Page 43 of Taking The Shot

It was telling him what it had been telling him all along.

That he adored her. That he wanted this—her, their family, all of it. That he needed to stop letting fear keep him at a distance. That it was okay to make mistakes, not know what he was doing… so long as it was done with love, affection, and a sense of family between all of them. There would be no rejections, no repercussions, no penalties, so long as he tried.

“I’m here,” he whispered emotionally, looking at her eyes that held so much emotion. “I’m here for you, for them. I promise.”

“I believe you,” she replied tearfully. “You’ve done so much, giving us a castle in a foreign land… but I’m waiting for my prince to be by my side.”

“I am, I will,” he breathed, caressing her cheek. “Tonight, we’ll put the kids to bed, and it’s you and me. I want to talk, to explain, to hold you – but I desperately need us to be alone, please.”

“Done,” she said softly, rising up to kiss him – and she didn’t have to go far. He was already leaning in, brushing his lips against hers and treasuring the way she drew in her breath at the gentle touch.

“You’re my home and we’ll make this work,” he murmured softly against her lips, melting inwardly as the truth left him. “Constance – my home,” he stressed, repeating those words to her, hoping she understood what he was saying. “And they are my world – even if my new stepdaughter calls me Keith,” he teased, referring to Paige, and was rewarded with a soft laugh from his wife.

“Open up to her, and I bet things change.”

“On that note,” he chuckled, lacing his fingers with hers. “Come with me.”

11

CONSTANCE

Constance followed Keith,stunned by how driven he seemed as he wove through the crowds of players, families, and staff – stopping in front of a woman holding a camera.

“Hi,” she said brightly, smiling. “Tons of people, some nametags are peeling off, I’m Jamie Salas.”

“Salas, I need to borrow your wife for a minute – Coach’s orders,” Keith said, only to see Salas lift an eyebrow as if to say ‘Come again?’ before rolling his eyes.

“Just bring her back,” Salas said pointedly. “I’m kinda partial to her.”

“I’m kinda partial to you too, big guy,” Jamie retorted, winking at her husband, who just smirked at her as Constance stared in confusion. Salas looked like Death with a hockey stick for a scythe in his hoodie - especially with all that black hair with those dark eyes.

And then suddenly, Contstance was being tugged in the other direction, nearly stumbling as she listened to Keith talking quickly in hushed voices with Jamie Salas.

“Coach wants a photo and a video…”

“I got you… do you have the gear?”

“On it – I already piled it on a table nearby…”

“Sweet. This will look good, just keep it simple…”

“That’s what he said.”

“I’ll type up something, make it look good, and…”

“What is going on?” Constance said as Keith stopped – and handed her a helmet, uttering “Hold that.”

She stood there, holding a helmet and watching in confusion.

“Hey, Paige!” Keith hollered.

“WhatKeith…” Paige retorted – just as loudly as a ripple of laughter surrounded them, and to her surprise, Jamie was filming everything. Constance just stared, watching in amazement.

Keith was standing there, holding a hockey stick, his feet apart, shoulders thrown back, almost like he was facing down an opponent in a western.

“You think you’ve got what it takes to play hockey?” Keith said loudly – and her daughter surged to her feet, turning to look at him, almost taking the exact same stance as her new stepdad.

“I know I do.”

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