Power Play (Nashville Assassins Next Generation 2)

I snort. “Really?”

“Yeah, she said if I don’t take good care of you, she’ll bust my top lip. I was gonna joke that ‘Hey, then they’ll match,’ but she didn’t seem in the joking mood.”

I laugh, leaning back on my hand. “Good read.”

He points his fork to me. “Right?”

As we eat, I can’t stop staring at him. He’s just so beautiful. It’s as if I’m seeing him in a brand-new light, or I’m seeing him for the first time again. Skating toward me with such promise and pure commitment to winning. What he never realized was that he wasn’t playing for me as his coach; he was playing to win my heart. Or maybe he did know. Maybe that was his plan the whole time. Either way, I’m so over-the-top in love with him, I almost can’t handle what I am feeling.

It’s so hard not to feel blown away by him. I never imagined anyone would do something like this for me. I got sick many times when Maxim was living with us. He never came around because he didn’t want to catch what I had. I told him more than once you can’t catch a thyroid disease, but he never took the time to do the research. Or even to care for me. Boon has, though, and then some.

When Ryan Hurd’s “To a T” comes on, I grin up at him. “It’s our song.”

He looks confused. “I thought ‘Just the Way You Are’ was our song.”

“Eh, this one is more special. It’s us.”

He nods. “Okay. You up for some dancing?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“That’s my girl,” he says as he gets up. He crouches down to help me to my feet before picking me up fully in his arms. I wrap my arms and legs around him as I lay my head on his shoulder. His arms hold me up like he’s holding a pillow, and I love him even more for making me feel light. He glides his lips along my hair, inhaling me as we sway to the sweet acoustic version of the song. His fingers slip under my shirt, holding me close as the candles burn, and my heart skips about five beats.

“I don’t know how anyone could ever think you aren’t emotionally available.”

He chuckles against my hair. “I think I figured that out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I think I am emotionally unavailable to everyone else. But for you, I’m totally available.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” he promises as he takes in a deep breath. “Hey, Posey.”

I pull my head back, meeting his gaze. “Yeah?”

“I have a new plan.”

I bring in my brows. “A new plan?”

“Yeah,” he says, his eyes sparkling in the candlelight. “I want to kiss you under the Cup, then I want to move in together, and then I want the cat, but it needs to be like a cat-dog. One that makes me think it’s a dog but is independent.”

“Where do we find this cat?” I ask with a smile.

“I don’t know. We’ll need to do research.”

“You’re great at that.”

“I am,” he agrees, his eyes searching mine. “But then I want to get married.” He says it so naturally. “And then I want a baby. A little boy first, so he can protect his two sisters.”

I giggle. “Two girls?”

“Yeah, I need a Shelli and Posey Adler. Those girls are badass.”

Tears burn in my eyes as I gaze into his. “I want that too.”

“I love you, way too much for one person to ever love anyone, but I don’t care, because I do.”

I swallow hard. “I want to mess up your plan.”

He cocks his head. “How?”

“When you go to get your truck and bag, grab all the stuff you care about, because I don’t want you to leave once you’re here.”

His eyes fall in a heated stare. “I have everything I need right here.”

I beam. “You need your razor.”

He nods. “When I get that, I’ll have everything.”

Our laughter fills the room, but then our lips meet and everything else falls away. Because under my lips, in my arms, is everything I’ll ever need.

Boon Zachariah Hoenes.

Epilogue

Boon

Game seven.

Conference finals against the Las Vegas Knights on home ice.

Tie game, six minutes on the clock.

The IceCats already won their conference, and they’re waiting for their opponent.

That opponent will be the Nashville mother-effing Assassins.

And we’ll kick their asses again!

I lean on the boards with Wes and Aiden mirroring me as we all suck in deep breaths after a killer shift. The Knights are one hell of a team. We thought we had them beat; we went up three games real fast, but then they came back, winning the next three. Everyone has already decided we aren’t going to win. They all believe it’s the Knights since they have all the momentum, but I refuse to accept that.

I have a plan, and I’m sticking to it.