TWO YEARS LATER
OAKLEY
“That’s the last of them.” Ava wipes her hands on her Seattle Seal sweatpants as she sets the last of the food down on the shiny white countertops of our newly purchased home.
The giant grin I’m wearing hasn’t seemed to budge since the moment Ava finally agreed to move to Seattle.
The past two years have been a bitch. Between flying to games and then back to Vancouver to see my family, it was a lot. The airport was practically my second—third—home. And all the late-night calls made Skype my best friend. Being in Seattle quickly became a gigantic pain in my ass. Of course, that doesn’t mean it was all negative. I’m living my dream. I was just living it without my other half.
“I still can’t believe this is ours. I don’t even know what to do with all this space.” Her voice echoes from the kitchen
“I’m glad you like it, baby,” I murmur in her ear when I reach her and press my chest against her back.
She’s leaning against the sink, staring dreamingly out the window at our backyard. I wrap my arms around her waist and rest my chin on her shoulder. The sight before me hasn’t stopped blowing my mind since the minute our realtor showed it to us.
The slightly damp green grass waves back at me as I stare out the paned glass. I fell in love with our vast backyard instantly. We were so lucky to find a house with this much land within city limits. The first thing I thought of when I saw it was building an outdoor rink. Ava laughed at my childish excitement over such a lame request, but nevertheless, I got her to agree to it. Just like I got her to move to Seattle.
When Ava graduated three months ago, I did everything in my power to convince her to move to Seattle. I had been living in the same two-bedroom apartment for the past two years, and with a new contract with the Seals looming in the distance, it was only a matter of time before a decision needed to be made.
I quickly adapted to my new team. Although it was a lot more difficult adjusting to the higher level of hockey than I would like to admit, I am proud to say that I am doing exceptionally well now. I guess that’s the main reason why I don’t want to sign with any other team. I’ve grown to love it here.
I won’t lie and say the move was easy on Ava. She had to find a job here in only a few months and figure out how to say goodbye to her family. I know leaving them was hard on her. Hell, it was torture for me to leave mine. It still is torture to be so far away from them, but the spam of texts I receive each day from my mother help put my mind at ease.
“Shoot! It’s almost seven. I can’t let them see me like this!” Ava shrieks. She pecks my lips and bolts upstairs to get ready. She still has no idea how breathtaking she already is.
We decided on throwing a housewarming party once we finally finished unpacking and all of our new furniture was delivered. It’s been an intense few weeks, but looking around at the well-decorated space around me, it’s all been worth it.
The doorbell rings and I hear Ava swear from our bedroom as I make my way to the entryway, chuckling as I do.
I spot Morgan when I walk past the tall window beside the front door. She stands on the porch, waiting for Matt to lug her bags up the icy sidewalk.
I pull open the door with a teasing grin on my lips. “Did you bring your whole house? I didn’t know you were moving in.”
Morgan scoffs before stepping inside and pulling me in for a quick hug. “You couldn’t be so lucky as to live with me.”
“Please take her!” Matt shouts from the door, trying to catch his breath when he drops the bags onto the ground beside him.
Morgan whips around to glare at him. “Where are you hiding my best friend? I haven’t seen her in forever.”
Rolling my eyes, I point to the staircase and laugh under my breath.
Her eyes light up before she bolts up the stairs.
“I guess it’s just us, buddy. How was the flight?” I ask, turning my attention to Matt. I bend down and grab a few of their bags in my hands.
“Thanks, man. It was alright. Pretty quick. We could have driven.” He flings a duffle bag over his shoulder after shoving his shoes off and pushing them to the side.
“Your room is down the hall. Hopefully, it lives up to Morgan’s standards,” I joke.
Matt laughs in response as we head down the hallway. We pass one of the bathrooms and our office before reaching their room. I give the door a quick shove. It swings open, and I flip on the light before dropping their bags down beside the queen bed in the middle of the room.
“This is your spare room? It’s nicer than our bedroom back home,” Matt gasps, shock evident in his tone.
“It’s all Ava. She has a talent for this shit, man.”
She really does. There was nothing special about this room, or any of the rooms for that matter, until she started designing them.
“Send her my way sometime. Morgan’s idea of interior designing is slapping a throw pillow on the couch.”
“Remember that nasty rocking chair they had in their living room?”
I ask.
Matt’s eyebrows scrunch up in disgust..
“Remember it?” he scoffs. “It’s in our spare room right now. She
wouldn’t let me get rid of the damn thing.”
“It is a piece of art, fuck-face,” Morgan protests from the doorway.
My head turns in the direction of her voice in search of Ava. I find her leaning against the wall in a pair of skinny jeans and a loose tank top. Her short hair is curled loosely, and I get the sudden urge to run my fingers through it. I reach her in no time and don’t hesitate to wrap her up in my arms, pulling her into my chest.
“You look stunning.”
“Are you guys ever going to not make me want to gouge my eyes out?” Morgan huffs. She points at her open mouth and gags.
