Page 101 of Unleashed

I shifted Lily’s award to my other hand, kept my stance easy. “Got my hands full in Three Corners. More players knocking on the door than we’ve got ice time for.”

“The money would be better.” His smile carried that particular edge that used to make my teeth itch. “The prestige—”

“The reward’s helping borderline AHL guys tighten up their game enough to stick on an NHL roster. We work with players who’ve been told they’re done—and help them prove otherwise.” I kept my tone even, just enough edge to sayconversation overwithout getting rude.

My phone buzzed in my jacket pocket—probably Rae, firing off another wedding update. She’d been texting all night like she had three planners breathing down her neck and zero backup. Her last message had been a seven-part saga about courthouse cake flavors and why fondant was an abomination. I hadn’t even known cakes had politics.

“Speaking of building something...” Nelson’s gaze drifted to the other side of the ballroom, where Lily stood mid-circle, surrounded by a wall of Netflix execs. “Heard her company’s branching into music videos. Doesn’t exactly scream ‘hockey documentary,’ does it?”

Pride sparked in my chest, right in the region of my heart. The good kind that came with watching the woman I loved build something with both hands and zero shortcuts. What started in a drafty old hardware store with camera gear stacked in corners had turned into the name locals bragged about with big smiles. And now? Now Lily had her eye on new ground.

“They’re exploring.” I didn’t bother to explain further. If Lily wanted to shoot concerts in a barn one day and skate drills the next, she’d do it—and make it work. Hell, if anyone could blend behind-the-scenes grit with slow-motion guitar solos and have it land just right, it was her. She didn’t chase trends. She followed instinct. And every time she did, she made it look easy.

She caught my eye again, that sparkle in her expression saying she needed rescue. I was already moving before she completed our subtle signal—a tap of her thumb against her wrist that had evolved from nervous tell to a private language just between us.

“Excuse me.” I gave Commissioner Nelson a nod that would have made Coach Mack proud. “Need to congratulate my girl.”

Lily’s shoulders relaxed the instant I appeared at her side, her body tucking against mine like I’d been made to shield her. The Netflix suits didn’t miss how naturally she leaned into me, or how my hand found that spot on her lower back that steadied us both.

“Gentleman.” I kept my voice pleasant but firm. “Mind if I steal the woman of the hour? Got some Three Corners folks waiting on FaceTime.” I held up my phone where Rae’s latest wedding crisis blinked on screen. “Something about maple bacon cream cheese frosting being mandatory for courthouse nuptials?”

Lily’s laugh said she knew exactly what I was up to. The same laugh that had echoed through her tiny kitchen, when she’d burned grilled cheese while Bright judged from his island.

“Save me from Rae’s cake obsession?” Her eyes danced with mischief as she claimed her award. “Before she convinces the judge to relocate to Sugar Squared for the ceremony?”

The executives chuckled indulgently, but I caught the way they tracked us as we moved through the crowd. Probably already planning how to spin this into a collaboration opportunity. Let them try. Lily had earned the right to choose her own path.

Just like I had.

“You’re supposed to be networking,” she whispered once we reached a quiet corner. “I saw Jasper Pendleton.” But her fingers found my tie, straightening it with the kind of casual intimacy that still made my heart skip.

“How am I supposed to do that?” I pressed my thumb against her pulse point, feeling the flutter beneath her skin. “When you’re sending SOS in Morse code with your eyebrows?”

Her laugh carried zero Hollywood polish now. Just pure Lily. “My hero.”

“Damn right.” I pressed a kiss to her temple, breathing in citrus and spice and possibility. “Someone’s got to protect you from yourself. These guys don’t know what they’re getting into, trying to negotiate with Lily Sutton when she’s got that look in her eyes.”

“What look?” But her grin said she knew exactly what I meant.

“The one that says you’re about to change the whole damn industry. Again.” I squeezed her hip. “Better warn them about your grumpy cat overlord while they’ve still got time to run.”

She leaned into me, all soft curves and sharp edges and everything I never knew I needed. “Good thing I’ve got you to keep me grounded then.”

“Good thing,” I said, voice coming out rougher than I meant it to. Hard not to feel wrecked by her, standing there all glow and grit—utterly in her element. No hesitations. No double-checking the room. Just Lily, grounded in what she’d built, fully herself and lighting up everything around her without even trying.

Falling for her had never really stopped. But watching her thrive like this? It soothed away the last of the worry that she needed more than the life we built in Three Corners.

My phone buzzed again. Rae. Bright apparently needed a custom bowtie for the ceremony. I ignored it and slid an arm around Lily’s waist, needing to anchor myself in this moment while it was still ours.

“Why is Rae this invested in our courthouse wedding? Don’t we just show up, say a few words, and sign the paper?”

Her laugh wrapped around me, warming me from the inside out.

We’d both walked away from shinier paths. Left behind titles and climbing and expectations that never quite fit. Now here she was, eyes lit with that familiar fire, already chasing the next story no one else would think to tell—blurring the line between documentary grit and soundbite entertainment—and somehow making it all look effortless.

This wasn’t settling. This was choosing. On purpose. With both hands.

The first drops hit when we stepped out the side entrance, standing under the overhang while the sky broke open above the city. LA rain always felt thin to me, more performance than weather, like the clouds couldn’t fully commit. But Lily’s face still lifted the same way it had that first night in Austin—the one that changed everything—when she fumbled her door code and I held my hoodie over her head like some dumbass with a crush.

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