Page 149 of Second-Rate Superstar
She shoved off my chest, putting space between us. “Oh, no. Don’t be getting any crazy ideas. I have a lot I want to accomplish before settling down. But it’s nice to know it’s there when we’re ready.”
“Speaking of accomplished,” I hedged. When she raised an eyebrow, I said, “I want you to put the book back up for sale.”
Her mouth dropped open. “What?”
“I am a big enough man to admit when I’m wrong. If my story can help someone out there feel less alone, feel seen, then I can’t in good conscience keep it off the shelves.”
“You’re sure?”
“The only thing I’m more certain of is my love for you.” I pulled her into my arms.
“You are something else, you know that?” Dakota mused, breathless.
A smirk teased at the corner of my lips. “Not your stereotypical jock?” I teased.
At the reminder of one of our first verbal sparring sessions, she laughed—the most beautiful sound in the world. “No. You’re so much more.”
Standing outside my childhood home, I stared down at the woman in my arms. It hadn’t been easy, but we’d found our way together not once, but twice. She was worth the fight, and so long as we both kept our promise to never let the other go, I knew our future would be even better than those happily ever afters she wrote. Because ours would be real.
Epilogue
Dakota
Three Months Later
After a summer splitbetween Indianapolis and Hartford, it was time for us to put down permanent roots.
Those months were spent working our way back to the place we’d been in before the book was initially published. It wasn’t magic, that was for sure, but Braxton made life worth living, and I was excited for us to take this next step.
Key in hand, Braxton stepped up to the three-bedroom home we’d purchased together—splitting the down payment fifty-fifty and having both our names placed on the mortgage.
We’d spent weeks trekking all over Indianapolis, searching for the perfect starter home. But this was the winner. The second bedroom would become my office, and the third, Braxton would turn into a home gym. He joked that someday he would relinquish his extra room for a nursery, but we were still taking things slow. Our flame had burned too hot and fast thefirst time, so easing into forever was the course we intended to take this go around.
Slow and steady was the key to success.
Uprooting my life and moving to Indy was the easiest decision I ever made. Besides Bristol, nothing was holding me in Hartford. Braxton was my future, and this was the setting for our new life together. It was sad that we wouldn’t see Natalie, Jaxon, and the rest of the crew outside of games the Speed and Comets played against each other, but we were talking about eventually getting a smaller place on the lake in Minnesota so at least we could spend summers together.
Turning the key in the lock, Braxton pushed the door wide open. When I went to step inside the empty house, knowing the movers were still a few hours out with all my stuff from Connecticut, Braxton halted me with an arm banded across the threshold.
Sighing playfully, I asked, “What’s the holdup?”
“We’re gonna do this right,” he declared.
“Right?”
Before I could comprehend his meaning, Braxton swept me into his arms and carried me into the house.
I batted at his chest. “Put me down! This is only for married people!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, my mistake,” he teased, setting me on my feet. “I thought I made it clear you’ve been mine since the moment I laid eyes on you. And trust me, I can’t wait to see you walk down that aisle, all dressed in white, but in my mind? It’s all a formality. You’re it for me, Firefly. Whether we get married in two years or ten, you’re mine forever. I’m never letting you go.”
That had been his very first promise, and now it was one we’d made to each other.
I knew life was unpredictable and there might be some unforeseen circumstance that could threaten to drive us apart—I certainly hadn’t seen the last one coming, so anything was possible—but I believed what we shared was too strong to fall apart again. Even if it did, we would fight for it.
Pulling him in for a kiss, I let his lips take control, sliding over mine, making silent promises of our lives to come. He might be thinking of all the tangible things—a house, a wedding, kids—but I was focused on the emotional aspects. Even though we’d both aired our grievances with our respective fathers, old wounds still remained. I knew there would be times when Braxton doubted himself and his playing ability, still tying his worth to his performance on the ice. But I was determined to make sure he always knew he was more than “just” a second-rate superstar. In my heart, he would always be number one.
Breaking away, I surveyed our empty house. “What now? Should we order some food? Are you hungry?”
