Page 72 of Love You Already
EPILOGUE
THERE WASN'T ANYTHING THAT COULD HAVE KEPT ME FROM GETTING TO YOU.
Lachlan
“You're going to see your girl tonight?” Jones asks once the bus comes to a stop.
We've been on the road for a week straight, and I'm more than ready to be home. I'm even more ready for the extra two days I have off from today thanks to a scheduling conflict with the coaching staff and the arena crew. Something about ice repairs and maintenance. Either way, we get the time away from work and I'm going to use that to my advantage to get to my wife ASAP.
I nod as I stand, my bag already in hand. “Sure am! I didn't tell her I was coming. This will be a surprise.”
He chuckles. “Try to get enough calories in between the reunion, will you? I want more of the Loch Ness I saw on the ice these last few days. Got it?”
“Got it. Now get out of my way. I have to get to my car and get on the road.” The other guys make way for me to slip past, most of them having eavesdropped to know why I'm rushed.
“Tell Rose we said hi!” a few of them shout as I reach the door. I wave to acknowledge them, then I slip off the bus to jog to the G-Wagon.
Behind the wheel of my car, I tuck my bag behind the seat and take off for Firefly Cove. I don't want anything else in my way on my path back to my wife. She's all I could think about, all I could focus on during this string of away games.
I don't exactly speed, but I definitely ride the line of legality as I book it down to her. One hour and thirty-seven minutes after driving out of the stadium, I'm pulling into the edge of town. Based on our texts from earlier, I know she's working at the bar tonight. It's only eight p.m., so she's got plenty more hours ahead of her before she can sneak away with me. Though, if I really use my charm, she might accept my offer for a quickie in her office.
Oh yeah. Let's turn the charm on.
The bar is bustling tonight, patrons filling it from wall to wall. I don't think I've ever seen it this busy. If it weren't for my height, I wouldn't even be able to see the bar with how thick it is. But I can, and my woman looks awfully delicious in a pair of shorts with my jersey tucked into one side. I'm thankful she did that move since she'd look damn near naked without it.
“Great game tonight!” a guy near the door tells me. His words set off a chain reaction of congratulations from people as I move through the crowded area.
I spot the moment my wife realizes the commotion is coming from my arrival. Her eyes go wide as her jaw drops. I mouth “hey Ace” to her since I'm still stuck in the fold of people.
She's up and over the counter in a heartbeat. A whistle from the bar, courtesy of Mel, draws everyone's attention and lets Rose slip through with ease. The second she's close enough, I tug her to me.
“You're here?”
I hold her tighter. “We've got two days off. There wasn't anything that could have kept me from getting to you.”
Her smile is all the confirmation I need that this was the right move.
“I missed you, Superstar. Can't believe you're really real. That you're standing here in my bar.”
I lean down, then run my nose along hers. “I could be really real in your office too.”
Ok, maybe not all that charming. If anything, it's a bit of a reach from what I meant to say. My wife has a way of making me jumble my words though. Being in her orbit makes me unsteady in all the best ways.
Her laughter rises above the noise of the crowd, who have only just realized Mel didn't have anything magnificent to say. She was merely distracting them to help my wife reach me quicker.
“Follow me,” Rose tells me as she turns and pulls me through the crowd. Guess my poor charm worked out.
I throw a few smiles and waves to others as we hustle to the back. Her office is just as I remembered it, small and cluttered. The only difference this time is the inclusion of a lock on the door. The sound is a loud click in the quiet of the space.
“You trapping me in here with you, Ace?” I tease her.
She backs up as she nods. “Sure am, husband. I figured you didn't want to have to share me with anyone.”
As she talks, she strips her shorts off. Next comes the jersey, which she lays carefully over the back of her desk chair like it's a prized possession. In nothing but a deep purple bra and panties, my wife looks mouthwatering. I'm ravenous for her, and I'm sending up thanks now for her foresight with the lock.
“You're damn right I'm not sharing you, wife.” She shivers at the title. I grin as I strip my clothes off piece by piece until we're both one layer away from bare.
As if we've choreographed it, our underwear goes flying off and then we're on each other, all desperate kisses and eager hands. My wife climbs me earnestly, her legs wrapping around me as her tiny hands grip my neck. I heft her into my arms as I turn quickly and press her into the wall.