Page 56 of Uniquely in Love

A blush warmed my cheek. “I’m not?—”

“Oh, give it a rest, will you, Soph?” Lauren came over, sitting down in a chair behind us. She’d grabbed a plate of food and a bottle of water, balancing the former on her belly. “She’s Owen’s family friend.”

“Thanks,” I mouthed to her.

Sophia laughed, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink in embarrassment. “Sorry. I tend to forget not everyone here is a girlfriend. My dad is the Coach.”

“Oh.” I nodded. That made more sense.

“Come on,” Lauren said behind us. “Sit down. It’s almost time.”

I followed Sophia to the black leather chairs and sunk into the seat.

“What’s happening?” I whispered to Lauren as the lights dimmed. There was a large archway set up at the tunnelwhere the Zamboni normally came out, and it was lit up blue and gray.

She smiled. “It’s the opening ceremony for the season. This is the best part.”

I looked around the arena as the music started playing and lights bounced over the ice as a video started playing on the jumbotron. It was a packed crowd tonight, and it felt like almost every seat in the house was full. The energy was like nothing else I’d ever experienced before, with almost twenty thousand people here for the home opener, and you could tell how much this community loved their team.

Slippers—the team mascot, based on the native Harbor seals—skated out onto the ice. He was mostly white, dappled with gray, with big black eyes and a blue Seals jersey on as well as an adorable pair of flippers for hands. He skated around the ice, along with skaters waving flags, everyone clapping to the beat.

“HELP US WELCOME TO THE ICE YOUR SEATTLE SEALS TEAM!” the announcer came over the loudspeaker. The team’s forwards came out first—in numerical order, all being announced individually as they skated to the center circle of the ice, the crowd screaming and cheering for the guys. Even all of us in the suite were joining in, welcoming our men out onto the ice.

Finally, my pulse raced as I realized who was next.

Lauren reached over, squeezing my hand as I spotted Owen’s frame underneath the illuminated arch.

“DEFENSEMAN, NUMBER EIGHT, OWEN HARPER!”

He raised his stick as he skated towards the rest of his team, waving to the crowd with a giant smile on his face. God, he was happy. Watching him, I knew I’d made the right decision all those years ago to let him go. To push him towards his destiny. If we’d stayed together, how much would he havesacrificed for me? Would he have even ended up here, playing for the Seals?

We’d never know. But there was not a doubt in my mind that he was supposed to be here.

The rest of the defenseman skated out, followed by our goalies, and then the two assistant captains—Rhodes Larsen, a forward, and Mikhail Sorensen, a defenseman—were next. Finally, our captain, Stefan Kovac, skated out, waving a Seals flag instead of holding his stick. He circled the group before taking his place in the ring, and then the announcer called out, “YOUR SEATTLE SEALS!”

All the men on the ice raised their hockey sticks towards the center of the rink, and then they took off into a lap around the ice, circling their goal.

“Wow.” When I finally dragged my eyes away from our team—the guys were settling onto the bench as the starting line-up was announced. “That was so cool.”

Sophia nodded. “They always try to find ways to top it every year.”

I couldn’t even imagine. “I’m already obsessed,” I said, laughing.

The starting line-up got called, and there was Owen, standing on the line with his teammates and their goalie. I recognized Brooks at his side. He and Maverick looked similar—especially in jerseys and full hockey gear—but I knew Brooks was paired up with Owen as defensemen. That made it easier to distinguish between him and his brother, who was a forward.

After the national anthem, we all settled back into our cushy seats and it was finally time for puck drop and the game to begin.

“So, how much do you know about hockey?” Sophia asked me.

I turned my attention away from Slippers the Seal who was running around the section in front of us, creating havoc.I had to admit, he was adorable. And damn, he had some stamina.

“Oh, you know. Enough.” Probably more than enough, but I didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.

Especially when Owen was myex.

Something that was getting harder to remember. Especially when all I wanted was him. Was this enough? Being his friend and his roommate? Knowing he was only a few doors down from me last night was excruciating. But I’d kept my distance because I didn’t want to ruin what we had now. Because I was the one who insisted we needed rules.

Friends or not, he was the only man I’d ever loved.

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