the Western Conference Championship against Denver, and we were down by one. The clock was ticking, each second a reminder of how close we were to the end.

I wanted this. I wanted this so fucking bad. If we could win, we’d be playing Tampa Bay in the finals. And I knew we could beat them. I could almost feel the Stanley Cup in my hands.

I chased the puck into the corner, just reaching it before I got slammed by fucking Jenkins, his shoulder driving me into the boards.

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