KELLER
“Callum, where are you taking me?”
“You’ll see,” I tell her, tugging her forward and down the stone path I traveled earlier while she was taking a nap back in the hotel room.
Chloe giggles, and I can’t help but grin. It’s easily my favorite sound in the world, even topping a goal horn going off. While I love to score, I would go the rest of my life never putting a puck in the back of the net if it meant I got to spend every day listening to my wife’s laughter.
My wife.
We’ve been married for five years already, but I don’t think I’ll ever truly get used to calling her that. How could I when every time I look at her, it still feels like we’re a couple of kids in college, falling in love for the first time?
Her hand is grasped tightly in mine as the sun dips lower in the sky. The deeper we go into the overgrown trees, the darker it gets, but I know what lies ahead.
“We’re almost there,” I promise her.
Less than two minutes later, we step into the clearing I found, and Chloe gasps at the sight before us.
“Holy…” she whispers, her eyes wide as she takes in the sun glistening off the waves. “Callum, this is…gorgeous.”
Maui is gorgeous, but it’s nothing compared to her.
Her deep red hair is swept up in a messy bun, and there’s not a lick of makeup on her face. A floor-length lemonade-colored dress hugs in all the right places, and there’s a bit of pink to her cheeks that wasn’t there when we first began our two-week honeymoon.
I wish I could have swept her away the night we got married and spent the next month buried inside of her, but thanks to signing the contract with New York, I had obligations I couldn’t put off.
It doesn’t matter now, though. We’re here. We’re together. Nothing can beat this.
I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and tugging her against me. I press a kiss to her exposed shoulder, reminding myself to rub a little extra sunscreen on it before hitting the beach tomorrow, and rest my chin on the top of her head, loving how she sags against me with a happy sigh.
“I found it earlier,” I tell her as she rests her hands on top of mine.
“I was wondering where you snuck off to. I woke up at one point, and you were gone. I thought you had maybe come to your senses and had taken off.”
I frown. This isn’t the first time she’s made a comment like this, and I hate it just as much as all the others.
We’ve been married for five years. Is she ever going to believe she’s enough for me?
“I’m not going anywhere, Clover. You couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried.”
She squeezes my hand, and I try not to overthink the fact that it’s the only response I get.
We stand like that until the sun dips below the horizon, and I know if we don’t make our way back to the hotel soon, we’ll be trying to navigate the rocky path in the dark.
“We should probably head back,” I tell her, even though I don’t want to leave this spot any more than she does.
“Five more minutes?” she asks.
I don’t dare deny her.
“Five more minutes,” I agree.
Chloe wiggles back against me and sways softly back and forth to a song that only she can hear.
It gives me an idea.
She whines when I pull away, and I grin to myself as I slide my phone from my pocket and navigate to my music app.
“What are you doing?” she asks, trying to peek, but I hold the device closer to my chest, trying to keep it a surprise.
“I found a song that made me think of you, and I want to play it for you.”
“Of me?” she asks excitedly, then huffs. “It’s not one of those screamy songs you love so much, is it?”
“No. It’s a romantic song, believe it or not.”
She lights up again. “Really? My, my. Are you going soft on me, Callum Keller?”
“I’m always soft when it comes to you.” I scrunch up my face. “Wait. That didn’t sound right.”
Chloe laughs. “No, it didn’t, but I know what you mean. You act so tough on the exterior, but I know deep down, you’re a secret romantic.”
“Only for you, Clover,” I tell her, meaning every word.
She blushes as I set the song to repeat after it’s done, because I already know I’m going to want her in my arms for longer than the music lasts, and hover my thumb over the play button before looking at her.
“May I have this dance, Mrs. Keller?”
She giggles, and I wish I could bottle up the sound and keep it for all time. I’d use it for lonely nights in hotel rooms when I’m on the road. Or listen to it on repeat on the long flights. Honestly, just whenever I need a pick-me-up, because that’s what being around Chloe feels like to me.
“Yes, Mr. Keller, you may,” she says as she slips her hand in mine.
I press play on the song and put the phone into my pocket before dragging her to me, loving how she falls against me effortlessly.
My arms go around her, and she presses her head to my chest, almost like she’s listening to my heartbeat instead of the building melody.
“Sometimes I forget what a good dancer you are.”
“Shhh. Listen to the song, Clover. And I mean really listen.”
“All right, all right,” she says, sounding exasperated, but she does as she’s told.
We stay pressed together like that for another play through, and just when I think she’s going to pull away, she tugs me closer, her fingers digging into me as she grips me tighter, and I don’t dare try to move.
I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
I’m rooted to this spot. To her. It’s been that way since the beginning, and if luck is on my side, that’ll never change. We’ll never change.
Her shaking shoulders pull me from my thoughts, and I lean back, looking down at her.
“Clover?”
“I’m sorry.” She wipes away the tears beneath her eyes. “That was just… Gosh, that was beautiful, Callum. Is that…” She gulps in a breath. “Is that really how you feel about me?”
“Yes. Is that so surprising?” She nods, and I hate that she does. I tug her closer, tracing my palm over her back in soothing circles. “Yes, Clover. That’s really how I feel about you. You’re…everything to me. You always have been.”
I feel her smile against me. “You’re everything to me, too, Callum.”
We stay like that for a long time, swaying back and forth to the same song over and over. The sun is long gone, and we’ll definitely be walking back in the dark, but I don’t care, not if it means getting to hold her like this.
“We should probably head back,” she says after a long while, and I nod, even though I don’t want to let her go.
“Yeah, sure, let’s go back.”
She slides her hand against mine, twining our fingers together. “Want to order room service? I’m thinking a brownie sundae and a long, hot bath sounds really nice.”
“Of course you do, my little chocaholic.”
“Hey! It’s not an addiction. I can quit whenever I want. Maybe.”
She’s lying, and we both know it.
But I don’t call her on it. I love that she loves chocolate so much. Hell, I’d love it even if she didn’t, but that’s just because everything about her is my favorite. She might be addicted to chocolate, but I’m addicted to her, and I don’t see myself ever quitting.
“Hey,” she says when we’re halfway back to the hotel. “What was that song we just danced to? I want to make sure I add it to my playlist. I mean, I’ll probably be a sobbing mess every time I hear it while you’re on the road, but I still want to know.”
If she only knew the number of times I’ve been in that exact spot.
“It’s called ‘You in January’ by The Wonder Years.”
“It was really beautiful. Thank you for sharing it with me.”
I squeeze her hand. “I’ll share everything with you, Clover. Always. Let’s promise to never stop sharing.”
“Deal.” She squeezes back. “Race you back to the hotel? First to the room gets the last bite of brownie?”
“You’re on.”
The words have barely left my mouth before she’s sprinting ahead of me, laughing and smiling over her shoulder as I chase behind her.
She’s the first to reach the room, and I’ll never tell her, but I let her win.
Because for her, I’d do anything.
Forever.
Want more hockey?
Pre-order LINE CHANGE, book one of the Tennessee Twisters series coming April 8, 2027!
Missed Auden & Hutch?
Read out BODY CHECK now!
Want more hockey?
The Carolina Comets series is now complete and available in Kindle Unlimited!
PUCK SHY is now available!
