“I’m pretty sure all you gotta do is say you love him and he would marry you tomorrow, hell maybe even tonight.”

“I don’t deserve someone so amazing. Look at the crazy freaks I come from.”

“Hey now, that’s your mother’s side. Your daddy’s side ain’t crazy.” Elli scoffed at that, and smiled when Bryan finished, saying, “You’re perfect, darling. Adler knows that.”

“I have issues. I’m crazy, loud, I have a temper, I get sick, and I’ll probably always be a little fat. But Papa, even with all those things about me, he still loved me, and when he needed me to believe him, I didn’t. When he basically begged me to take him back, I ignored him. Why do I deserve the perfection of a man like that, when I’m far from it?”

Bryan smiled, taking Elli’s hand in his large old one, “You’ve changed, Elli.”

“No I haven’t,” she said with her face scrunched up.

“Oh, yes. You used to walk this earth with no purpose after leaving New York. But when Shea came into your life, I saw you transform over night. Your eyes were brighter, you wore clothes that fit your body, and you glowed, darlin’. You are a ray of sunshine when you are with him. These past couple mouths, you’ve been a damn storm cloud and I want my sunshine back. So damn it, go get it.”

“But he deserves better than me.”

“Like hell you say, let me tell you something. When Shea came to ask me for your hand, I said, ‘Are you sure?’ and you know he said, ‘I’ve never been so sure of something in my whole life.’ So, obviously, you’re perfect to him.”

Elli smiled, loving that Shea had asked her Papa, too. Could he get any better?

“I just don’t know what to say to him.”

“Who said you had to say anything? Just kiss him senseless, y’all seem good at that,” Bryan said with a laugh. Elli’s smile brightened at just the thought of Shea’s lips on hers.

“I don’t know.”

“Well you better figure it out, Eleanor Ray, because there are two minutes left in this game and I’m pretty sure Shea won’t be happy about going to the cup finals unless he knows you’ll be cheering him on.”

Elli glanced at the scoreboard, seeing that the guys were up by two and that, like Papa had said; only two minutes were left in the game. Elli let out a frustrated sigh. She only had two minutes to figure out how she was going to prove her love to Shea.

Bryan stood up, putting his hand on Elli’s shoulder.

“Go get your man, baby girl. Y’all deserve each other.”

Elli smiled. Like always, Papa was right. As the seconds counted down, it was like a light bulb went off in Elli’s head. She stood up quickly, causing the chair to fall behind her as she sought Papa out.

“I need a microphone.”

The Ducks were playing hard, they wanted the chance at the cup just as bad as the Assassins did, but Shea wasn’t going to give it to them. He was mad, hurt, and heartbroken. So when Perry skated by and Shea demolished him into the boards, he didn’t even feel the least bit bad. Since this would be his last year as an Assassin, he was going to win this game and then he would win the cup again before going off to Boston or New York, or wherever. He didn’t care as long as he didn’t play in this rink ever again. Every time he passed the board that held the glass he had broken for Elli, he died a little more inside.

He had to get out of here.

When the final buzzer rang and the crowd went nuts, Shea closed his eyes, taking in the energy of the crowd. The place was deafening as people screamed while throwing their rally towels on the ice and blowing horns. It was crazy. As Shea was wrapped up in a hug from his team mates, all he could think about was Elli.

Not that he had just won the semifinals in the NHL or that, more than likely, he would be holding the cup above his head in a week’s time.

Nope, just Elli.

Shea was in the middle of the huddle when he heard it. The soft sound of words to a song he knew. A song that he had listened to so many times, since watching Elli sing it on the DVD from the play she was in, “My Man.” He quickly moved out of the huddle. It was easy, since everyone started moving out of the way to see who was singing. When Shea saw Elli standing in the middle of the ice in her naughty shorts and thigh high boots, he was unable to breath, think, or even move. He just watched as the woman he loved more than anything on God’s green earth sang.

To him.

Elli eyes were fixed on his as she belted out the notes like she was 17 with no one but him in the room listening, not the 19,000 audience members that watched, just as awestruck as he was. Shea was sure that she was better now than she was when she was 17. Her voice was mature, beautiful. She was beautiful, and he would never love anyone but her. Shea’s whole body tingled as she hit the last note, her one hand raised in the air, her other holding the microphone out some as she sang her little heart out. When she took a deep breath, dropping the microphone to her side, opening her eyes to look at Shea, his whole body filled with warmth as he took in a shaky breath before skating towards her as the crowd turned boisterous.

When he reached her, Elli looked up at him, her eyes filling quickly with tears. She stood a couple inches away from him, as the tears started to drip down her round cheeks.

“You sang for me,” Shea said when he could actually form words.

She nodded slowly.

“I did,” Elli said, taking a deep breath.