Hold Me Forever (A Hockey Romance)

by Layla Hagen

  “Thank you, my boy.”

  I turned to Sam. “Welcome back, brother.”

  “Thanks.” He shook my hand, patting my shoulder. I took a good look at him. He had dark circles under his eyes. The first few days when he was back, he always looked exhausted, and I knew it wasn’t just because of jet lag. His work abroad wasn’t easy.

  “Are we starting the cookout now?” I asked.

  Mom shook her head. “We’ll wait for Kendra.”

  “Okay.” I headed to the bar with Sam, inspecting the bottles when I came closer.

  "Man, what's wrong with you?" Travis asked. "You look like you might need whiskey."

  “You know what, why not? Might be good for inspiration.”

  Declan cocked a brow. "And you need that why?"

  “To propose.” I said the words loudly and with full confidence, taking advantage of the fact that Kendra wasn’t here.

  My brothers all started to talk at the same time.

  “Holy shit. I go away for a few months and another Maxwell plans to get married?” Sam asked, stunned. Unlike Kimberly, he didn’t want to be part of the family WhatsApp group. He said it distracted him from work.

  “You have a lot to catch up on, brother,” I said.

  Travis whistled loudly. "I'll make it a double."

  "Anyone have any advice?" I asked. Creativity was not my forte.

  Travis put a double whiskey on the bar. "Just go with the flow, man."

  Luke shook his head. "Dude, what flow? He’s out of ideas."

  "Surprise her with a trip," Declan suggested.

  Luke groaned. “I think he can figure the trip for himself.”

  I stared at Luke. "Dude, do you have any constructive advice, or are you planning to just shoot down everyone else's ideas?"

  Luke held up his hands in defense. "No I don't, and unlike some in our family, I don't like to talk just to talk."

  “I have no advice, but this is fun,” Sam said. “Man, I’ve missed this.”

  "Hey, the idea with the trip isn’t that bad," Tate said. "You could ask the rest of the family to get involved in getting her where you want. Like me. Make it a surprise."

  He’d done well. I was the one helping, but that wasn't what I wanted to do. I rubbed my chin, taking a sip of the whiskey.

  "I don’t want to do the same trick," I admitted.

  "Dude, it’s not the idea that matters. It’s the execution,” Travis said.

  "Who's saying that?" asked Declan.

  Travis rolled his shoulders, puffing out his chest in a ridiculous way. "I am."

  I chuckled. "That sounds like Travis wisdom. No offense, man."

  "Right, people only say ‘no offense’ before or after saying something offensive, and that's universally known wisdom. But today, I’m cool as a cucumber."

  I laughed and mentally admitted that this wasn’t the right bunch to ask for advice on this topic. Aside from Tate, they had zero experience.

  A few minutes later, Paisley, Lexi, Mom, Dad, and Gran joined us at the bar, sitting in the armchairs in front of it. It took Gran exactly five seconds to narrow her eyes and point at my brothers.

  "What's going on? You lot look like you're giving Tyler here a hard time."

  Damn. One of these days, I was going to find out how Gran could pick up on exactly what we were doing every time.

  I shook my head. “They're not giving me a hard time. I asked for help, and they're just being obnoxious. Business as usual."

  "Then why don't you ask Gran for advice, you ungrateful little brother?" Luke asked.

  He had a point. Gran also had a sixth sense when it came to stuff like this. But first, I needed to give Luke some shit.

  "You're the only one who didn't even give me advice," I reminded him.

  “No, I’m doing my job of playing devil’s advocate. That’s the most efficient way to rile up the others, and they have the best ideas when they’re riled up. And you don’t appreciate it one bit.”

  That was Luke to a T.

  I looked at Gran and also at my parents. While I liked asking my brothers for their opinions, I usually didn't just broadcast whatever was happening to the entire family over dinner. Then again, I was in search of ideas, and I was never proud of asking others.

  “I want to propose to Kendra, and I’m still in the early stages of planning it. Ideas are welcome. I need it to be perfect.”

  Sam chuckled. “You always do. It’s ‘go big or go home’ for you, no matter what you do.”

