Page 136 of The Love You Win

Kacey cackles like she’s a super villain who’s about to ruin someone’s life. And maybe she is about to ruin Alex’s, but I have a feeling she’s about to make mine better. “Oh, yeah. I know what happened. A few of us made it our mission to find out after he started, because he’s such an insufferable asshole. He acts like he’s better than everyone, even though he’s working the same job as the rest of us.”

“Well, don’t leave us hanging, Kace,” Griffin says with a wink. Kacey blushes at the nickname.

“Apparently, a few months after getting some fancy job at one of the biggest law firms in town, Alex’s boss walked in on him boning his much-younger wife against the boss’s desk.” My jaw drops and Kacey shakes her head. “Can you believe that guy? He wasn’t even banging her in his own office. He did it in his boss’s because he thought banging the boss’s wife in a corner office with a view of the city would somehow manifest the success he thought he deserved in life.” Kacey snickers.

I’m just gaping at her. I wish I could say I can’t believe Alex would do something like that, but the fact of the matter is, I can. He was probably banging other people’s wives while we were together, too.

“Needless to say, he got fired, and now he’s been blacklisted. Apparently, he couldn’t even get a job as a public defender. So here he is. Well, for now. He’ll probably get fired from this job too, after the stunt he just pulled.”

“Oh my god,” I murmur. I can’t believe any of that just happened. “What an asshole.”

Maddox chuckles, squeezing my shoulder. “What an asshole, indeed. Good to see Karma getting it right, occasionally.”

“Here, here,” my besties agree, raising their water glasses.

“Let me just grab a pencil and a pad and I’ll be right back to take your order,” Kacey tells us.

“You good?” Maddox asks me. He studies my expression, looking for any signs of distress.

But I don’t feel distressed. I don’t feel anything at all for Alex Jones, outside of a deep sense of gratitude that I didn’t end up married to him.

To think, if he hadn’t dumped me, I’d probably be at home tonight, miserable and alone, while he was off screwing some busty blonde at a work dinner. The thought is truly horrifying. I suppose, in a way, I owe Alex my thanks. If he hadn’t been such a colossal asshole, I never would have met Maddox. I wouldn’t be living with the sweetest grump that ever lived or sitting around a table filled with hockey players who have my back like brothers, or a woman I hope will become my sister-in-law one day.

“I’m good,” I answer honestly. Leaning into Maddox’s arm, I sigh deeply. “I’m so good.”

Maddox flashes me an indulgent smile before pressing a searing kiss to my lips. Everyone at the table cheers.

Who could have predicted any of this when Jess and Nev won that date auction? They thought they’d bid on a night of no-pressure fun to help me out of my post-Alex shell. In their minds, they won a fun night out on the town for me.

In reality? It was love I won that night.

And when Maddox looks at me like I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to him, I know this is a love I’ll keep winning. We both got a taste of what it would be like to lose each other, and neither of us will ever let that happen again.

Leaning against Maddox’s strong chest, I say a silent thanks to Alex, my best friends, and I even take a page out of Jess’s book and thank Chris Hemsworth. However it happened, I found the kind of love most people spend their whole lives hoping for.

I can’t wait to see what comes next.

epilogue

A FEW MONTHS LATER…

ISLA

“I can’t believe they won!” Mira grips my hands tightly in hers, bouncing up and down with me.

Maddox blows me a kiss as he skates off the ice, and even after all these months together, I still swoon. Mira chuckles when Griffin gives her a wink. The two of them have become close since Mira moved in with Griffin after a surprise breakup with her ex-boyfriend. If I didn’t know that Maddox’s best friend was allergic to relationships and that his sister would never agree to something casual, I might suspect them of having a thing for each other. They’re constantly sharing looks and inside jokes.

But they’re polar opposites in the way they approach life, so I know I’m wrong.

“Come on,” I say, grabbing Mira’s hand and dragging her toward the area designated for family. “Let’s not make them wait.”

We have plans to celebrate tonight. The Rogues are having a phenomenal season, and we’re all excited about the possibility of going all the way. No one would be surprised if they end up being serious contenders for the Stanley Cup.

Dodging pissed-off Scorpions fans who look ready to sting, we make it to the family area and spend the next forty-five minutes chatting while we wait for the guys. I practically leap into Maddox’s arms when he walks out in his game-day suit.

God, he looks good in these things. I swear, his game-day suits are the best aphrodisiac.

“I’m so proud of you,” I squeal before peppering my boyfriend with kisses. “You played so well tonight.” I look over Maddox’s shoulder and grin at the rest of the guys. “You all did.”

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