Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138881 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 556(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
I hope it’s a love letter.
I hope it’s a new beginning.
Remy nudges me. “Open it,” she whispers.
Like that isn’t all I’ve been thinking of.
“I will,” I say, breathily, running my finger along the lilac envelope.
As the teams line up for the puck drop, with Corbin naturally on center ice, I slide a finger at last under the seal of the pretty envelope. I take out the sheet of paper.
Unfold it.
And as he battles for the puck, I read the first love letter delivered to me at a hockey game.
Well, my first love letter ever.
Dear Mabel,
I should have said this a while ago. I should have said this the other night. But I’m saying it now—please give me a second chance.
Because I love you.
I love you so much, it feels like my damn heart is beating for you every second of every day.
I love your hatred for nuts. I love your devotion to your friends. I love your obsession with colors, and pickleball outfits, and purple flowers, and baking excellence.
I love the way you stand up to me when I’m being ridiculous. I love the way you became friends with my daughter—like it was the easiest thing in the world. I love how you roped us into fostering dogs. That was brilliant and sneaky, and now I’m hooked.
I love how brave you are. Yes, you’re brave, Firecracker, and you don’t always realize it. But it was gutsy to come back to town and try again. To deal with the chess guys and the knitting ladies, not to mention Ronnie. I love the way you were determined to win the hearts (and stomachs) of Cozy Valley.
I love how you listen. How you understand. How you connect with people where they are, and most of all, with me.
Even when I’m being a stubborn, annoying perfectionist who’s afraid of fucking up.
Especially then.
I love that you wear your heart on your sleeve and you can’t hide when something excites you, like finding a jar full of love letters your grandma left behind.
I love seeing you in the morning, and seeing you in the afternoon, and seeing you at night. I love that you’re the best part of any and every day, and my favorite part of the middle of the night.
The other day, I messed up big time. I was the biggest idiot I’ve ever been. A stubborn fool who thought he was doing the right thing.
I was wrong.
I was scared. Of losing you. Of feeling too much. Of not being everything you might want.
Because you, Mabel, are everything to me. Will you give us another chance?
Love,
Corbin
When I’m done, my heart is beating outside my body. My eyes are welling with tears. My world has turned upside down. Still, I do my best to reconnect to reality, to the game, to the man I love scoring a goal. I stand so fast, cheering loud and hard as tears rain down my face, and reality recalibrates to this.
To a love confession so big, so bold, so complete.
And to a man who flies over to the bench, locking eyes with me, his full of questions.
Did you read it? Do you feel the same? Do you want to give me another chance?
“Yes!”
He tips his chin toward me. “Louder for the back.”
This man. “Yes, yes, yes!” I say, my heart bursting from my chest, this love spreading through the whole arena, this man mouthing “I love you” again and again.
Like he can’t stop saying it.
Well, I can’t stop feeling it.
And I can’t believe I have to sit through three periods and two intermissions till they win the game. The guys pump their gloves, and head off the ice, but Corbin motions to me, then to the gate toward the tunnel. Remy nudges me. “Go!”
I’m so there. I hustle across the row, saying, “Excuse me.”
When I reach the opening near the tunnel, he’s peeled off his gloves and sets his hands on the boards. I’m on the other side of the boards. His eyes are earnest, hopeful, and desperate all at once. “Take me back, Mabel Llewelyn. You’re all the colors in my life.”
My heart squeezes, then bounds over to him, safe in his hands. “I never left, and I can’t believe you made me wait the whole game.”
“I’m the king of edging.” He smirks, and my heart feels like it might explode. “So what’ll it be?”
He waits, as the whole crowd hoots and hollers.
“You’re a yes, Number Fifteen. You’re my yes. You’re my enough.”
He kisses me in front of everyone, thanks to a love letter.
What can I say? Some words just work.
51
PROVE IT
CORBIN
“You beat me to it,” Mabel says when I find her waiting for me in the corridor after I’m showered and dressed again in my suit.
With the fox tie she gave me for Christmas.
I pretend like I’m hunting for something on her, tugging at her jeans pocket, her neckline. “Where’s my love letter, Firecracker?”