On the change he took his seat on the bench and dried his face. He thought of Faith and her giving up her team to save his ass. Yesterday he’d been mad as hell about it. Today, he had to admit that he was a little in awe. Giving up a hockey team and millions of dollars was a whole hell of a lot of love.
He glanced up at the clock and the remaining two minutes before he hit the ice.
Pittsburgh dumped the puck, and the Chinooks battled in front of their own net. With only half a second left, Blake cleared the puck and Ty headed up ice. Blake passed to Vlad and Vlad shot the puck across ice to Ty. As the clock counted the seconds, Ty ripped a slap shot at Pittsburgh’s goal. The puck streaked past the goalie’s glove and slammed into the back of the net. The buzzer sounded and the arena went wild. The Seattle bench emptied and the players piled onto the ice and onto each other. Horns blared inside the arena, and Ty’s ears rang and his heart pounded. He sucked in a breath as he fell to his knees beneath a pile of hockey players and tried not to cry like a girl.
Faith walked through the tunnel wearing her Chinooks jersey, a white flowing skirt, and the pink skates Ty had given her. She moved to the side as the Pittsburgh Penguins filed past her on their way to the guest locker room. It had taken her fifteen minutes to get through the crowd and past security. The Chinooks had already popped the first bottle of champagne and were spraying it all over each other by the time she stopped at the tunnel opening. The team had replaced their helmets with championship caps and her gaze sought and found the captain. Ty held up a jeroboam-size bottle, took a huge mouthful, then shook it up and sprayed it on Sam and Blake. The sight of his laughter lifted her heart and stung the backs of her eyes. She had no idea what he had planned, other than she stand in the tunnel after the game. She’d spoken to him last night and that morning, but he hadn’t told her, and both times the conversation deteriorated into what she was wearing and the color of her panties.
Tears spilled from her lashes as she watched the red carpet rolled out on the ice. The three-foot Stanley Cup, polished and engraved with the names of heroes and warriors, was carried down the carpet by Hockey Hall of Fame executives Philip Pritchard and Craig Campbell, who were wearing blue blazers and white gloves. She was so proud of her team and Ty.
The executives presented the cup to Ty, and he hoisted hockey’s most prized possession over his head as his teammates shot champagne into his eyes. He laughed as he lowered the thirty-five-pound cup and pressed his lips to the cool silver before he raised it once again.
The fans went crazy as Ty took off, skating around the rink with the cup above his head. For a few scary seconds, she wondered if he’d forgotten that she was waiting for him in the tunnel just like he said, but as he passed, his gaze met hers and his smile grew even bigger. He winked at her, then handed the cup off to Daniel. A microphone was shoved into Ty’s face and he wiped champagne from his eyes.
“How does it feel to win tonight?” a reporter from ESPN asked.
“Wonderful,” he said and adjusted the cap on his head. “We’ve all worked hard for this and we deserve it. This team had to work through some adversity. It made us all stronger, and I know that we all wish Bressler was here to enjoy this moment.”
“What gave you the edge tonight?”
“Pittsburgh is a great team. They didn’t give up or give us anything. I just think we’re in our own house and there was no way we were going to lose in front of this crowd.”
Sam approached Faith from behind, carrying another big bottle of champagne and with an unlit cigar in the corner of his mouth. “Can you believe we won, Mrs. Duffy? This is fucking incredible.” He reached for the cigar and tried and failed to appear apologetic. “Sorry about the F bomb. I got carried away.”
She laughed. “Understandable.”
He inclined his head toward the arena and the cup being passed from one player to the next. Each player held it up and kissed the coveted prize as he was sprayed with champagne. “Coming out?”
She looked over Sam’s shoulder to Ty, who was still speaking with reporters. “Not yet.” As Sam moved from the tunnel, she looked out at the arena and the fans still filling the seats. Then she raised her gaze to the empty skybox and swallowed past the sudden constriction in her throat. She doubted Landon had just gone home.
She was right. “What are you doing here, Layla?” he asked from just behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder. “What does it look like, Sprout? I’m watching my team pass around the cup.”
“It’s not your team.”
She looked into his cold blue eyes and felt the tension ease from her chest. He’d done his worst to her and she’d survived. At the end of the day, she might not have the Chinooks, but she still had the only man she’d ever truly loved. “You’re tiresome.” She sighed. “You and your whole entitled family.”
“Holy shit!” Blake said as he and Vlad stepped into the tunnel for more champagne and cigars. “I can’t believe he just did that.” He looked at Faith.
“What?”
He pointed to Ty and the knot of reporters around him. “Saint just said he’s retiring. This was his last game.”
Faith’s mouth fell open and her brows rose up her forehead. When he said he’d take care of everything and get her team back, she never thought for one second that he’d give up his career. “He better not,” she said.
“It doesn’t change anything,” Landon spoke. “If you try and back out again, I’ll send the photos to every paper in town.”
Ty separated himself from the reporters and walked up the red carpet toward her.
“I won’t let you retire,” she said as he approached.
“What?” He laughed and stuck a championship cap on her head. “I can’t hear you.” His smile flatlined as he looked at Landon. “Did you tell him you’re not selling after all?”
She shook her head.
“She’ll sell,” Landon assured Ty. “She signed a letter of intent.”
“Yes, and she signed one of those before. You’re a businessman, Mr. Duffy; you know these deals fall apart all the time. If you want a hockey team,