“Are you sure, Ryan? I mean—”
“I have a new goal.”
“I don’t want to come between you and your goals, but Ryan, you have to be confident in your choice and promise you won’t resent me.”
I hold her gaze. “Do you want to hear my new goal?”
I can see her eyes filling with tears as she nods. “Yes, of course I do.”
I swallow hard as I run my thumb along her jaw. “I want to be the youngest athletic trainer the Assassins have ever had. I want to help my uncle coach my baby cousins. I want to be there for my mom since Amelia is leaving. I want to wake up every morning and see your face.”
A sob leaves her lips, and she shakes her head. “Oh, Ryan.”
“I want to make love to you every night. I don’t want to miss all the tens you’ll get, and I want to be there when we move your mom here. I want to push you to live your dreams, and I want to help make them happen. I want to be there to open the gym, and I want to help you set it up. I’m strong, and you know I can carry shit.”
Her lips quiver as she leans into me, her nose brushing against mine. “You can.”
“I want to run with you every morning and not hate every moment because we’ll be together. I want to hold you when you cry. I want to kiss you because I fucking can. I want to love you, every second of every day, and I want you to see it, feel it. What is the point of a life if it’s not what you want?”
“Exactly, Ryan. That, that right there. Will it be what you want if you’re not in the NHL?”
“It’ll be more than what I want. More than I could ever dream of, because I’ll have you.”
“Are you sure?” she asks, her voice breaking.
I close my eyes, emotion taking over as I hold her close. “You told me that forever isn’t enough time for us, and you were right. I have everything I want here, everything that makes me happy, plus a crazy awesome job offer. Above all that, I have a smoking hot girlfriend, one I really love.”
“But what if you stop loving me? What happens then?”
“First, not happening. But if for some stupid reason that does happen, it would be all your fault,” I accuse, and she snorts, her lips curving up in the most gorgeous way ever. “Then, yeah, after I got over you, after I picked up the pieces of my broken heart, I would be good. But that’s all what-if bullshit ’cause it isn’t happening.”
She doesn’t say anything for a whole minute; she just stares at me, her tears running down her cheeks as she gazes into my eyes. “I didn’t want you to leave,” she cries, wrapping her arms around me tightly. “I wanted you to stay, but I needed you to do it on your own. I honestly think you’re making the best choice. You love training, you love the team, and you love being in control. I don’t think you have that as a hockey player. I think you get too much in your head. You need to be able to think freely without the pressure of making everyone else happy, making people proud because, Ryan, everyone already is. You’re freaking amazing. I don’t know how you don’t see what I see.”
“I do, Sofia. I do when I look in your eyes.”
“Yes, because I see you for you,” she cries, kissing my lips over and over again. “You are going to be the best trainer, and I’ll be there every morning and every night cheering you on, because I want the best for you.”
“I want the best for you, and not to sound too conceited, but I think it’s me.”
She laughs, the sound so beautiful in this dark room. “No, it’s perfect because it’s true. We fit, we work, and as long as you want me, I want you.”
“Which will be forever,” I promise, and her face lights up, her arms squeezing me tightly.
“Good. I want it. I want it all with you, because the thing is, Ryan, you’re my perfect ten. I never thought I’d meet anyone like you, and you came out of nowhere. I swear it, Ryan, you’re mine. I don’t want anything but the best for you.”
I let out the breath I was holding, hugging her close to me as I whisper, “You’re mine. I feel it everywhere, and I just know this is it.”
“It is.”
“So, we’re doing this.”
“Oh, Ryan, baby, we were doing this before you decided to take the trainer position. Now we just get to do it together.”
I shake my head as I gaze into her cloudy eyes. I keep trying to figure out how I got this girl, and I decided it’s all my dad’s doing. It has to be. She was handpicked for me. Made for me.
“I was made to love you. Do you know what I’m saying? Shit, Sofia. I love you. Completely.”
As her lips meet mine, she stares into my eyes. “I’ve never heard a truer statement in my whole entire life.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, and damn it, I love you. I love you so much it physically hurts me.”
Capturing her lips, I get lost in the feel of her, the taste of her. When she pulls away, I go for more, until her hand comes up to stop me.
“We’re going to have an amazing life.”
“The best,” I promise. “I hope you’re ready.”
She chuckles, her eyes burning into mine. “No, I hope you’re ready.”
I’ve never been so ready for something in my life.
A life with Sofia Castilleja is the only thing I always knew I wanted.