“What happened? Did you win?” Kaden asked.
Delaney clung to him and grinned. “There aren’t any winners or losers here. Mr. Parker has some undeveloped waterfront that was once the location of an old mill. He’s willing to donate it to the city for a park.”
“What about the tree?” I asked, feeling sad for that old tree but willing to accept the inevitable.
“He’s working with an architect on a design that’ll incorporate the tree in a way that it’ll grow and prosper until it dies naturally.”
“Oh, Cin.” I hugged her again, kissing her. I was truly happy for her.
Ziggy sulked on the couch, not able to rouse himself out of his bad mood enough to congratulate the women. I ignored him, weary of his selfishness.
I had better things to concentrate on right now, like how gorgeous Cin looked in one of Delaney’s suits.
“You’re hot,” I said to her. “The business suit might make for some interesting role playing.”
“You think? The dominant female boss and subservient male employee?”
“Uh, that wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
Cin threw back her head and laughed. “I love you and your dirty mind.”
“And I love yours.”
I wrapped her in my arms again for a deep kiss, letting my kiss say more than mere words ever could.
I loved this woman, and she loved me.
Life didn’t get better than that.
Epilogue
~~Steele~~
“This is fucking lame. I protest,” said Axel as he downed another shot of tequila. Geneva laughed out loud, not feeling the least bit sorry for her man.
“I’m so glad I didn’t miss your performance, honey,” Geneva said with a wicked grin. Axel scowled in response.
“What do you protest, exactly?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“You have to ask me that?” Axel reached for another shot and downed it.
I shrugged and wrapped an arm around Cin’s shoulders, pulling her closer. The Blue Dog was rocking tonight because it was New Year’s Eve. The band they’d booked had cancelled, and they’d hired a karaoke DJ instead. I was still surprised Cin had been able to get the night off. Most of the team was in attendance, and we’d pushed several tables together in the middle of the room.
The four Puck Brothers and their ladies were in attendance. Over a year ago, we’d vowed to stay single until we were thirty, and look at us now. Not one of us was sorry for breaking the pact.
“You went easy on Kaden so he’d go easy on you. No fucking fair.”
“How do you know he went easy on Kaden? We don’t know what the song is yet.” Easton defended me, and I gave him a fist bump. The truth was that Easton did know the song we’d selected as Caro had suggested it. I owed her drinks all night for that one.
“Kaden Westbrook, you’re up next,” the DJ announced as the last singer finished. Thank God. She was awful, not that Kaden would be any better. I’d never heard the guy sing, but I wasn’t expecting an in-tune performance. Most likely, I’d have to watch my back for the next year or two or three.
It was five minutes before midnight, and I’d tipped the DJ handsomely to make sure Kaden had the last song before the year turned over.
“I’m going to want a video of this.” Cin held up her phone. Of course, she knew what song I’d chosen.
Easton leaned over and said something to Ice, who broke out into a rare grin. He in turn said something to Avery, who threw back her head and laughed.
“Guys, guys!” Ice shouted, banging so hard on his glass with a knife I thought he’d break it.
Our raucous group of partiers quieted and turned their attention to our captain.
“Westbrook, here, is about to serenade us with his all-time favorite song. I think we owe him the courtesy of listening.”
There were smirks and grins around the table. Every guy and his partner knew something good was coming.
“It’s not my favorite song,” Kaden argued as he stood to go to the small stage in the front of the room.
“Don’t be shy, Westie. We’re all rooting for you,” Easton said, giving him a thumbs-up.
“Fuck you,” Kaden responded.
I was laughing my ass off. This was going to be epic.
Kaden trudged to the stage, like a guy going to the gallows. In a way, he was.
He skipped the steps and leapt onto the stage and stumbled, inciting a loud litany of jeering from our rowdy gang of merrymakers.
The DJ’s particular setup had a monitor for the singer, while the big screens around the room showed the words to the music complete with tacky graphics of people from what appeared to be the seventies.
I waited with bated breath for the song to be displayed. Kaden saw it at the same time the rest of our crowd did. The hoots and hollers were deafening.
Kaden stared at the monitor as if it were written in a foreign language. I laughed my ass off at the look on his face. It was priceless. I glanced at Caro, who was videoing the entire thing for all posterity and generations of hockey players. I bet she’d put it up on a few social media places.
“Belt it out with feeling!” Ziggy yelled at the top of his lungs. As usual, Ziggy was the drunkest guy there, and that was saying a lot in a group of hockey players celebrating New Year’s Eve.