  My mother clasped her hands together, smiling from ear to ear. “Darling, that’s great news. Oh, I’d lost hope that you boys would ever find partners, and now you and Tate are getting married.”

  “Did she just call us hopeless?” Travis asked no one in particular.

  “She did,” Declan answered with a laugh.

  “Congratulations, son,” Dad said. “I’m not the creative mind of the family, so I’ve got no input.”

  “You can take her out to a fancy restaurant,” Mom said.

  Gran pointed at me. "Tyler, out of all your brothers, you're the one who has the best intuition. So my advice is just to trust your gut feeling, and it will lead you the best way."

  "Just putting it out there, but what if the gut instinct sucks?" Travis asked.

  "Language, young man," Gran said, and Travis quickly glanced at Paisley, flashing her a grin. Paisley was looking at us with wide eyes. My poor niece.

  "I think your gran's idea is excellent," Mom said. "I think most of her advice is on point, isn't it, darling?" she said with an uncharacteristic smile, turning to Dad, who nodded stoically.

  A few seconds later, I realized he was darting his gaze around. I didn't call him out on it, though I would keep it in mind for later.

  Paisley straightened in her seat. “I have an idea. I wrote a letter for Lexi on my birthday, where I asked her if she wanted to be my mom.” Glancing at Lexi, she asked, “You liked that, didn’t you?”

  Lexi smiled. Her eyes became glassy. “Very much.”

  I still stood by my principle of not doing the same trick, but Paisley’s story sparked an idea.

  “Thanks, Paisley.” With a wink, I added, “You’re the most useful Maxwell in the room tonight.”

  She beamed from ear to ear. “You can thank me by making me your flower girl at your wedding too.”

  Damn, she had some serious Maxwell negotiation skills.

  “Deal.” Turning to Gran, I said, “I don’t want to hijack your birthday.”

  She waved her hand. “I don’t mind.”

  The doorbell rang, interrupting Gran.

  “That’s Kendra. Not one word to her about the proposal.”

  “Obviously, dude,” Travis said as I headed to the front door.

  “Yeah, we’re not amateurs,” Declan called after me.

  “Yes you are,” Sam said. “You just can’t tell.”

  As I opened the door, Kendra took off her beanie. She was holding a huge box in one hand.

  "What's this?" I asked.

  "Sweets. I don't like to come empty-handed."

  This woman! It was like she couldn’t help herself from sharing.

  She stepped inside, and I took the box, putting it on one of the small tables in the entrance hall.

  "Why did you do that?" she asked. "I can multitask, hold a box and take off my coat."

  "Yeah, but I want to kiss you first, and I don't want any barriers between us."

  "Oh, okay. Go ahead, then. I like how seriously you take kissing."

  "Always," I said before sealing my mouth over hers.

  I brought a hand to the back of her neck and the other to her hips, pressing her against me. Her coat only reached to her ass, so I parted her legs with my knees, needing to get even closer. Fucking hell, I could never just kiss this woman—I needed to devour her.

  She sighed against my mouth, leaning into me. She fit so perfectly in my life, and I belonged with her.

  When we pulled apart, she smiled
shyly, covering her mouth. "Are my lips red? You'll give us away."

  "You're beautiful," I said.

  "That's not what I asked. You're naughty today," she went on. "And I can't wait to see you behind the grill."

  "You don't like the cold," I said, and she laughed.

  "I'll brave it to see you in front of the fire. It just speaks to me on a primal level."

  I burst out laughing, taking her hand and leading her to the rest of the group.

  "Shouldn’t I take off my coat?” she asked.

  “Now that you're here, we're all going to go outside to the grill."

  "Okay, then. Just let me take the box." She carried it in one hand.

  “Sam’s here too,” I informed her, pointing to my brother, who walked up to us.

  “Kendra, great to meet you!” he exclaimed.

  “Sam, hi. Wow, you flew in for your Gran’s birthday?”

  “I’m staying for Christmas too. Gives me time to catch up with this lot. There’s so much going on.” He winked at me. I cocked a brow.

