A Groom of One’s Own: A Sweet Hockey RomCom
A Groom of One’s Own: Epilogue

Bailey

I sink down on my bed, holding the envelope in my hands, staring at the return address until the words blur and swim into squiggly lines. It’s from the University of Tennessee Knoxville—the only vet school that wouldn’t require relocation. And like trying to watch an acceptance-letter pot come to a boil, this has been the last to arrive.

Eli encouraged me to apply to more schools, telling me he would be the Ruth to my Naomi and where I go, he will go, which made me laugh. I never expected to have my husband compare us to a Biblical mom and daughter-in-law duo. But then, Eli does live to surprise me.

So far, I’ve gotten two acceptance letters. I have options. But I don’t want them. I want this.

Because I don’t want to move. I like our life, the one Eli and I have been building together in the slightly bigger house right next door to Maggie and—most of the time—Annie, who seems to want to stick around too. She’s still figuring out work and her visa situation, making too-frequent cracks about having her own marriage of convenience since ours turned out so well. I don’t bother trying to dissuade her. I learned quickly that telling Annie no is like shooting a starter’s pistol, sending her sprinting in the opposite direction from the one you want.

Even so, I like having more family. And now that I have them, I’m not willing to leave them behind. Or ask them to relocate for me. Not Maggie or even Annie, if she’d follow.

Definitely not Eli. I don’t want him to leave the Appies, who are as much his brothers as his friends. And of course, I’d like to stay close to Shannon and Jenny. But the really big non-negotiable is that I can’t move Gran. Even though she still might not know me or not fully know in what city or even state she’s living—a move is disruptive and it’s been a month or more since she threw anything (other than food) at anyone.

All of which makes this letter vastly more important than the others. It’s why I’ve hidden it inside a book on my bedside table for two days. Knowing it’s there but refusing to open it.

“Whatcha got there?”

My head snaps up to see Eli leaning in the doorway, Doris tucked under one arm like a little doggy football. All of which I’d normally replace sexy—if I weren’t so busy panicking.

I go with instinct. Which means shoving the letter right down in my bra. Full circle to the day Eli first joked about marrying me. Complete with a sharp corner in an unwelcome spot. I wince.

“Nothing?” I say. “Just … a thing. You’re home early.”

“I’m home right on time. And I happen to love things.”

Eli’s grin is wicked as he peels himself off the doorframe, setting Doris down on her dog bed as he stalks toward me. He’s freshly showered after practice, and I love the way his damp hair is just a little darker than when it’s dry. He smells good too, but the devious look in his eyes has me scuttling back against the pillows. I grab one and hold it in front of my chest like a memory-foam shield. My heart beat picks up and my adrenaline kicks in, a biological instinct in response to a predator.

Which isn’t wholly a bad feeling.

“Show me,” Eli says, his voice a husky rasp as he reaches the end of the bed, pausing with hands on his hips.

I shake my head. “No, thanks.”

He tsks, then lowers himself and starts to crawl across the bed toward me. Which doesn’t take long, considering his height. I press back into the pillows as far as I can as he reaches me, sitting up on his knees and placing one palm on either side of my head.

“Don’t make me come and get it,” Eli says.

Actually … that doesn’t sound so bad.

Sounds kind of great, actually.

Arching an eyebrow, I cross my arms over my chest, hearing the crinkle of the letter as I do. “I’m not handing it over willingly. Do your worst, hockey player.”

Grinning, Eli leans in and captures my mouth.

His worst, as it turns out, is the best.

Some time later, when I’m tangled up in the sheets feeling a little boneless and a lot happy, Eli props himself up on an elbow and pulls the letter out from under a pillow. The letter I totally forgot about and also totally lost track of while otherwise … occupied.

Eli holds it up like a prize. “Got it.”

Laughing, I say, “Seems like you forgot what you came for.”

“Oh, I got what I came for.” His smile is slow and satisfied. “This letter is just … something I’m interested to follow up on. Shall we open it?”

As Eli starts to tear open the letter, I grab his wrist. “Wait.” He does, and I lick my lips, trying to articulate my thoughts. “What if it’s a no?”

He sits up, the sheets pooling down around his waist, leaving his bare torso on full display. At least the view is nice. Even if I’m quietly freaking out. Eli slips his wrist out of my grip and cups my face.

“First of all, they’d be dumb not to take you. Your grades were phenomenal, my sweet little nerdling, and from what I understand, your recommendation was stellar. You’re a sure thing. And if they don’t take you—well, we can discuss what you want to do. As I said, I’m willing to do whatever. Our life together isn’t just about me. My career doesn’t need to take precedence over yours.”

“I want us both to have what we want,” I say, leaning into his warm palm.

“What I want most is you,” Eli says, brushing his lips across mine so sweetly, it makes something clutch in my chest. “Wherever I can have you. I do love it here. Love our house, love my team, even love this little town. But I’d do life wherever you are, so long as you’re my partner in it.”

“You say the sweetest things, hockey player.” If my voice is a little husky, it’s not because I’m about to cry. It’s just because … okay, fine! That’s why.

With no warning, Eli pulls back and rips into the envelope. It takes only three seconds of me holding my breath for him to scan for the right word. I know from his smile when he sees it.

“‘Congratulations,’” he reads. “‘On behalf of the faculty, staff, and⁠—’”

Squealing, I throw myself at Eli until we’re both laughing and even more tangled up in the sheets. My legs are trapped between his, and we’re pretty much cocooned in soft cotton. I couldn’t get up if I tried. Good thing I don’t want to try.

“I got in,” I say, unable to stop my smile.

“You got in,” Eli repeats, kissing the top of my head. “Of course you did. Because my girl is amazing.”