“I wanna see some body action too. Get into the music,” added Cave.
“Give it all you got!” said Rush.
Kaden glanced up from the monitor as the music began. He gave us the middle finger, which brought about more good-natured taunting.
The words to “I Touch Myself” by the Divinyls were displayed for all to see.
Kaden began to sing in what could only be considered the most lackluster performance by any karaoke singer daring to sing this song. He wasn’t putting the Divinyls to shame, that was certain.
No one minded. We were getting a charge out of this. Even better, his performance would live far past the four minutes it took him to sing this song.
“Come on!”
“Act it out!”
“With feeling!”
“Show me how you touch yourself, baby!” Even Delaney was participating in the harassment.
Ziggy stood up, swaying drunkenly, and began to run his hands up and down his body. “Like this, buddy. Show us.”
The entire place erupted in laughter. Cave grabbed Ziggy by the shoulder and slammed him back down into his seat. “Don’t steal the show,” I heard him say.
Kaden’s face was a scorching red. I’d never seen anyone’s skin turn that color unless they’d been in the hot sun for hours.
“Get into the song or pay for all our drinks tonight!” Ice ordered, and no one bucked our captain’s orders.
Despite how humiliated he was, Kaden grabbed his balls defiantly as he finished his stilted performance. The uproar in the bar reverberated across Puget Sound. Kaden stomped off the stage, most likely wishing he was able to crawl under it. The entire bar gave him a standing ovation.
“What does Westbrook do in his spare time?” Smooth asked the group.
“He touches himself,” we answered in unison, followed by another round of catcalling.
Kaden sank into his seat, and I clapped him on the shoulders.
“Good job, K,” I said.
“You’re going to pay for this,” he threatened.
Yeah, I was certain I was, but I’d enjoy the night and the wonderful lady beside me.
I turned to Cin and winked at her. Everyone was on their feet as we waited for the Space Needle to light up on the TV screens. With eyes full of love, she tipped her champagne glass to me. The countdown started…
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Cin was in my arms, and I was in hers, and that’s where we’d both be the rest of our lives.
Happy New Year.
* * *
~ THE END ~
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Thank you for spending time in my world. I hope you enjoyed r
eading this book. If you did, please help other readers discover this book by leaving a review.
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Complete Booklist
The following Jami Davenport titles are available in digital and many are available as trade paperbacks. These books can be read as standalones.
Scoring Series
Introducing the Puck Brothers
Shutout
Blocked
Playmaker
Icing
Faceoff (Spring 2021)
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Moo U (World of True North)
Gametime (April 2021)
* * *
Seattle Sockeyes Hockey
Skating on Thin Ice
Crashing the Net
Love at First Snow
Melting Ice
Hearts on Ice
Bodychecking
Goaltending
Penalty Play
Shutdown Player
Shot on Goal
Deflected
* * *
Seattle Skookums Baseball
Bottom of the Ninth
* * *
Men of Tyee
Sacked in Seattle
Tackled in Seattle
* * *
Seattle Steelheads
Kickoff (The Originals)
Snap Decision (The Originals)
Offsides (The Originals)
Draw Play (The Originals)
Hot Read (The Originals)
Comeback Route (The Originals—Spring 2021)
Blindsided
Game Changer
Fumble Recovery
* * *
Gone Missing Investigations
Gone Missing
* * *
Evergreen Nights Series
Save the Last Dance
Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?
The Gift Horse
* * *
Standalone Books
Madrona Sunset
About the Author
Subscribe to my newsletter to receive free digital books and be notified of new releases, special sales, and contests: https://eepurl.com/LpfaL
USA Today bestselling author Jami Davenport writes sexy contemporary, new adult, and sports romances, and has recently dived into Romantic Suspense with her new series, Gone Missing.
Jami lives on a small farm in the woods near Puget Sound with her Green Beret-turned-plumber husband, a Newfoundland drool monster, and a prince disguised as an orange tabby cat.
Jami worked in IT for years and is a former high school business teacher but recently achieved her life-long dream and is now a full-time author. A horse lover since birth, Jami showed dressage horses for over thirty years. Now she gardens and goes RVing in her green Winnebago Minnie, along with other travelling adventures. She's a lifetime Seahawks and Mariners fan and is impatiently waiting for the day professional hockey comes to Seattle. Jami still misses her SuperSonics. An avid boater, Jami has spent countless hours in the San Juan Islands, a common setting in her books. In her opinion, it's the most beautiful place on earth.
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Website: https://www.jamidavenport.com
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Icing Page 24
