Declan (Wild Men Book 8)

by Melissa Belle

  I look back at her.

  Because we’re just inches away from each other, I see the moment the entire reality of my news hits her.

  Her eyes fill with awareness, and she backs off of me slowly and sits up straight. She fiddles with her bun for a second before saying into the air, “So we don’t have to be married anymore?”

  “No.” I look at her closely, but she gives me no indication of how she’s feeling. “Once I sign the contract, they can’t void it for a divorce. Ned went through it thoroughly to make sure.”

  “Well, that’s…that’s good.”

  “And for you, too,” I say. “I don’t want anyone to feel trapped.”

  Her beautiful blue eyes go flat. “Of course not. Trapping you is the last thing I want.”

  “No, Mia. That’s not what I meant. I…”

  But she’s already up off the couch and heading for the door. “Why don’t we go grab dinner with your cousins? I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to hear your good news.”

  I just completely screwed that up.

  Not sure what else to say in this moment, I follow her out the door.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Mia

  Declan and I don’t talk about our situation again that night. We hang out with his cousins, and then I make the excuse that I’m tired and am going to head home.

  Cooper, seeming to notice something’s off between Declan and me, offers to drive me to the cabin. I go straight to bed.

  I have to be at work early the next day for a meeting, and Declan’s sleeping when I leave the cabin.

  “You’re still going to his game, right?” Jamie Beth confirms when she calls me at lunchtime.

  “Of course I am,” I say. “And if there’s a game six, I’m going to fly to New Orleans again.”

  “These are not the actions of a woman who’s giving up on her marriage,” she says straightforwardly. “So why didn’t you fight for him when you had the chance?”

  “JB,” I say in a frustrated tone. “He sprung the contract on me, and I was so happy for him that it’s like I let my guard down even more. So when he said he didn’t want anyone to feel trapped, I was just…”

  “I understand,” she says. “You were in a vulnerable place, and Declan didn’t tip his hand.”

  I guess that’s what happened.

  “But did you tip yours?” she presses me.

  “I feel like I always tip my hand when I’m around him,” I say. “He must know how I feel about him.”

  “Must he?” she asks me. “Or are you both two very skilled poker players facing off against one another? One of you has gotta break, sweetie. Or else you’ll find yourselves signing off on those divorce papers and thanking each other for the successful business arrangement where you both got what you wanted but maybe not what you need.”

  “God, you should be a marriage counselor,” I mumble.

  She laughs. “Right. If only all spouses on the brink of divorce were as in love as you too are. Then, I might consider a career change.”

  Declan has never come close to uttering the word “love” to me. I have no idea how strong his feelings are. But, I’m a grown woman. If I know what I want, maybe I need to take Jamie Beth’s advice and go after it anyway. Taking a risk doesn’t mean there are safeguards in place. It means you take the leap anyway, not knowing what’s waiting for you on the other side.

  Declan

  My conversation with Mia didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped, but Ned reminds me that the board is expecting an answer. I sign the contract, officially making me a to-be owner of a professional hockey team. I’ll get to stay in Montana. Near my niece and brother and cousins. I feel a huge relief to have my future lined up.

  In terms of Mia and me, that future is more murky.

  For the next few days, she and I are polite and civil. We don’t have sex, and she goes back to sleeping in her room. She says it’s because she wants me to focus all of my energy on the finals, but I know better.

  My news combined with hers has essentially started dissolving our marriage. If not on paper, then emotionally. And physically. I miss holding her in my arms at night. I miss making love to her at all hours of the day. And I miss the easy way we always had of talking and laughing together.

  She’s pulling away from me. And I don’t know what to do.

  Despite the distance between us, she comes to the games. Home and away. And that means a lot to me.

  However, we lose them both.

  “Series is tied three all. You know what that means,” Arch says as we take off our pads in the locker room after game six in New Orleans.

  “One game for all the marbles,” Jared says. “I like our odds.”

  “Me, too.” I nod at him. “Let’s make sure we’re ready.”

  I should take my own advice. But as we touch down in Montana, I’m still fucking wired.

  Mia flew to the game with her dad and Jamie Beth, and she said she was going to spend the night at Jamie’s.

  Once I’ve driven home to the cabin, I check my phone, relieved to see that Mia texted and is safely on the ground. I write her back that I’m home as well and wish her a good night.

  I want to crawl into bed beside her and tell her everything.

  Since that’s not an option tonight, I wander up to the main house to get a snack.

  After I’ve rummaged through the fridge and come away with a slice of apple pie and some cheese, I go looking for Luke in the den.

  He’s not there, and I assume he’s gone to sleep.

  But as I leave the house and pass by the barn, I see a light on.

  I step inside and find Luke in his makeshift office at the back of the barn. His eyes are bloodshot when he looks up at me from his desk.

  “Hey.” I sit down on the couch across from his old, wooden desk. “What are you doing up working?”

  He holds up a stack of papers. “I’ve got so much administrative crap,” he says. “Dad didn’t tell me how much of my time this would take up when I agreed to run the ranch. And Coop and Chase are more useless than I am at it.”

  “You need an assistant,” I say.

