Page 138 of Cold Feet
"Technically international," he corrected, taking a step toward me. "TSN in Canada definitely picked that up."
I groaned, but couldn't stop smiling. "The PR director in me is having a tiny meltdown right now. The rest of me..." I trailed off, not quite able to articulate the swirl of emotions – joy, relief, disbelief – coursing through me.
"The rest of you?" he prompted, taking another step closer.
"The rest of me has never been happier," I admitted softly.
His eyes darkened at my words. In three quick strides, he was standing in front of me, cradling my face in his hands. "Me neither," he whispered before his lips found mine.
The kiss was gentle at first, almost reverent, but quickly deepened as the reality of our situation – no more hiding, no more pretending – sank in. His hands slid into my hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss, and my arms encircled his neck, pulling him closer.
We broke apart at the soundof my phone buzzing – a constant, insistent vibration that signaled the media storm was already brewing. I glanced at the screen and laughed.
"What?" Cam asked, his arms still around my waist.
"Thirty-seven missed calls, sixty-four texts, and..." I checked my email notification. "One hundred and twenty-three new emails. All in the last twenty minutes." I set the phone face-down on my desk. "I think we might have caused a stir."
"Oh no! NOT A STIR," Cam laughed, looking utterly unrepentant.
Katie, my assistant, burst into my office without knocking, waving her tablet like a victory flag. "Have you seen Bluesky? Or Instagram? Or literally ANY social media?" Her eyes were wide, almost manic. "No more PR disaster – this is a PR MIRACLE!"
She thrust the tablet into my hands, and I scrolled through a seemingly endless stream of posts:
@PuckPrincess24:I KNEW IT. I KNEW CAM AND LANA WERE REAL. I'M CRYING. #HockeyEverAfter
@GoalieMom44:Can we talk about how respectfully Cam loves her? Men, take notes.
@HotForHatTricks:When he said 'That's not PR. That's me' I ASCENDED. #HockeyEverAfter
Someone had already created a fan cam zooming in on Cam's face during my line: "Cam Murphy is pretty hard to resist" – set to Taylor Swift'sLove Story.It had over 150,000 likes in 15 minutes.
"The Slashers' social accounts have gained twenty thousand followers in the last hour," Katie continued, practically bouncing. "And Marcus wants me to tell you the merchandising team is already working on Valentine's Day special edition jerseys – his and hers."
"Tell them absolutely not," I said automatically, PR director instincts kicking in. "That's tacky and exploitative and – "
"I kind of like it," Cam interrupted, smirking as he peered over my shoulder at the tablet. "Just imagine: Murphy 22 and Murphy's 22."
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't stop my smile. "You're impossible."
"Impossibly in love with you," he countered, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Katie squealed. "Sorry! I'll go. Just... the press is requesting follow-up interviews, andPeoplemagazine wants an exclusive, and there's a hashtag trending – #HockeyEverAfter. I mean, how cute is that?"
"Katie," I interrupted firmly. "I need to catch my breath. Yes on exclusives forPeopleand Joey Keegan atESPNfor now, so you can go ahead and get those scheduled. I also need to tweak my formal follow-up statement for this afternoon to include Cam crashing the presser... but I need a few minutes first."
"So romantic," she swooned. "Of course. Totally. Got it." She nodded, backing toward the door. With a final excited grin, she was gone.
Cam's arms encircled my waist from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder. "How are you really feeling?" he asked softly.
I leaned back against him, letting myself savor the solid warmth of him. "Overwhelmed. Happy. Terrified." I twisted in his arms to face him. "This is going to change everything, Cam. For both of us."
"Good," he said simply. "I'm ready for change."
A knock at the door interrupted us. Before I could answer, it swung open and Logan strode in, followed closely by Coco, both beaming.
"You two," Logan said, shaking his head with a grin. "Always have to steal the spotlight."
Coco pulled me into a tight hug. "I told you it was real," she whispered in my ear. "I'm so happy for you."
