Oh wow. I had no idea Max was going to make a speech, and I didn’t think he did either. If he’d been aware, he hadn’t mentioned it. Lord knows, I would’ve been freaking out being put on the spot like that. Public speaking was the one thing I still hadn’t tackled from my summer to-do list I’d given Max.
Though this situation didn’t seem to bother Max. He took the mic and waved to the crowd like the natural showman he was. “Thank you so much,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “Jeez, I thought this would be easier. But it’s hard to say goodbye to something that has been your entire life since you were four.” He looked around the arena. “I still remember the first hockey game I ever went to. I’m one of six boys, and my dad usually took the older kids to games, but it was my birthday—the big four. So instead, he brought me and my next-oldest brother, Austin.” Max paused and took a deep breath. He looked down at the ice for a few seconds, probably thinking about how they weren’t both here anymore. When he looked up, he swallowed and pointed up to the top row of the arena. “We sat in the next-to-last row. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat the entire game and being mesmerized by how fast the players could skate. I told my dad that very day that I wanted to be a hockey player.” Max patted his chest. “My dad tapped me here and said, ‘Okay. But this is what makes a hockey player, son. Anyone can skate.’ Twenty-seven years have gone by since that day, and those are still probably the truest words I’ve ever heard about this sport. Hockey is all about heart.”
He paused and took another deep breath, again patting his chest. “That heart got me back here this year. But this heart also knows it’s time to go. So today I want to say thank you for all of the years you’ve given me. All of you have become my family—which makes it only fitting that I close out my career on the ice by giving you a piece of my heart.”
He turned to face the side of the rink where I stood and smiled. “Could someone please help my girl come out here? She’s not so good on the ice, either on skates or in those sexy shoes she’s wearing tonight.”
My eyes widened. But before I could panic too much, one of Max’s teammates had already opened the gate to the ice, and two others skated over and offered me their hands. I turned to Maggie, freaking out and looking for help, but she only smiled.
“Go get your man, my friend.”
The next thing I knew, I was walking across the ice, escorted by two large men on skates. In the center of the arena, they handed me off to Max and skated away.
Max took one look at my face and smiled. “You’re freaking out right now?”
I nodded, which only made him laugh.
I gazed up at the stands, at all of the eyes watching me, and the rumbling voices all seemed to stop at the same time. The arena grew quiet enough to hear a pin drop. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it or not, but when I turned back to Max I realized what had silenced everyone. Max had knelt down on one knee.
Oh my God. My trembling hand flew up to cover my mouth.
Max brought the other one to his lips and kissed it. “Georgia Margaret Delaney, I have been crazy about you since the night I crashed your blind date.”
I shook my head. “That’s because you are crazy.”
Max squeezed my hand. “The only thing that makes leaving hockey bearable is knowing what’s waiting for me on the other side. You have given me so much more than I ever thought possible. You give me strength and the courage to change—not just with my career but as a man. I want to grow old with you, Georgia.”
He picked up something next to him on the ice, a black velvet ring box and...a Yoda. Max had a pretty big collection of them now, especially after his hospital stay, but the one in his hand had a small chip on its ear. It looked like the one I’d carried with me every day since we met. Max noticed me staring at it.
“Yeah, he’s yours. I borrowed him from your purse last night when you weren’t looking. I figured I needed every bit of luck I could get.” He winked. “You don’t need the luck. You already have me.”
Max cupped my cheek, and I noticed his hand was shaking. For all his boisterous confidence and cocky pride, my big, tough guy was nervous. My heart melted a little bit more. He took another deep breath and blew it out with a smile before opening the ring box. Inside was a sparkling, emerald-cut diamond.