Page 136 of Coach's Temptation

Pride.

Then she does something that stuns us all.

She opens her arms.

Natalie chokes on a breath. For a split second, she hesitates. But then she’s moving, stepping into her mother’s embrace as Harold places a firm hand on my shoulder.

“You take care of her, son.”

I nod. “Always.”

Martha pulls back, her hands framing Natalie’s face before trailing down her arm, gently lifting her hand. Her gaze softens as she takes in the ring—her mother’s ring—gleaming under the arena lights.

“You know,thisis a moment worth celebrating.” She pauses, smirking. “Which is why the engagement party is at our house.”

Natalie’s jaw drops. “Wait—what?!”

Harold claps me on the back. “You heard her. We’ll see you there.”

And just like that, the impossible has happened.

Martha Hayes is hosting a party.

Forus.

I lean down to murmur in Natalie’s ear. “Are you okay?”

She exhales a stunned laugh, still watching her parents walk away with mine. “I think I just witnessed an actual miracle.”

I chuckle, pressing a kiss to her temple. “Iron Ridge better be ready, baby. Because we’re bringing the Cuphome.”

The team surrounds me, their faces lit with pure joy as we pass the Cup between us. Blake lifts it highest, his roar echoing through the arena. Then Connor, who nearly drops it on Lucy's head in his excitement. Even Logan cracks a grin as he hoists it overhead.

The silver gleams under the lights, decades of names etched into its surface. Soon, ours will join them.

But my attention keeps drifting to something else that sparkles.

I find Natalie's hand in the chaos, my thumb brushing over the vintage diamond that now sits perfectly on her finger. She squeezes back, and when I look down, her eyes are shining brighter than any trophy.

"We did it," she whispers.

The cameras flash around us, capturing this moment for posterity. The crowd's roar is deafening, "Ice-hawks! Ice-hawks! Ice-hawks!" echoing through the arena.

My team, these incredible underdogs from a small mountain town, are Stanley Cup champions.

Twenty years ago, I thought losing hockey meant losing everything. But standing here now, with Natalie's hand in mine and my team celebrating around us, I realize I couldn't have been more wrong.

The Cup is incredible. It's everything I've worked for.

But it's not everything.

Not anymore.

I've won something far more precious than silver.

I've won her heart.

And that? That's worth more than all the Stanley Cups in history.

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