Page 128 of Her Greatest Mistake

Suddenly, his fingers are in my hair, and he’s gripping it, using it to pull my head back. Our eyes meet in the mirror, and the fire in my belly grows at the wild look in his. At the pure possession and obsession turning them a deep, dark shade of green, almost brown.

“You said you wanted to watch, Braxton. So, watch.”

I do, fighting back the impulse to let my eyes roll back into my head. His jaw pulses with each thrust, and his cheeks are a similar shade of pink as mine, but he never looks away. Not as I clench around him, trying to keep him deep as my orgasm comes barrelling toward me, and not when he buries his face in my throat and curses his pleasure against my skin, warmth filling me.

Only once he’s peppered adoring kisses all over the side of my face does he pull back and slip soft touches over my body. I hum low in my throat, letting him run a soft towel between my legs and press his lips to my butt cheek before he stands.

“Are you sated now, husband?” I ask teasingly, spinning around and giving him a lazy smile.

He grins wickedly. “And then some. Are you, wife?”

“Perfectly sated. Enough to last the rest of the reception, anyway.”

“My dirty girl.” He winks. “Are you ready to go back out, or do you want a few more minutes alone?”

I shake my head. “I’m ready. I still have to throw my bouquet. Any guesses on who will catch it?”

He lowers his head and kisses my forehead. “As long as it isn’t Adalyn, I don’t care who catches it.”

Giggling, I step into his body and press my cheek to his chest, not caring about leaving a foundation stain on the expensive shirt. And when he wraps his arms around my back and pulls me close, I know that he doesn’t care either.

I’ve learned that not much matters when we’re in each other’s arms, and for that, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

And when Adalyn makes Maddox’s nightmare come true by catching my bouquet an hour later in their parents’ backyard, I know that she’s one step closer to getting a chance to experience this type of all-consuming love too.

EPILOGUE 2

BRAXTON

TEN MONTHS AFTER THAT

My ears ringas the Ottawa Beavertails lose the goal they just scored, and the home crowd goes up in arms. The referee ignores them, but when Maddox skates up to him and leans in close, throwing his hand angrily into the air, he has no choice but to listen to him.

Oakley is standing beside Ava at the end of our row in the stands, a similar look of rage tugging at his features while he shouts at the ref as if he can hear him over the crowd. My neck is slick with sweat despite how close we’re sitting to the ice, and my heart is in my throat.

Goalie interference is the call on the ice, but as a replay of the goal hits the jumbotron, it’s obvious Dallas’ goalie had more than enough time to collect himself and make the save after he was knocked down by one of our players. With only five minutes left in regulation time and a now even score of two to two in the Stanley Cup final game, this is the worst possible scenario for Ottawa.

“They’re calling Toronto,” Oakley grunts, watching the referees head to the side of the rink with laser focus.

“What does that mean?” Addie asks from her spot on my right.

Cooper answers her from her other side. “They’re getting a second opinion from the review team in Toronto.”

“How hard would that have been to say, Dad?” she scolds. Oakley sends her a quick, apologetic smile before turning back.

If it weren’t for the tense atmosphere, I might have giggled at her frustration. Even after all of these years watching her dad in the league and then her oldest brother, she still hasn’t figured out the nitty-gritty details of the game. It’s adorable.

I figured they would call for another review of the play from the guys in Toronto, especially with this game being so do or die, but hearing it out loud makes my stomach twist into one giant knot of worry.

My eyes are drawn to Maddox as he stands by the boards, his new team behind him. Their coach is livid, his face the shade of a tomato. The C on my husband’s red-and-black jersey is new, only having been placed there a handful of months ago, but it looks right. Like it belongs there. I never thought I would see a time when he wasn’t in green, but the red fits him just fine.

Free agency was an overwhelming process, but after weaning through a dozen offers over the course of only a few days, Maddox signed a seven-year contract with Ottawa. And once we got married in August, we moved to Ottawa.

I’ve been working as a travelling veterinarian since we got settled in our new home, and it’s been amazing. I feel like I’ve found what I’m meant to do, and the fact I get to travel with my husband? That’s the cherry on top of it all.

In all honesty, life has never been better.

Even with our families back home in Vancouver, we nearly see them just as often as we did before. It’s easy to make time for the people you love, and it’s a great feeling knowing that they think the same way.

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