Page 142 of Forever Wild
He walks over to me and pulls me down from the desk into his arms. After kissing me, his gaze goes back to the jersey.
“How’d you talk him out of this?” Jack asks. “I used to beg him for it when I was a kid.”
“I asked nicely.”
Jack huffs a laugh. “Of course he’d give it to you.”
“To be fair, he said you wanted to wear it to play hockey in the street.”
Jack laughs. “I was so proud of him. I wanted all my friends to know my dad was a hockey star.”
I run my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and we stare up at it together. His dad continues to improve. Jack couldn’t convince him to move in with him, but he agreed to move closer. Jack found a house for him a couple of blocks away and so far, he still seems committed to staying sober. I hope he does, but only time will tell.
“We gotta get ready. We’re having dinner at my brother’s house.”
“I remember,” he says, but doesn’t move. I unwrap myself from him and drop to the floor.
“You don’t look ready.”
“I need to shower. Thought maybe you’d want to join me.”
“We don’t have time for that.”
“There’s always time for that.” He scoops me up again. I don’t fight him. Ty won’t mind if we’re a little late.
When we arrive at my brother’s house, there are far more cars in the driveway than expected. I spot Ash’s truck, Declan’s Ferrari, and Leo’s Jaguar.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Not sure.” Jack takes my hand and leads me up the front and into the house.
As soon as we walk in, everyone yells, “Congratulations!”
I gape, looking around. Jack is calm and smiling next to me.
“You knew?” I ask him.
He winks, drops a kiss to my lips, and then we’re swallowed up by our friends.
“I thought we were having dinner,” I tell my brother as I hug him.
“We are.” He squeezes me tight.
Charlotte is next, then Piper, Bridget, Ash…and they just keep coming. Nick and his son Aidan are here. The younger Galaxy holds out a bouquet of carnations to me.
“Will you be my agent someday?” he asks. “You’re pretty.”
Nick and I both laugh lightly and Aidan’s cheeks flush. He has big green eyes like his dad and the same dimple in one cheek.
“Absolutely,” I tell him. “I better be your first call when you make it pro.”
His grin resurfaces.
Nick ruffles his son’s hair. “Congrats.”
“Thank you.”
He leads Aidan away. My throat is thick with emotion as more people hug and congratulate me. Jack reappears by my side and hands me a drink as the last person that I haven’t seen steps up.
