Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 126(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“Come on, baby!” I shout. “Finish him off!”
My pulse is racing as I watch. My insides feel like their vibrating from the roar of the crowd.
Tucker lands one hard uppercut that everyone in the arena can hear. Maddock’s head snaps back. Sweat flies off his hair. His whole body stiffens. And he goes down. Hard.
It’s over.
Maddock is out cold.
The crowd is deafeningly loud as they cheer for my man. He brings the freaking house down.
Tucker runs a hand through his sweaty hair and finds me in the crowd. I blow him a thousand kisses as he smiles at me. A thin stream of blood is leaking from his left eyebrow, but I know my man can take it. He’s tougher than I ever thought a human could be.
“What’s he doing?” I shout to Alina over the roar of the crowd when Tucker grabs Maddock’s skate and starts dragging him away.
“It’s his famous move,” she shouts back with a big smile on her face. “He likes to rub it in a little!”
The crowd is loving it as Tucker drags the unconscious behemoth to the Centaur’s box and drops him like a sack of potatoes.
I laugh as he skates away, the crowd eating it up.
“It looks like you’re enjoying yourself,” Alina says with a grin.
I shake my head, unable to wipe the smile from my face. “I’m starting to see the appeal of this game.”
She hooks her arm around mine and laughs. “I know, right!”
Tucker skates toward us and curves around the net. His eyes are on me as this entire section explodes into new cheers.
He stops right in front of me. My heart pounds.
“I love you, Jane,” he says through the glass. “I love you with all my heart.”
“I love you too!” I shout back as two refs come charging over. They grab Tucker’s arms and start struggling to pull him away. His eyes never leave mine, big smile on his bloody face, as he lets the refs pull him to the penalty box.
I turn and look around at all of the excited hockey fans.
“That’s my boyfriend!” I proudly shout. They all cheer. “He’s all mine!”
Epilogue
Jane
Eight Years Later…
“Beautiful,” I say to myself as I adjust a big orange flower and then step back to admire the arrangement. Tucker went out for groceries this morning and came back with flowers for me. He knows how much I love them, so he’s always surprising me with a fresh bouquet.
I smile as I recall the first time I walked into this house and how I thought it was so dreary and depressing. It’s not like that anymore. Tucker let me redecorate once I moved in, shortly after we started dating.
I got rid of the dull gray walls and gave the house a much-needed colorful facelift. We found some nice art and filled the house with elegant yet comfortable furniture. It started to feel like a home for both of us.
It was perfect. Everything was clean and always in place.
Until our first-born April learned how to walk. Then, it was chaos. The best kind of chaos.
I put on some cheery music and begin to make lunch. It’s a nice spring Saturday and Tucker took our three girls to the park. He’s so sweet like that.
Those girls have him wrapped around their fingers, it’s so endearing to see. There’s nothing he won’t do for them.
He’s a gentle giant with those girls, just like he is with me. He never has a harsh word to say to any of us. He’s always so patient and kind.
I feel so lucky to have him.
“Whoa,” I say as I grab the counter in surprise. The baby in my belly just kicked for the first time. “Well, hello there, Mr. Lucas. Are you going to be powerful like your dad?”
He kicks again as if he’s answering me yes.
After having three girls, I’m finally giving Tucker a son. I’m seventeen weeks pregnant and am already showing a lot. This boy is going to be large like his father.
I’m still working with Alina and I still love it. She made me a director a few years ago and I’m so proud of the company we’ve built. We’ve grown it to over a hundred employees and grew a lot in the process. She went from being my boss to being my best friend. I adore that girl.
Tucker is retired now. There’s no more fighting in his life, which I’m relieved about even though it did get me going every time I saw him kick some big bully’s ass.
He spends his days with our girls and supporting me in my career. He seems happier these days than I’ve ever seen him before. There’s a peacefulness in his soul that was missing when we first met.
“Do the airplane, Daddy!”
I smile as I hear my middle daughter Maeve’s squeaky voice ringing out in the backyard.