Cael swallowed me in a hug. He towered over me, and I felt so safe in his embrace. I never wanted to break away, wanted to stay this way, always. “Harvard,” he murmured, for me only, recognizing out loud that we’d reached our goal.
“Harvard,” I whispered back, feeling overcome with emotion.
When Cael pulled back, he reluctantly said, “I have to go now, but …”
I didn’t want to let him go. “Cael!” I looked over Cael’s shoulder to see a blond boy calling him over. Cael lifted his hand, a gesture that he was on his way.
“That’s Stephan, my best friend and teammate. We have a team meeting we have to get to.” My heart squeezed in my chest, not that he had to leave so soon but that he had welcomed Stephan back in his life. I was so proud of him I could have burst apart.
Cael backed up, neither of us willing to tear our gazes away from the other until he was too far from sight and I had to turn away. I felt shellshocked; my heart was racing so fast I felt lightheaded.
I was so unbelievably happy.
Cara stepped beside me. “You’re dating Cael Woods?” she said, sounding more than a little starstruck. I forgot she was from around here. And was a hockey fan.
Turning to Cara, my heart feeling so full I could barely breathe, I said, “Do you want to come to an open scrimmage with me tonight? The love of my life will be on the ice.”
The stadium was about half full, which Cara told me was normal for an open scrimmage. I searched the rink for Cael but couldn’t find him. Just then, I
saw him step out of the tunnel and hit the ice. Number eighty-seven stood proudly on his back. My heart was in my throat as I watched him skate around the rink, picking up speed with every new stride.
It was surreal seeing him like this. I knew he played hockey. We had talked about it endlessly when he got out of his therapy program and had been given his spot back on Harvard’s roster for this year. He had even sent me links to some of his old games when I had expressed my desire to see them. But now that I was here, feeling the cold from the ice hit my face was different from what I ever could have imagined.
I saw Cael searching the crowd. I knew when he had seen me, as he slowed right down as he passed me. He met my eyes and I smiled at him. He smiled back. He was so perfect.
A coach blew a whistle and Cael moved into position. I was the first to admit I had no idea what was happening in the scrimmage. I was trying to learn the rules, had spent too many nights this summer trying to read up on them. I’d get there eventually. For now, I just sat in awe watching Cael in his element. Even though I didn’t understand the game, anyone could tell that Cael was a step above the rest—he was faster and more dynamic, and he sank shot after shot into the net, looking as though he could go all night and never tire.
I was breathless as I watched him. None more so when he would laugh, smile, and celebrate with his teammates. He was happy here. And he had done it. He had healed. This boy on the ice was a far cry from the boy who I had last seen in Japan. If it was possible, seeing him like this made me love him even more. Like Aika had told him, he’d had the tenacity to fix himself back together, and he was even more beautiful than ever before.
As the scrimmage came to an end, the awed faces of the fans watching Cael cool down screamed to me just how talented he was and how, if he had never found himself back to this game, it would have been a travesty.
Cael came over to where I was seated. I stood and moved to the boards. “Baby …” I said, shaking my head, unable to put words to my feelings. Cael’s cheeks flushed in embarrassment under my praise. It was so adorable, I wanted to kiss him and never stop.
“Meet me outside the lockers?” he asked, and I nodded. As much as I
had enjoyed seeing him scrimmage, I wanted to talk to him and spend hours back by his side.
“I’ll head back to the dorms,” Cara said. I nodded at her and followed the signs to the locker rooms. I stood outside in the hallway and waited for Cael to come out. Some other people were waiting, greeting different players as they left the locker room.
Cael walked out with the boy I now knew was Stephan. Cael’s searching eyes found me immediately. He rushed to where I stood and wrapped his arms around me. He crushed me to his chest, his damp hair from his shower sticking to my cheek. I laughed, and at the sound, Cael squeezed me just a bit tighter.
A throat cleared behind us. Cael released me, and Stephan stood there. With his blond hair and blue eyes, he reminded me of Rune. “This is the famous Savannah?” he asked, and I felt my cheeks blaze at his words. Stephan hit Cael’s chest. “I love the guy, but if I have to hear about you one more time, my head might just explode.”
“Dick,” Cael said but laughed at his friend.
Stephan winked at me. “Anyway, it was nice to meet you, Savannah.” Stephan hugged Cael. “I’ll see you back at the dorm.”
Cael threw his arm around my shoulders and kissed my temple. “Come with me, Peaches. We have some catching up to do.”
Cael
I led Savannah out toward my car in the parking lot. I threw my bag in the Jeep, then held out my hand. Savannah took it without hesitation. “Walk with me?” I asked.
“Anywhere,” she said, smiling. Fuck. I couldn’t believe she was here with me. It felt like a dream. I’d focused on her for so long, all those long hard days at the retreat. Especially on the hardest days, when I didn’t think I could do it anymore, it was Savannah’s face and her phone calls that kept me strong.
When she shivered against the first chills of fall, I ran back and took a jacket out of the trunk of my car. It reminded me how she had struggled in the Lake District and Norway, my Georgia Peach needing her sun. I held it out, and Savannah laughed when she put it on and it drowned her petite frame.
I couldn’t imagine her looking more perfect than she did with my name on her back. We cut through campus in comfortable silence and made our way to a brightly lit park. We sat on a secluded bench, only a few dog walkers milling about the pathways nearby. I squeezed her hand, bringing her fingers to my mouth. I kissed her. I couldn’t stop.
She was here.
She was actually here.
“Cael—” She went to say something, but I spoke before she could.
“It was so hard, Sav.” The adrenaline from tonight was waning, and fatigue was settling in.
Savannah inched closer, and I turned to her. She was already watching me. I couldn’t take my eyes off her, like she was some mirage I had conjured up in therapy and if I looked away, she’d disappear.
“I’m here,” she said. But it was like my heart needed to understand she wasn’t some fever dream. My girl was in Boston; we were here together. Ready to start our lives together.
I inhaled deeply and said, “It was so hard. But I had to get better. For you, for us, I had to—“
“No,” Savannah said, shaking her head. “Not better, Cael. You were healing. You were grieving. There is no better or worse to that. It just is. Your heart was broken, and you were mending it, day by day. And you have succeeded.” She put her hand on my cheek and made me meet her tenacious blue stare. “You never needed to get better for me. You were always enough. Even when you were deep in the trenches. You were always enough.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.