  “I know. Chase swears he’s going to just hire one and have them show up one day.” He pushes the papers aside. “So what’s up with you and Mia? You two are acting weird.”

  “Weird?”

  “Distant and shit.” He cocks his head. “Did something change with your plans?”

  I tell him about how I got the stake in ownership and that Mia no longer needs to stay married.

  He gives a slow nod. “I see. So you’re both getting what you wanted out of this marriage. I should be saying congratulations. Right?”

  I nod back at him. “Should be.”

  “But neither of you are happy,” he observes. “Doesn’t take a genius to see that.”

  I look over his shoulder at the photograph of him riding a bronc.

  “Where was that taken?” I ask him.

  Without looking back at what I’m referring to, he says, “Country fairgrounds ten minutes away.”

  “You think you’ll ever get back into it? Logan seems to think you should,” I say.

  “Logan should have kept his mouth shut,” Luke says, but there’s no malice behind his statement. Just to take even more sting out of it, he grins suddenly. “He’s probably paying me back for all those weeks I had to stay at his house recovering.”

  After the accident, Luke was too hurt to travel right away, so he lived with Logan’s family in Texas.

  I smile. “Maybe so.”

  Luke points straight at me and says in a serious tone, “Tell Mia how you feel, cousin. Don’t blow your shot.”

  “Planning on it.”

  Right after tomorrow night’s game.

  Game seven means there’s no tomorrow. I have to give everything I have so that no matter what happens, I’ll have no regrets.

  That’s what I need to do with Mia, too.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  I
’m in my own personal zone before game seven. Headphones on, I’m in a private corner of the arena outside of the locker rooms.

  With the music beating in my ears, I jog up and down the hallway before stopping to stretch. Eventually, I head into the locker room to get ready for the game.

  I make small talk with teammates, go over the game plan with the coaching staff, and joke around with Arch and Tex about stupid stuff.

  But inside, I’m worried. I’m not feeling that fire I know I need for tonight.

  Time to hit the ice for warm-ups. However, I don’t make a move to leave the locker room. Instead, I put on my headphones again and take a seat on the bench in front of my locker, willing myself to get my head in the game.

  “Hey.” Jared puts a hand on my shoulder.

  “What is it?” I ask him as I pull my headphones to my neck.

  The coaching staff and other players file out around us until Jared and I are the last ones left in the locker room. He takes a seat on the bench next to me.

  “Everything okay?” I ask him.

  “That’s what I wanted to ask you.” His dark eyes that have seen too much narrow. “You haven’t been on your game the last two times we’ve taken the ice. None of us have been, but you’re our king, man. We need you.”

  I suck in a breath. “I’m not your damn king. That joke is getting old.”

  “You think I’m joking?” Jared huffs out a laugh. “Wild, like it or not, you’re the king of our league. You’ve owned the hockey world for years. You and I played together my rookie year. Did you forget?”

  “Of course not. You were insanely talented even then. What’s your point, though?”

  “My point is that I know you. I’ve known you for years. And I’ve never seen you like this. So…” He jabs a finger toward my chest. “What the fuck’s been distracting you the last two games?”

  “No one,” I say before I realize my misstep.

  Jared’s mouth twists into a smirk. “Exactly my point. She is distracting you. Your damn wife.” He points at me again. “So go talk to her before the game starts and fix your shit.”

  “I decided it should wait until after,” I say.

  Jared shakes his head. “This will be the last game you ever play,” he growls. “Do you seriously want to go out like this? Off your game because you couldn’t tell your wife how you feel about her?”

  I swallow. “How did you know this will be my last game?”

  He just looks at me. “I want you going out a champ, Wild. No one deserves it more. Plus, once you’re gone, I’ll get the title of Wild King on this team. Right?”

  I bark out a laugh. “You would wear that title well, Storm.”

  He grins. “So fix your shit.” He pauses. “Look, I don’t like to play this card, but no one knows better than Max and me that we should never take a single moment on this earth for granted. And we don’t always have the time we think we do to tell those close to us that we love them.”

  Aw, shit. “Hey, look. I get it, but Mia and I, we…”

  “I don’t give a fuck why you two got hitched in the first place,” he says like he knows the truth.

  I give him a second look. “Wait, do you…”

  “None of that matters,” he continues, stopping my train of thought. “Because I’ve seen the way you look at her. We all have. You don’t want your marriage to end for anything.”

  No. I don’t.

  Jared’s gaze is on me. “So fucking tell her that.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Mia

  My hands are shaking. I shove them underneath my corduroy pants to keep them still.

  “Game sevens suck,” I whisper to Jamie Beth. And so does making a dumb decision to tell your fake husband you love him at said game.

  “This is the perfect time,” she whisper-argues me like she’s been doing for the past two hours. For the entire car ride, through the walk to our seats, and while we’ve been sitting here.

  Why are we whispering? Because of all the nosy family members around us.

