“You’re fucking beautiful,” I whispered.
She smiled and leaned into me. “You’re pretty handsome yourself.” Our eyes met and she smiled invitingly.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked against her ear.
“Absolutely.”
I pressed my lips to hers, keeping it chaste but letting everyone in the room know she was mine. Not that anyone here was vying for her attention that I knew of, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d waited so damn long for this, I was going to shout it from the rooftops if she let me.
“Zaan and Lexi are on the way!” someone called out.
I took Isla’s hand and we followed the group into the ballroom—a room I hadn’t even known existed in this house—where the party was being held. Someone had hung a banner that said “Congratulations, Zaan & Lexi,” and there was a buffet set up that made my stomach rumble. There was even a small wedding cake on a table in the corner of the room, which made me smile. The Campbell family was incredibly thoughtful and generous, one of many reasons Ian was my closest friend and I’d fallen hard for his brilliant, sexy and sweet twin sister.
“It seems like I’ve missed something since the end of the season,” Jared commented, his eyes traveling to where my fingers were laced with Isla’s.
“Mind your own business,” his wife, Renee, said with a teasing grin.
“You look good together,” he said, nodding. Then he turned to tell Renee something and they moved away.
“Uncle Ian, do you like my Sidewinders dress?” Gracie demanded, skipping over in our general direction. Her dress was the same royal blue as the Sidewinders jerseys, with gold trim.
Ian scooped her up with a laugh. “I like it very much. You’ll be ready to play for the team in a few years.”
“Will you teach me how?” she asked him.
“Absolutely.”
“She’s a trip,” I told Isla.
“She’s lovely,” she agreed. “Do you like children?”
“In small doses.” I nodded. “You?”
“I think so?” She laughed lightly. “I’m exhausted after spending the day with her. She’s delightful, but so much energy.”
“It’s probably different when they’re your own,” I said. “I mean, more work overall, but there’s naps and school and such.”
“True.” Her gaze followed Ian to where he was now laughing with Everly and Margot. “I hope he and Everly give my mother a grandchild soon. She desperately wants one.”
“I think they will,” I said. “They’re ready for the white picket fence and all that.”
“Ian’s been ready for a while, but Everly might want a little time to enjoy being married first.” Isla was thoughtful. “I would, anyway. I want them, but I’m busy and my career takes up a lot of time. I think you have to be in the right mindset for children and that’s not me right now.”
“Me either. Hockey keeps me busy nine months of the year and with me mulling around different things I might want to do, I don’t think it’s a great time to have a kid.”
“Have you come up with any other ideas for your future?”
I shook my head. “Nothing I care about enough to leave hockey.”
“They just pulled up!” Ian called out. “We’ll greet them at the front door, but you all stay here. We’ll yell ‘surprise’ as soon as they walk in.”
We all moved into the center of the room to wait, most of us holding glasses of champagne that we’d been told to hold up when they came in.
A minute later, Zaan and Lexi came in and jumped as we all shouted, “Surprise!”
The next hour was spent laughing and mingling with everyone. Zaan and Lexi were overwhelmed and awed by the surprise, so they did their best to walk around and talk to everyone. My single friends were dropping like flies, and I realized I was the only one of the original Sidewinders who was still single. Tore was single but he’d come later, since he was a good deal younger than I was, and all my closest buddies were married now. Hell, Zaan was only twenty-three and he’d gone and tied the knot now too.
It was an odd feeling, and while I wouldn’t have considered getting married just because the other guys were, I wouldn’t hesitate to marry Isla. Even now, in the midst of my uncertain future, I would marry her tomorrow. It made no sense, but every time I looked at her, I fell a little harder. We were definitely going to have to talk about this sooner rather than later.
Not this weekend, though. There was far too much going on.
We ate, drank, and had a toast to the newlyweds before the party started to break up. Some of the guests started to leave while others gathered at tables to drink some more. Zaan and Lexi had just cut the cake, but I didn’t feel like dessert and neither did Isla.
“You want to go for a walk?” she asked me.
“Sure.” I took her hand as she led me out of the ballroom, through the house and out a back door.
“What a fun evening,” she said as we stepped outside.
“It was great,” I agreed.
“I can’t decide if I want a big wedding like Ian and Everly are having tomorrow,” she said, “or if I’d rather have something smaller and more intimate like this.”
“I think there are pros and cons to both,” I said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “The big event is something you’ll always remember, with everyone you love and all the bells and whistles. Eloping or having a small reception like this is more of a party than an event.”
“It sounds like you’re more interested in the event,” she said, glancing at me.
I frowned. “I’m honestly on the fence. It’s going to boil down to what the woman in my life wants, I think, and as long as we have something my parents can attend, it’ll be okay. Because I know my mom would be spectacularly pissed if I just eloped and
