Never Say Never: An Enemies-to-Lovers Secret Identity New Adult Sports Romance (Western Wildcats Hockey Book 4)
Never Say Never: EPILOGUE

Six months later…

Air stalls in my lungs when I catch my first glimpse of Britt as she pauses on the beach. Everyone rises to their feet as the music changes.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so damn beautiful.

Her caramel-colored strands have been swept up to the top of her head with a few loose tendrils left to curl around her face. Her gaze locks on mine as she proceeds down the makeshift aisle, each step bringing her closer.

Everyone fades to the background until she’s all I’m cognizant of. This girl is my fucking world, and I have no idea how I lived so long without her filling it.

When her lips lift, I return the smile, giving her a wink as she closes the distance between us. As beautiful as she looks in the strapless dress that hugs every delectable curve, I can’t wait to strip her out of it.

Hell, maybe we can sneak away during the reception so I can get my hands on her.

If the years we have stretched out before us are anything like our first six months together, then getting hitched in Vegas will have been the best damn decision I ever made.

I can’t imagine another woman I’d rather go through life with.

Britt is the one for me.

Just like I’m the one for her.

Which is exactly why we decided to tie the knot all over again. Because that’s the kind of thing a couple likes to remember, and the finer details from Vegas are murky at best.

After signing a three-year contract with the Milwaukee Mavericks, we decided on a destination wedding in the Virgin Islands.

Hey, it worked for both my parents and grandparents, so why the hell not?

Everybody’s here to help celebrate.

Both her family and mine.

All I can say is that Britt wasn’t lying when she said that her family was kind of extra. They’re over-the-top cray-cray.

When the producers of her show asked if they could film our wedding as a TV special, Britt told them abso-fucking-lutely not.

All right, those might not have been her exact words, but you get the point.

Her agent even tried brokering a deal for a spin-off show that featured us and the first couple of years of our marriage.

That was also a no-go.

Now that Britt has stepped away from the spotlight, she’s more protective of her privacy.

And of us as a couple.

Over the previous months, she’s given a few interviews. When asked about our marriage and what I’m like, she responds with a sweet smile and asks for the next question.

I don’t think it’s possible to love this girl any more than I already do.

Once Britt makes it down the aisle with her father, I reach out and shake his hand before grinning at her like a lunatic. The officiant gives her spiel and before you know it, we’re married for a second time. Everyone claps and cheers. All the guys from Western showed up with their significant others.

Even Hayes and Bridger.

With training camp right around the corner, it’s impossible not to dwell on how much I’m going to miss playing with the Wildcats. No matter how close I get to my new teammates, there’s no way they’ll be able to replace them.

When it comes down to it, we all grew up together.

Became men together.

And two of us got hitched together.

Fuck.

Now I’m getting maudlin, and that’s definitely not the vibe I’m going for.

Not when I’ve married the love of my life all over again.

After the ceremony, the party moves to the open-air restaurant on the beach. There’s dinner and dancing to cheesy eighties music. Britt sings a few new songs she’s been working on and then a throwback. The one that went viral and launched her career to stardom.

All the guests sing along.

I take a moment to glance around the reception. Everyone’s laughing, drinking, and having a blast. Which means that it’s the perfect time to slip away. Life has been chaotic since we arrived on the island a few days ago. Now that the deed has been done, we can finally chill out and enjoy ourselves.

I nab Britt’s fingers and tow her toward the exit. She quickens her steps to keep pace.

“Where are we going?” she asks, her voice sounding light and happy.

“I’ve missed you, sweet girl. You’ve been so busy planning all this the past month. I wanted to steal a little time alone with you.”

We hit the sand and leave the boardwalk behind. A large silvery moon hangs heavy in the sky, sending cascades of light across the ocean as the rhythmic sound of the waves washing up on the beach fills my ears.

Today couldn’t have been more perfect, and I can’t imagine sharing it with anyone other than her. When we’re a few feet from the water, I drop down and pull Britt onto my lap. My arms slip around her waist to hold her close. A few strands of her hair whip in the wind and slide across my cheek as she snuggles against me.

After I was drafted, Brit decided to transfer to UW-Milwaukee and continue working toward her degree. Then we picked out an apartment with killer views of Lake Michigan.

Life’s pretty sweet right now, and there’s not a damned thing I’d change about it.

I nuzzle her neck as the warm wind caresses our bare skin. “Are you happy, sweet girl?”

With a smile, she angles her face toward mine. Contentment shines brightly from her eyes. It’s an amazing feeling to know that I have everything to do with it.

“Of course I am. Today was perfect, don’t you think?”

I nod in agreement. “It was. And you were gorgeous.”

“You didn’t look so shabby yourself.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

She presses her lips against mine and whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” So freaking much that it hurts my heart.

And I can’t see that ever changing.

Right now, we’re happy to live in our little bubble.

We’ve had all the big talks, including ones about kiddos.

The plan is to wait a few years, but since we both come from big families, that’s what we want for ourselves.

When my hunger gets the best of me, my mouth replaces hers. One sweep of my tongue against the seam of her lips and she opens, allowing me entrance just like always. I break away long enough to turn her in my arms so that we’re facing one another. She hikes up the flowy material around her thighs until she’s able to straddle my legs. I’m already hard as steel.

Her palms settle on my cheeks as our gazes cling. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?”

I didn’t think it was possible for anything to deter thoughts of getting my hands on my wife, but the sound of her husky voice and the soft look that fills her expression does the trick.

“I love you too, firecracker. You know that. What I feel for you grows stronger with the passing of each day. You’re it for me. You might have needed some convincing in the beginning, but I didn’t. One look at Slap Shotz and I was a goner.”

“Oh, Colby.”

With that, her lips crash onto mine. As soon as I open, her tongue dips inside to tangle with my own. My hands stroke over the long line of her spine before pressing her closer.

When she shifts, I growl. “Baby, you keep that up and we won’t make it back to our suite before I have you.”

She pulls away long enough to smirk. The silvery moonlight that slants down on us highlights the mischievous glint in her eyes. “Maybe that’s exactly what I want.”

A tortured groan falls from my lips.

There’s no doubt about it—this girl will end up killing me.

But it would be one hell of a way to go.

She peeks over my shoulder to look at the open-air restaurant that glows in the distance. “I think we could probably sneak in a quickie before anyone realizes that we’re MIA.”

One brow slants upward. “Don’t tease me, woman.”

In answer, she rises to her knees and shifts her dress around before yanking her thong to the side. My cock stiffens as my gaze settles on the vee between her legs. Need spirals through me as I fumble with my belt, button, and zipper of my slacks until my thick erection is unleashed.

As soon as she slides down my hard length, we both groan and a sense of rightness washes over me.

The best part of it all is that being buried deep inside her body feels like coming home.

Because that’s exactly what Britt is for me.

My home.

Where I’ll always belong.