  Cooper, Chase, Luke, Brayden, and Leleila are behind us like always, plus Cam and Savannah minus baby Libby, who’s at home with Savannah’s mom. Cam and Declan’s parents are here as well. And then, there are others—Colton and Sky, Dylan and Jasalie, Ayden and Bella, Jenson and Olivia, plus their kids, Colton’s mom, and Luke and Brayden’s parents. If it feels like we brought an entire team of Wilds with us, it’s because we did.

  We even have Go Wild shirts on thanks to Savannah’s mom, who loves to sew.

  I’m happy for Declan. I’ll be happier if he wins, of course, because I know how much he wants that cup, but I’m happy he’s got so much support here to cheer him on.

  Their presence is making me more nervous about my plan, though. A plan I would probably have aborted by now if it weren’t for my intrepid bestie, who continues to assure me that the time is now.

  In exactly those words.

  “There are no tomorrows with game sevens,” she whispers. “It’s win or go home.”

  As she says the words, the Wild Kings take the ice for warm-ups. The announcer calls out fun facts about the players, and the camera starts panning the crowd as it searches for the perfect couple to put on the kiss-cam.

  I don’t care about anything but Declan. I scan the team for number twelve, but I don’t see him.

  Where is he?

  I didn’t realize I said that out loud until Cooper says from behind me, “Good question.”

  Jamie Beth starts pointing out different players, none of whom are Declan.

  “He’s number twelve,” I remind her.

  “I know. I just find it hard to see the whole jersey when they’re skating so darn fast.” She points. “Mia—there he is!”

  I look to where she’s pointing.

  Declan’s just entering the rink. Jared’s right behind him.

  Declan skates purposefully toward the team bench. When he reaches it, he sits down and fiddles with his skates. It looks like he’s putting on skate guards, which means he’s going to be off the ice for a couple of minutes.

  And I can’t take the stress anymore.

  “I’m going for it,” I say as I turn to face Jamie Beth. “I don’t think I’m supposed to wait any longer. I just have this feeling that I should say something before the game. Maybe that’s nuts, but…I’m going.”

  I stand up and drop my purse into Jamie’s lap. “Hold this for me.”

  “You’re going to the ice?”

  “Yeah. But maybe I can talk to him while he’s still on the bench. Then I won’t risk wiping out.” I wave my hand in the air wildly. “I don’t freaking know what I’m doing. I just know that I’m going. Wish me luck.”

  “Um, Mia?” Jamie abruptly reaches out and grips my arm like a vice, effectively holding me in place.

  “Yeah?”

  “Turn around.”

  I whip around toward the aisle.

  Declan is heading up the aisle toward me. His helmet’s off. His gloves are off. His eyes are fixed on me.

  “Declan…” I get out as he reaches me.

  He puts a finger to his lips as he drops to both knees.

  Oh, God.

  “Marry me again, Mia,” he says, his voice a bare whisper.

  I vaguely hear his mother gasp and Cam chuckle. I dimly hear Jamie Beth alert me that the kiss-cam has found us.

  I wouldn’t care if the entire world was watching us right now because the only person I’m focused on is on his knees in front of me.

  I kneel, too. “Marry me again,” I say back to him. “That’s what I was coming to say to you.”

  “You were on your way down to the ice?” he asks me with raised eyebrows.

  “I was on my way to you. I was prepared to brave the ice if I had to.”

  “You could have gotten hurt.” He drags his fingers down my cheek.

  “You’re worth the risk,” I say, my throat heavy with emotion.

  “So are you.” His gray e
yes darken. “You’re always worth the risk, Mia.”

  “Kiss-cam is still on you!” Jamie Beth warns.

  Declan glances up. “Looks like we’re on camera.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  “Can I kiss you?”

  “God, yes.”

  His mouth crashes down on mine.

  The arena erupts.

  “I love you, Mia Carroll Wild,” he says against my lips.

  Now I’m crying. “I love you, too.”

  “We’re married for real now, right?” he whispers in my ear.

  “One hundred percent real.” I hug him back tightly.

  “Declan Wild, please return to the team bench,” the announcer says over the loudspeaker. “Game seven is about to begin.”

  “This win will be for you,” he says to me as we stand up. “I hope you enjoy it.”

  Turns out he was right on both counts.

  Declan

  “Almost there!” Arch yells as we huddle together during the Fire’s last timeout. “Just over two minutes left, boys, and we’re world champions.”

  I glance up at the scoreboard. Three to one. All we need to do is possess the puck until the buzzer sounds…

  As soon as the puck is dropped, I’m all over it.

  Hunter Storm is chasing me down.

  But I’m not giving up the puck for anyone tonight.

  I promised my wife a win, and that’s what I’m going to give her.

  The crowd starts chanting “Wild” as I skate around the ice and the time ticks down.

  The Fire pull their goalie, and that’s when their entire first line comes at me.

  Stickhandling is my specialty, and knowing this is the last time I’m ever going to be out here like this...it inspires me.

  I escape the attempts to check me into the boards, and as the clock winds down to under thirty seconds, the crowd begins to call out the time.

  “Twenty-five. Twenty-four. Twenty-three…”

  Down to twenty seconds left.

  I keep skating.

  My legs are fucking killing me, and I’m running out of steam. Skating on only adrenaline, I use the crowd to keep me going.