Page 70 of Skating Towards Danger

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” I rasp as she wraps her arms around my neck, the flowers dangling in her hands.

“I love you, player,” she chokes, and I squeeze her tight before pulling back, letting her feet hit the ice as I cup her cheek.

My eyes race between hers, and I whisper, “Marry me, little fairy,” and her eyes widen.

“I love you, Paige,” I admit, “I love you so much, and I know we’re already married, but that was forced on you without your consent or knowledge… I want you to marry me before our friends and family, I want to say vows. Marry me.”

Her eyes race between mine as the crowd begins to throw single flowers at my girl and she whispers, “No,” and my heart breaks a little, and I rasp, “Paige,” but she cuts me off and demands, “Take me away,” and I furrow my brows in confusion. She continues, “After you’ve won the Stanley Cup, take me somewhere sunny in one of those private jets the famiglia own. We’ll write our vows, and on the beach during sunset, we’ll exchange them, just you and me, that is all I want, player.”

Fuck, how did I get so lucky?

“So, you don’t want the big white wedding with the dress and flowers?” I ask, and she shakes her head, pecks my lips, and whispers, “I just want you.”

I smile and kiss her hard as the crowd cheers around us, and I don’t care.

I didn’t want this woman, I didn’t want to settle down, I just wanted to skate, and yet here I am, fully committed, happy, and fucking lucky she’s given me a chance, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life showing her how grateful I am that she’s willing to give a guy like me a chance, even when I come home covered in blood, not once will she look at me differently.

I’m one lucky fucker, and never will I take her for granted.

Epilogue

Paige – Two Years Later

“I swear if he doesn’t win the cup after being undefeated for years, I’m going to spend the rest of my life winding him up,” Roman says as he comes and stands beside me, making me snort before I grin wide as the Jaguars skate back onto the ice for the final period of the game. The crowd goes wild as the announcer calls out the last five players with it being their last game, all five retiring after six years with the team.

“Now your goalie, playing for the final time tonight, Rhett!” the announcer shouts, and the women scream. I grin clapping as he skates out and blows a kiss to them all.

“Fucking man whore at his best,” Roman mutters before his mama smacks the back of his head and snaps, “Language Roman!”

He winces, and I bite my bottom lip as he snaps, “Mama, my kids are in the actual stands with Rocco and Tyra and won’t be back here until after the game!”

Mama, yes, I now call her Mama at her request, she points at my stomach and states, “Not all the kids are,” and my laughter comes out.

Roman rolls his eyes, then gently rubs my stomach and whispers, “Sorry, little nephew.”

“It could be a girl,” I murmur while he feels the baby move underneath his hand as I eye the crowd, landing on Emma and Damian cheering with everyone else. Luca is with Morgan and the team with little headphones on clapping along, which I find hilarious.

Apparently she’s also retiring today – something about not being able to do this any longer without Dante and Rhett.

“And your captain for the last time, Dante Marino!” The announcer shouts and my eyes tear up, and I sniffle as he skates onto the ice with purpose.

“Ah shit, don’t cry,” Roman mutters and wraps his arm over my shoulders as Lorenzo, who stands on my other side with his arm wrapped around his wife and chuckles, “It’s just hormones, son.”

“It’s also pride,” I whisper as Dante skates around the ice. He stops where our box is and holds his stick up to me, and I grin, placing my hand on my growing stomach.

Two years and my love for him grows, though it helps he doesn’t come home covered in blood much.

He took me to the beach in the Caribbean after he won the Stanley Cup as I requested two years ago. We read our vows to each other, then spent every single day showing me how much I love being alive, always encouraging me to keep moving forward, to keep skating forward. He takes me to Colorado once a month just so I can visit my parents and brother.

I’ve won several competitions and even made it to the Olympics, coming third before I found out I was pregnant two weeks later. Three weeks after that, the money my father left me was put into a trust for underprivileged children wanting to join skating, whether figure skating or hockey. With the help of Dante’s mother, children across the country are getting the chance to become skaters, and I know my parents will be proud of me for how I’m donating the whole amount to kids that need it more and hopefully, one day, my daughter will love the ice just as much as I do.

We indeed have a girl on the way who we are naming Rose Tyra Marino after the two mothers in my heart. We have a gender reveal planned for next week, so everyone is in the dark at the moment.

“He’s going to win this next round for me,” I chuckle with a slight sob, and the men beside me chuckle, not denying my words.

At the moment, the Jaguars and the Razors are all in. Both are playing hard and want to win.

If the Jaguars win today, it’ll be their fifth win in a row, breaking history. Five of their players, including my husband, will be retiring and what a way to retire huh?

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