I lay my cheek on Eli’s bare chest, lifting my fingers to stroke his jaw. Right now, he’s clean shaven. I love the waxing and waning of his facial hair, which he likes to grow out only to surprise me by shaving. He likes to see how long it takes me to notice the change.

You’d think it would be obvious. It should be.

But sometimes it takes me a whole day to realize the beard from the day before is now smooth skin. The only time I noticed immediately was when he left a thick mustache and I laughed until I cried and then told him I wouldn’t kiss him again until he shaved it off.

They may be trendy, but mustaches are not for me.

“I like your face,” I tell him, stretching up to kiss his jaw.

“I like your everything.”

I give his neck a little nibble. “Always trying to one-up me with your words.”

“I’m not trying to one-up anyone,” he says. “It’s the truth.”

“Well, I like your everything too.”

A door slams down below, and Eli drops his head back and groans as Annie calls, “Yoohoo! Lovebirds!”

“We’re busy!” Eli calls.

“You’re always busy,” Annie says, her voice getting louder as she reaches the stairs.

I don’t bother asking Eli if she’d really barge into our bedroom. She hasn’t yet, but it’s Annie. I disentangle myself from Eli and replace my clothes. My shirt may be inside out, but I’m dressed when Annie throws open the door, one hand over her eyes.

“Annie,” Eli says, tossing a pillow at her. “You can’t just barge into our bedroom.”

“I’m not looking,” she says, peeking through her fingers. “See?” Eli snorts, and Annie continues, undeterred. “I need to know if you opened the letter from UT yet.”

I exchange a look with Eli. “What letter?” I ask.

“The one that came two days ago. I assumed by now you’ve opened it, and I’ve been as patient as I can be.”

“Annie,” Eli says slowly, “did you go through our mail? You know that’s a fraud.”

“Is it? I’m not caught up on my US laws. So—did you open it? What’s the verdict?”

“Maybe I do want to move,” I mutter to Eli, who laughs and shakes his head.

“She’s like a barnacle,” he says. “We’ll never fully escape.”

“Hey! This barnacle is still right here, listening to everything. And waiting for you to tell me if you were accepted to your dream vet school.”

I consider making her wait, but I just can’t. “I got in,” I gush.

Annie drops her hand from her eyes—and the guise of giving us any privacy—and throws herself at me in a full-body hug. I’m sure glad I put clothes back on.

“I’m so glad!” she says. “And I was thinking about applying for jobs in Knoxville and maybe we could carpool and⁠—”

“Slow your roll, sis,” Eli says. “And maybe get out of our bed?”

“Fine.” Annie gives me one more squeeze before hopping back to her feet with the boundless energy she shares with Eli. “But are you going to tell Mom or can I? She and I have both been dying since I told her the letter came.”

“Is nothing sacred? Can we have no secrets?” Eli asks, pressing his palms over his eyes.

“Well,” I say slowly, “we do have the one big secret.”

Eli drops his hands from his face and looks over at me. “Yeah? You’re ready to tell people?”

Annie bounces on her toes, eyes shining as she claps her hands. “What secret? Tell me! Tell me!”

Eli reaches across and threads his fingers through mine, nodding to give me the go-ahead. I draw in a breath and hold Annie’s gaze for a beat, knowing it’s driving her nuts.

Finally, when I think she’s about to start throwing furniture, I say, “We’re expanding our family.”

This is not the news she expected. Clearly not, if her slack jaw and wide eyes are any indication. I take great pleasure in shocking the person who is so nosy she peeks in our mailbox.

“What?” Her voice is barely a whisper. “You—I thought you were going to wait. With the whole vet school and hockey career thing.”

Eli lifts my hand to his smiling mouth, still keeping our fingers twined as he kisses my knuckles.

I shrug. “What can I say? We’ve been thinking about it for a while, and now that we’re settled in the house, it feels so big. Too big.”

“Plus, Doris is lonely,” Eli adds. “She needs a friend.”

“Wait.” Annie narrows her eyes, glancing between us. “When you say expanding your family, you mean⁠—”

“Adopting a dog,” I tell her, keeping the straightest of straight faces.

Until I just can’t. Annie’s face is too much. Eli howls with laughter, and I wipe tears from my eyes at the way his sister is glaring at us both.

“You …” she sputters. “I can’t believe you two let me think you were pregnant. A plague on both your houses.”

“Uh oh,” Eli says. “She’s bringing out Shakespeare to curse us.”

Throwing up her hands, Annie stomps out. “I hate you both. And when and if you do decide to procreate, it’s going to take some serious convincing to get me to agree to be your spawn’s godmother.”

“Bye, sister!” Eli calls.

“And you can tell Maggie about UT!” I add. “And about our new addition.”

There’s only muttering from downstairs before the door slams, and we’re alone again. Doris lets out a loud, drawn-out snore. Alone—with Doris.

“Think she’ll ever stop being so …”

“Intrusive?” Eli suggests.

“I was going to say nosy and overly invested in our lives, but I guess intrusive works.”

“No, I don’t think she’ll ever change. Is that okay? You didn’t realize what you were signing onto when you agreed to marry me.”

I shift until I can catch and hold Eli’s gaze. His gorgeous, Norwegian fjord eyes that I love. Reaching out, I smooth my fingertips over his jaw. “I have not one single regret about marrying you, hockey player.”

“No?” He smiles delightedly, like this is the first time I’ve told him this in the past six months, not the hundredth.

I lean closer, teasing his mouth with mine, pulling away when he tries to capture my lips. “Not a single one.”

And then, I let him catch me, one big hand cupping my head as he pulls me close. “Awkward together,” he whispers against my mouth. “Always.”