  As we all reached the group, Kendra said, “Hi, everyone. I brought some goodies from my favorite cupcake shop."

  "Oh, you shouldn't have, Kendra," Mom said, "but that's very sweet of you. I'll put it in the fridge for now. We took out the grill supplies before, so I think we can just grab our coats and go."

  "Okay, everyone, let's go," Dad said.

  I looked warningly at my brothers, especially Travis, because he had this shit-eating grin that would give us away. Luke elbowed Travis, which just made everything more suspicious.

  Kendra was looking away, at least, so there was that. There was no way she caught any of it.

  A few minutes later, I changed my mind.

  As we all went out in the backyard, carrying paper plates, vegetables, and meat, she leaned in to me. "Why do I feel like you've had one of those silent conversations with your brothers back there?"

  I pulled her closer with my free hand. "That's between them and me."

  "Riiiiight, okay. You know I’m like a bull with a red flag, right?"

  "I promise you one thing," I said. "You'll find out soon enough what it's about."

  "How soon? Just so I know if I should employ any persuasion tactics or not?"

  "Very soon, babe. Very, very soon."

  I walked half a step behind her, keeping a hand on her back. She took out her phone just before we got out of the house, reading a text from Reese.

  The words “Gran” and “coffee shop guy” popped out. Kendra turned the screen away, looking at me over her shoulder.

  “Were you peeking?”

  “Yes,” I admitted. “But I only caught a few words. What’s all that about?”

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  “Babe...”

  “Nope. Not telling you. You have your secrets, we have ours,” she said, shrugging one shoulder and flashing me a sassy smile.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Kendra

  Three weeks later

  "Wow, we should do this again," Emma exclaimed.

  "I know, right? I feel so fancy," I said.

  Emma had talked me into spending a sister afternoon at a spa in the city. I protested at first because I didn’t want her to spend a fortune on me, but then she used her younger sister look—eyes wide, pouty lower lip—and I gave in. I'd gotten a mani, a pedi, and a massage. I felt utterly relaxed. It was a brand-new salon on the Magnificent Mile. This was their first day in business, so they offered everything at half price. I didn’t need much relaxation, to be honest, because I’d taken time off during Christmas and New Year’s and spent it with my sexy man. But I was glad I got to spend today with Emma.

  As we dressed up, my sister asked, "Do you want help with your makeup? Or I can do your hair. You can even borrow my scarf."

  I stared at my sister. "I'm going to an ice cream parlor, not a fashion show." The kids Tyler coached at the beginning of the season were celebrating the fact that they were at the top of the ranking in the interschool hockey championship. And they’d invited both me and Tyler. Of course, he was the guest of honor. We were celebrating at the ice cream parlor right next to the center.

  Emma frowned. "I know, but maybe you'll take pics, or... I don't know..."

  "Pics?”

  She opened her mouth, then closed it again and shrugged.

  “Thanks a lot for today," I said.

  Emma winked. "My pleasure. Wait, let me do your hair, okay? I have my curler with me."

  She took it out of her purse, along with a million hair products.

  My eyes bulged. "Why did you bring your hair curler and so many products?"

  She loved to doll up on a daily basis, but I was certain she didn’t always carry those around.

  "Umm." She avoided my gaze. "I'm going on a date later, and I'm going to fancy up. I can style your hair quick too."

  I’d washed and blow-dried it after the massage, and I had to admit, it didn’t look great.

  "Okay. Thanks."

  She squealed in delight, plugging in the curler. I liked having her do my hair. It was soothing.

  Once she was done, I looked like a million bucks. I blinked rapidly as she sprayed the third product in my hair, feeling like I might go blind soon, or at the very least not be able to see in front of me. My eyes were a bit watery, but the effect was fantastic. I was wearing a blue sweater dress and black wool tights with boots. I’d dressed casually, and my curls went with it perfectly.

  “You look great.” Biting her lip, she added, “Let me add a bit of makeup.”

  “Let me check the time—oh my God. I’m already late.”