“Depends,” I shrug. “On what?” she asks.
“If you’re going to continue to make me wish I was deaf so I wouldn’t have to deal with your stupid questions.”
Her mouth drops slightly before it slams shut, and a smile stretches across her lips. “Oh, how I’ve missed our banter, Oakley.” I shoot Morgan a wink and wrap my arm around Ava’s waist, planting a kiss on her cheek.
The jingle of the doorbell echoes through the house once again as the four of us start making our way out of the spare room.
“That’s gotta be Adam!” Ava exclaims once we get steps away from the entryway.
“Open the door and find out,” Morgan teases from behind us.
Ava whips around to narrow her eyes at her before flipping her off and turning back around to open the door.
“Oh my gosh, look at you! I missed you!” Adam falters slightly at the impact of Ava’s affectionate assault but brushes it off with a light chuckle.
“Hey O. I missed you, too,” he responds, sending me a grin over her shoulder.
“Hey, buddy.” I pull him in for a one-handed hug as soon as Ava unlatches herself from him.
“Love the new house, man. Being rich suits you,” he teases and throws a solid punch at my bicep.
“Thanks. I can’t pull it off nearly as well as you, though. How’s the business going?” I ask as I lead him to his room.
“Not many can. Don’t beat yourself up about it,” he smirks, dropping his bag down on the fluffy carpet and sitting down on the bed. “Business is good. It pays to have the newest face of the professional league promote my business.”
I can’t help but chuckle at that. Adam doesn’t even need my help. He’s made WIT a fantastic place for young hockey players to train all on his own.
White Ice Training is Adam’s training facility in Vancouver. On his twenty-second birthday, his trust fund was signed over to him, and he used it to open up his own hockey camp.
As far as I know, his parents weren’t overly supportive of his decision to blow through the entire thing on something hockey-related, but he did it anyway, and the four of us couldn’t be prouder of him. Whenever I have time I fly down and help train the kids—pretty much anything to bring business in.
“You talk to your parents lately?” I ask, not missing the anger that flashes through his eyes.
“No. My moms called a few times but I haven’t called her back,” he says quietly.
“I’m sorry. We’ll hit the gym tomorrow, blow off some steam,” I suggest. “Sounds good.” He takes a deep breath before his eyes light up. “I forgot
to ask, where’s the ring?”
I grin, my heart jumping. “In one of the old skate boxes I have shoved under the bed.”
I have been carrying the square box around with me for months now, just waiting for the perfect moment. Unfortunately, though, it hasn’t come yet.
Asking Ava’s dad for his blessing was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. He’s never been my biggest fan. It took what felt like hours of pleading before he finally gave me his blessing. As much as he would like to hate me for leaving his daughter alone for the past two years, he knows I’m not going anywhere ever again.
“You have any idea when you’re going to do it? The suspense is killing me,” he sighs. Honestly, I don’t. All I know is she deserves nothing but the best of the best.
“No. It’s got to be perfect.”
He nods his head in understanding. Even though he’s moved on from Ava, he knows more than anyone how special she is and how badly she deserves nothing less than perfect.
A knock on the door makes us jump.
“If you two lovers are done in there, Matt and I have something to tell everyone.” Morgan’s shrill voice echoes through the room. I heave a sigh of relief.
“The queen awaits.” Adam stands up from the bed and slaps me on the back.
“Isn’t she always?” I chuckle as I head out behind him. If time has changed anything, it skipped Morgan’s personality entirely.
When we reach the main room, I spot Ava sitting on the grey loveseat and sit down next to her. I throw my arm around her shoulder and smile in contentment when she leans her head against me.
“We were hoping to do this when we were all here, but Tyler being in Europe kind of threw that out the window. Anyways, we have some big news.” She looks up at Matt from her spot beside him and smiles widely at us. Grinning, he hesitantly places his hand over her abdomen.
“We’re pregnant!” They shout in sync.
Ava squeals and flings herself at Morgan as I stand up and throw my arms around Matt.
“Congrats, Dad. That’s amazing!” I beam proudly before pulling
away.
“It is. I never knew I wanted to be a dad until now.” His smile lights up the room, warming my heart.
I think we were all expecting this. It was only a matter of time before they started their own family. Everyone knows those two are endgame. All he has to do now is slap a ring on her finger.
I give him one more pat on the back before moving over to congratulate the mom to be.
“I knew there was a reason you were extra grouchy today,” I wink, pulling her in for another hug.
She laughs past her soft sobs and I rub a hand across her back. She pulls away, smiling up at me with her tear-filled eyes.
Ava’s eyes are bright with happiness. I snake my arms around her and kiss her cheek.
Three years ago, I never expected I would be in this position right now. As I stand here today with the love of my life and my best friends, I know that all of the ups and downs were worth it. I wouldn’t go back and change a thing.
I couldn’t be happier than I am right now. Well, that’s not entirely true.
I still have to get her to marry me.
