EPILOGUE
“We did it.”Daphne throws her arms around my neck and screams. “We won. We won the Cup!”
I squeeze her to me, appreciating her so much at this moment.
The cheers in the arena are deafening.
The energy electric.
It came down to game seven, but we won and got to do it on our home ice.
Red, white, and blue confetti litters the air as the team captain, Connor Callahan, raises the cup over his head, and our guys skate a victory lap. It might have taken us two seasons to get here, but everything about this was worth the wait. We came close last year but lost in the second round of the playoffs. It was a tense series that came down to a sudden death overtime in game seven.
They scored first.
It was a painful way to lose.
Our guys gave everything we asked of them.
The puck just didn’t fall our way that night.
But we came back stronger this year. The team and the organization. There was a spark to this season from day one. Something special. O’Doul and I worked the entire off-season in what we turned into our war room, strategizing about who we needed and what moves had to be made to win. Making this victory all the sweeter.
“Why, Mr. Kingston. Are you crying?” Daphne’s thumb brushes a phantom tear from my eye. She’s been by my side every step of the way.
I bring her hand to my lips and press a kiss to her fingers. “No. Just happy.” Sometimes it’s still hard to believe that life can be this good. At work and at home.
Everyone knows we’re together.
They see us at work, games, and foundation events, but we keep the rest just for us.
The two of us have crazy schedules, but we’ve learned to make every moment count.
Daphne has done so well with Start A Revolution that she’s busier than all of us some weeks. She has a packed schedule, and that’s with a full staff to help her these days. My hand slips down her back and squeezes her ass. “Ten more days, Daphne.” We rented a boutique resort in Fiji for two weeks, and I can’t wait to whisk my wife away. Sun. Sand. And Daphne in a tiny bikini.
Her mouth seals over mine. “Ten more days.”
“How about we not be forced to explain to your nieces and nephews how babies are made?” Becks laughs at the two of us. It took a while for our relationship to get back on solid footing after Start A Revolution’s first fundraiser, but we got there.
“Whatever, Uncle Asshole,” Daphne murmurs just loud enough for Becket to hear as her eyes light up with amusement.
He’s never getting rid of that nickname. But he’s not wrong. We’re surrounded by a ton of little ears in here. I decided Scarlet had the right idea, and we now have two boxes for the Revolution games, the same as the Kings games. One for the high-profile guests we have to entertain and another just for the family.
And the entire family is in here tonight.
Lenny’s son, Maverick, tries running over on his chubby legs to high five me, and I scoop him up in my arms before he manages to fall flat on his face. At sixteen months old, I already have no doubt he’ll be following in his father’s football cleats one day. He’s a bruiser. He’s only a few months younger than Scarlet’s son, Killian, and both boys try to do everything their older cousin, Maddox, does, even though Maddox is a year older.
Neither of them can keep up... yet.
One day soon though...
Lenny takes him from me and puts him back on the ground. “You’ve got to let him fall, Max. He’s got to learn.” Yeah. My sisters have given me this lecture more than once, but I’m not good at letting them fall. Some things will never change.
“Whatever you say, Len.” She knows I’m mocking her.
Lenny links her arm through Daphne’s. “I pity you when you get pregnant. He’s going to put you in a bubble until the baby comes. Then he’s going to have another one made just for them.”
“Hey, Caitlin’s here tonight, and she’s not in a bubble.” Amelia and Sam’s daughter was born two months ago, and even she’s here in a tiny Revolution onesie.