  “Shit, you’re right. Okay, then. Go. I’ll stay here and pack my stuff.”

  “I thought you needed to get ready for your date.”

  She laughed nervously. “Yeah, I meant... I’ll get ready first, then pack everything. Now come on, go. Don’t be late.”

  I kissed her cheek, slinging on my coat before heading out of the spa. When I stepped outside, a blast of cold wind made my teeth chatter, but I couldn’t put my beanie on because that would ruin my hair completely.

  There was no time to take the subway, so I jumped into an Uber, checking the estimated arrival time every few minutes. I was going to come in so late, and the boys didn’t have a lot of time. Their tae kwon do class was starting in forty minutes. I had fifteen minutes max with them.

  When I arrived, Tyler, the kids, and Mr. Dawson were already there, of course, at the huge round table at the back of the room. Early January was far too cold for ice cream, so the parlor now also served cakes and donuts.

  “Hey, sorry I’m late,” I exclaimed.

  Tyler kissed my hand as I sat down. There was already a plate in front of me.

  I grinned at him. “You ordered me a donut!”

  Tyler winked. “Thought that would make you happy.”

  “You know me so well.”

  I bit into the delicious treat immediately, sighing before looking around the table. The kids looked utterly happy, and it warmed my heart. They kept sharing details about their past couple of games.

  “I’m so proud of you guys,” Tyler said.

  His own team was at the top of the rankings too, and I was super happy for him.

  “Thank you for coaching us,” Tim replied. Next to him, Rupert nodded vigorously.

  “Boys, hurry up. Your tae kwon do class starts soon,” Mr. Dawson said only a few minutes later. I pouted, truly sorry that I only got to spend a few minutes with them.

  They all dressed up quickly, chattering about tae kwon do. Tyler and I waved goodbye, and after they left, I savored my last bite of the donut.

  “Want to take a walk?” Tyler asked.

  “Sure. Let’s ask for the bill.”

  “I already took care of it a while ago.” There was an edge to his voice I hadn’t noticed before. There was something different about his eyes too.

  Hmmm...

  I’d made a small cata
log of all my man’s looks.

  The sexy glint.

  The super sexy glint.

  The smoldering one.

  And the swoonworthy one.

  This one was like a mix of them all, and it was truly overpowering.

  Stepping outside, we strolled along the street, past the center, until we reached a huge, old pine tree. It looked even more majestic now in winter because it was one of the few trees still green. There were even a few snowflakes falling from the sky. They’d totally ruin my hair, but I didn’t care because I loved snow.

  “Tyler? There’s something different about you, and I can’t make out what,” I said.

  He cupped one side of my face, pressing his thumb at the base of my ear and splaying his fingers on the side of my neck.

  "Kendra, you're important to me. I can't imagine not being with you every day. I love you. I've been luckier than most, but even I know life isn't easy. It will always have ups and downs. I want to experience all that with you."

  "So do I," I assured him.

  He took away his hand, bending, and at first, I thought he'd dropped something. Then I realized he was lowering himself on one knee.

  "Oh my God," I whispered, taking a step back so I could see him better. I clasped one hand on my chest because suddenly my heart was beating so fast I seriously felt like it might leap out of my chest.

  Smiling, he took something out of his pocket—a ring box. "Kendra, we met right here, in front of the center."

  "Oh my goodness. That's true. We did."

  "And that day, I told you I don't ever follow rules, let alone instructions, and you told me you were up for the challenge. I wanted to kiss you right then, and not only were you up for it, but with you, I discovered a side of life I didn't know existed. You're my soul mate."

  Oh my God. My heart fluttered in my chest. "I thought you didn't believe in soul mates," I whispered.

  "Because I hadn't met you. I didn't know what loving you would do to me, but now I do. Marry me, Kendra."

  My eyes filled with tears, and I didn't bother holding them back. "Yes, of course."

  Putting the ring on my finger, he clasped my hands tightly. It had four stones, one pink, one blue, one green, and one white.

  "I love it," I whispered. "It's gorgeous. This is why my sister took me to the beauty salon, isn’t it?"