Page 71 of Glitz & Goals

Vivian frowns. “Is that necessary? This feels very—” She wrinkles her nose. “Proprietary? Like you’re going off to decide my future without me. I’m literally in my fourth decade of life, you noobs.”

“It’s not that, I promise.” I reach out to squeeze her shoulder. “There’s something I need to show Noah, okay?”

Vivian doesn’t look thrilled, but she nods. I wave for him to follow me and lead him down the hall to my study, which is a grandiose term for an office I’ve barely unpacked, but hey, itsounds fancy. Blade whines as I pass his door. Noah doesn’t say a word.

I usher him into the room, close the door behind us, and then go over to the desk. “I know I was running at the mouth last night—”

“You proposed about eighteen times.” Noah rubs his eyes. “And that’s just what I heard. Frankly, the fact that you’re thinking about marrying her even when you barely know each other, and you’re concussed is one of the reasons I’m not furious with you both. It seems like you’re serious about her, which is… something.”

“I am. I really do want to marry her.” I open the top drawer of my desk and remove the velvet box that was delivered to my house yesterday morning. “And we’ve been seeing each other since before the season even started.”

Noah stuffs his hands in his pocket and stares at the box. Neither of us open it. He waits a long beat before lifting his eyes to mine.

“Let’s forget, for the moment, that you’re my boss,” he says. “Let’s forget that we have a history on the ice.”

“Done.”

“You’re still, what, thirteen years older than Viv? Do your values align? Do you even know what matters to her?”

“Her career,” I say at once. “Design. Her gnomes. Her family. I know that she wants to have kids at some point—we’ve talked about that—and she loves dogs even more than I do. I know that even when she holds people at arm’s length, she cares about their well-being. I know that she and her younger brother argue, but they still care about each other. For the record, Viktor would have kicked my ass if he thought I was trying to use her.”

Noah’s eye twitches. “Damn Viktor.”

I nod. “He’s known since day one.”

Noah mutters something under his breath. He takes another steadying breath. “Well, that’s good, I guess. It’s a better list than I was expecting. All you talked about at the arena was her looks.”

“Well, to be fair, she is really stunning. And my swollen brain was completely offline. I wasn’t thinking clearly. And my mouth went reckless.”

Noah whips his head toward me.

I hold up both hands. “But that’s not what drew me to her. I’ve been married once, and it didn’t go well.”

Noah nods. “Your ex left you after your injury, right? You mentioned something the other day, and I Googled it afterward.”

“I know how awful it feels to be with someone who runs at the first hint of trouble. I would never do that to Vivian.” I turn to the wall behind me. “And there’s something else.”

When I open the cabinet behind me, Noah sucks in a breath. “Holy crap,” he says. “Where did you get all of those?”

I stand back from the cabinet to admire the vast assortment of gnomes I’ve been collecting. “Here and there. Some from the internet, but I’ve visited a lot of thrift stores and yard sales, too. I took photos of the Gnome Gloam, so unless Vivian bought more since my last visit, none of them are duplicates.”

Noah presses his hand to his mouth. He looks stunned. “Damn,” he says at last. “You are serious.”

“So, we’re good?” I ask. “You and Molly give your blessing?”

Noah exhales, rubbing a hand over his jaw. His expression is unreadable, but something in his posture shifts—less bristling father, more… accepting. Resigned, even. “You know, I only found out about this last night. And believe me, I was not thrilled.” He looks me over like he’s reassessing everything he thought he knew about me. “But it’s obvious how much you care about her. I see it in the way you talk about her, the way youknow her. And if Viktor willingly kept your secret, that says a lot.”

He pauses, his gaze softening. “Vivian’s always been fiercely independent. Stubborn as hell, just like her mom, my sister. She doesn’t let people in easily. But when she does, she loves with everything she’s got. She needs someone steady, someone who won’t spook at the first sign of trouble. Someone who can handle her sharp edges and still see all the good in her.”

His lips press together, then he lets out a short, begrudging chuckle. “Hell, I didn’t think a guy like that existed. But… I see it now. You’re good for her.” He gestures to the cabinet full of gnomes. “And, clearly, you get her.”

I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until I finally let it out.

“So, we’re good?” I ask, my voice just a little rougher than I’d like.

Noah shakes his head, exasperated but not unkind. “Like I said, I’d never presume to speak for Molly… but yeah. I think we’re good.”

“How can you be sure?”

---