Maggie stared at him, feeling like she hadn’t seen him for weeks when it had really only been a few days. The urge to fall into his arms and bask in his steady strength and to feel his mouth on hers again was unbearable, but she had to resist. She couldn’t let that happen. If she did that, she’d end up begging him to choose her over Taylor and she couldn’t risk the humiliation she’d feel when he told her no.
“I got your letter,” he said. “And I’m here to say I’m sorry, Mags. I can’t overstate how sorry I am. I’m nothing but an insensitive asshole who doesn’t deserve you. That’s right, it’s me who doesn’t deserve you.” He walked into her apartment and shut the door, and somehow they ended up on her faded loveseat. “See, Jade told me a few things.”
“I’m going to kill her,” Maggie swore.
“First of all,” he said, taking her hand in his, “she told me that you can’t have children.”
With a soft gasp, Maggie snatched her hand back. “I can’t believe…she had no right…” Her stomach felt like something had curdled inside it. If she threw up in front of him right now, she may as well kill herself.
“Nevertheless, she did and I’m here to tell you I don’t give a flying fuck about that. Pardon my French. You probably have some cockamamie idea that that makes you less of a woman or something. Yeah, that’s right. I can see it on your face that I’m right on the money. But that’s a bunch of bullshit. So you’re missing an organ. Who the fuck cares? I said it before and I’ll say it again. I don’t.
“Yes, I mentioned something about raising a bunch of hockey players that were all chips off the old block, but that was just talk. That’s not a deal-breaker for me, Maggie. If Zach’s the only kid who carries my genes, I can live with that. But what I can’t live without is you.”
All of a sudden, she couldn’t catch her breath. She felt dizzy and disoriented and thought I must have a brain tumor because that was the only reason she could think of to explain the impossible words coming out of Spencer’s mouth. He’d just said he couldn’t live without her. That did not compute.
He pulled out his phone. “I want you to look at this.”
On the screen was a document of some kind. She enlarged it until she could clearly see the words “Rental Agreement” at the top of the page.
“See that?” he asked. “Stacy found Taylor an apartment and she and Zach are moving in two weeks. I’m so sorry this didn’t happen a long time ago. I let my desire to spend time with Zach override your feelings, and you don’t—” He broke off when his voice got hoarse. He cleared his throat and tried again. “You don’t do things like that to people you love.”
His words finally penetrated the fog in her brain. He did love her. He’d never stopped loving her. Not even the knowledge that she couldn’t give him any children had deterred him. He’d made the choice between Zach and Taylor or Maggie. And he’d chosen her.
She started to shake all over, as if she’d just had a near-death experience, and Spencer pulled her into his embrace, his breath warm against her ear.
“I love you, Maggie Hudson. I love your compassion. I love your laugh. I love your wild hair, your intelligence, your incredible generosity of spirit. I love almost everything about you.”
The euphoric symphony that had been playing in her head during that soliloquy of love hit a few bad notes.
“Ah, what do you mean ‘almost’?”
“I don’t like how you don’t think of yourself worthy of happiness.” His voice had softened and curled itself around her like Kirby did sometimes. “If anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you. Do you know how much joy you bring by just stepping into a room?”
Her bottom lip trembled. “No, but feel free to tell me.”
Laughing softly, he pulled her close for a tender kiss and her heart, which had been clenched so tightly, slowly unfurled. God, she’d missed this. She’d missed him.
“You’re the best thing about my life, Maggie.”
“Better than hockey?” she asked.
“Absolutely better than hockey. You know what hockey does to me? Kicks the shit out of me every night. Especially during the playoffs.”
She laughed.
“And correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you have this image of what a hockey girlfriend should look like and that you’re not up to the task.”
Her frown returned. “That’s it. I really am going to murder Jade. I’m picturing twenty ways to do it right now.”
“Forget about Jade and listen to me. If you want to be in that fashion show, I want you to fucking do it. You could rock the catwalk in a way that none of those other women could ever hope to because you’re not trying to be someone else’s idea of beautiful. You are pure Maggie, which is the most beautiful thing about you. Although your ass comes in a close second.” He smiled at her. “Honestly though, I didn’t think you’d want to go through the hassle, but if you decided you wanted to do it, I’m behind you one hundred percent. Just say the word and I’ll get you that invitation.”
“Okay. Maybe I will.”
He caressed the back of her head. “Good. So am I forgiven for being such a colossal idiot? Because I can’t promise I’ll never be a colossal idiot again. That’s just not realistic.”
She laughed again. “Yes, I forgive you. If you’ll forgive me for overreacting. I should have just talked to you like a grown-up about how I was feeling instead of bottling it up inside. I also…I should have told you I couldn’t have children.”
“So we both promise to do better next time,” he said rubbing his cheek against hers.
“Absolutely.”
He kissed her then, and as his lips caressed hers, she thought this might be the most perfect moment that ever existed. Joyful warmth flooded her body and she felt like laughing.
Spencer loved her.
He loved her, not Taylor. She’d seen it in his eyes—a devotion so pure and honest it pierced through all her self-doubt and disbelief. He loved her despite her faults and insecurities and emotional baggage.
True, a life with him wouldn’t be smooth sailing—not with Taylor and Zach in the picture. As Zach’s stepmother, she’d have to constantly decide when to step in, how much to discipline, when to say something and when to keep quiet. But in the grand scheme of things, Spencer would make it all worthwhile. She’d suffer through all that and more because he loved her and she loved him.
He touched his forehead to hers and she smiled.
“Will you promise me something else?” he asked.
“What?” she asked, drawing back.
“Will you promise to love, honor and cherish me like I want to love, honor and cherish you?”
Before she could properly process what he’d just said, he got down on one knee and produced a ring box. When he opened it, a dazzling diamond ring flashed and sparkled at her. All of a sudden, she couldn’t breathe. He was looking up at her with so much love and adoration in his beautiful blue eyes, her own eyes filled with happy tears.
“Maggie Hudson, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please, will you marry me?”
She didn’t even need to think about it.
“Yes,” she said, throwing her arms around him and hugging him with all her might. “Yes, yes, a million times yes.”
And just like that, she was a hockey fiancé.