Page 99 of The Publicity Stunt

"But you keep slipping up with her. You have quite a few options, so you can't tell me it's because it's convenient. You love her."

Coughing, he looks around at everyone else in the box. "No one else knows that."

"You think it's a secret?" she asks, her eyebrows high on her forehead. "Seriously?"

"I've never told anyone that. Not even her."

Her eyes go back to the ice as Kace gets the puck. "Blind Martians in space can see it. It's not a secret."

Bri watches as Kace skates up quickly to the goal, stops suddenly, passes the puck to another player she doesn’t remember the name of, he passes it right back to Kace who slaps it into the net. The clock hits zero as the train horn sounds.

"Oh my God!" Bri screams and jumps up and down, pounding her hands on the plexiglass.

Kace turns and looks up at the box with shock as Brett and the rest of the team surround him. He just scored the final point in the finals.

"Kace just won the Stanley Cup," she breathes, and the tears stream down her face. "He did it. He did it!"

Victor pulls her into a hug, and she holds him tightly. "Our boy did it!"

Looking over at Rudy, he pounds his fist on the plexiglass and shouts, "Thata boy! You fucking did it!"

Tessa hugs Bri tightly, and they jump around while the rest of the family screams and cheers. They weren't favored to win, but they pulled it off. The love of her life just achieved his lifetime dream.

"That's my boyfriend!" Bri screams as more tears fill her eyes.

Never in her life has she ever been so proud of anyone. Seeing someone achieve their goals fills her heart up, but seeing how hard he worked, after falling from grace, makes her prouder than anything she's ever won. He spent over twenty years on the ice to get here, and he finally did it.

"They're rolling out the carpet for family to join," Rudy says.

Victor turns to the extended family. "Just us, okay?"

Brad nods, and even though he says he's a football fan, not hockey, the pride in his eyes is unmistakable.

Victor takes her hand, and she grabs Tessa's while Rudy follows behind. She itches to see Kace and hug him. Kiss him. Tell him how amazing he is.

The moment they step onto the carpet, Kace skates up, and she's overcome with pride. Tears fill her eyes, and she grabs onto him as her knees buckle. "Bri?"

"I can't believe you did it!" Bri cries. "You did it, Kace!"

He lifts her into his arms, and she wraps her arms around his neck to sob. "It feels surreal."

"I'm so proud of you! Oh my God, Kace, this is remarkable. You scored the winning goal to win the Stanley Cup! You achieved your dream. I... this is the greatest thing I've ever seen in my entire life."

Setting her down, he smiles and lets his father hug him, followed by Tessa, and then even Rudy. Watching the two of them, Rudy genuinely happy for Kace, makes everything in the past feel like true history.

Brett skates up, and Bri jumps into his arms. "Congrats!"

"Thanks, Bri! Did you see your boy?"

"I did. I can't get over it. That was absolutely amazing," she says as he sets her down. "I don't think this day could get any better. My nerves were going haywire up there. You guys were cutting it close!"

Smirking, he nods behind her. "Are you sure this day couldn't get any better?"

Bri turns, realizing how quiet those around her have become, and her hands fly to her mouth as she sees Kace on one knee with a black velvet box in his now gloveless hands. "Oh my God."

"I told you almost exactly a year ago that I was going to marry you, Bri Waters. Winning the Stanley Cup feels pretty amazing, but that's not my dream. Not anymore. You are. Building a life with you is. Will you marry me?"

Her eyes look around as everyone seems to be in on this, and she can't breathe. "Are you serious right now?" she whispers.

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