I watch as Harrison slips into his white dress shirt, the crisp fabric fighting to stay in place against his massive frame. What a beautiful sight this is, of my husband getting dressed. I remember the first time I watched him dress back at the boutique I worked at, and how he took my breath away the first time I laid eyes on him doing so.
And all these years later, he still is sexy as hell to watch.
“What is that wicked smile on your face for?” Harrison asks, a smirk playing across his lips.
I laugh as I shift my gaze back to the bathroom mirror in front of me, picking up a tube of lipstick off my tray. “I think you know what it’s for.”
“I do. Are you angling for baby number three after CiCi and Peter’s party?” he teases.
I glance back at him as he begins to button his shirt. I put down my lipstick and walk over to him, where he’s standing in our bedroom. I go to him and pick up the task of buttoning his shirt for him.
“I will happily make love to you for hours once we are home, but I’m good with two children right now.”
Which is true. Our son, Parker, is four; and our daughter Charlotte just turned one in November.
Harrison beams at me. “I told you I wanted a hockey team, remember?”
I giggle. “Yes, and you will have a mini squad. I was thinking,” I say, my fingers slowly trailing up his skin as I continue to button, “we could try for baby number three when we are in Spain this summer.”
I see his beautiful green eyes light up. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
He bends down and drops a sweet kiss on my lips as I finish the last button. “I love you, Kylie Flynn.”
Happiness fills my heart. “I love you, too.”
I go back to the restroom and finish applying my makeup while Harrison picks up the tie he had laid out on the bed. Our lives have been a whirlwind since we met, of falling in love, getting married, pursuing our dreams. KR Vintage Designs has done well enough for me to expand—but I haven’t. I want to be able to keep my business small so I can be hands-on in all areas. Along with aprons, I’ve added retro kitchen towels, placemats, and napkins to our selection. I studied with Harrison the pros and cons of having the line carried in department stores, and Harrison let me make the call. I decided I didn’t want to mass-produce, to have to buy a warehouse and production facility and outsource. So we, because Harrison and I do everything as a team, decided to stay small. I hired some seamstresses who work on the projects at home. Everything is small batch and I even close the shop a few times a year as I please for holidays and vacations. I never wanted to lose the joy of sewing and designing, and this plan allows me to keep it.
“Babe, have you seen my watch?”
I smirk. One thing that hasn’t changed is Harrison and his ability to lose stuff. As much as I’ve tried to organize him and give him spaces to put everything where it should be, he can’t. It drives me crazy, but it’s a part of who he is, and I accept that.
“Did it fall off the nightstand?” I ask as I finish applying my shiny red lipstick. “Under the bed? Stuffed in a stack of paperwork?” I tease.
“Very amusing,” he responds. His voice is muffled, so I’m thinking he’s looking under the bed, which makes me grin. “Found it!”
“Daddy, why are you under the bed?” Parker’s tiny voice calls out.
“I dropped my watch,” Harrison says, his voice now clearer so he must be out.
“I can’t wait to go to Auntie CiCi’s party,” Parker says, using the name CiCi asked that he call her. “Will Santa be there again?”
I step into the bedroom. “He will, my little man.”
“And all my friends? Dimitri?”
I smile, as he’s referring to Lexi and Niko’s little boy, who is three.
“Yes, Dimitri will be there,” I say, loving the bond the two boys have formed.
Parker’s brown eyes grow serious and his brows come together in a concerned V. “But Cecilia will be there. She’s bossy.”
I glance at Harrison, whose eyes are lit up in amusement. Cecilia is the three-year-old daughter of Nate and Kenley, and we all joke she is the Mini-Me of CiCi. She is particular, demands quality, even at this age, and seems to have learned at the hand of CiCi, much to Nate and Kenley’s chagrin.
“Cecilia just likes things a certain way,” I explain.
Parker frowns.
“We’re all different,” Harrison says, dropping on one knee and pulling Parker onto his leg. “And we are all special, even Cecilia if she’s being bossy.”
“Hmm.”
Harrison glances at me, and I nearly burst out laughing. Parker is stubborn in his convictions, just like his father, and it’s going to take a lot of convincing to get him to like Cecilia Johansson.
“Go get your coat, sweetheart, so I can help you with the zipper,” I say. “And you will have fun with Cecilia tonight.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Parker says, hurrying out of the room.
Harrison takes me into his arms. “I love his convictions.”
I slide my hand up to Harrison’s ginger curls at the nape of his neck, winding my fingers through them. “He’s just like you.”
“Perhaps. On a different note, can you believe this is our last Demons’ holiday party?” Harrison asks.
I smile up at him. “People won’t believe you when you disclose you are retiring at the end of the season,” I say. But for now, it’s our secret. A decision we made together for our family.
Harrison, who has won multiple championships with the Demons, has decided to retire early. He could play for many more years, but his mind is already seeing a challenge he loves just as much as hockey.
His personal coaching business is booming. And he loves being a life coach. It’s so exciting to see this change in him, how he took his college courses in psychology, attended conferences on personal coaching in the off-season, and grew equally passionate about the career he was going to pursue full-time once he hangs up his skates. I knew his biggest fear when I met him—his life after he left the ice—and now those fears are never going to materialize. Harrison is energized and excited about his future, so much so he’s going to retire early, while his body is still in a good place and his head is right about leaving the sport behind.
“I know they won’t believe me, but that’s for them to sort out,” Harrison says. “I don’t want a big goodbye tour. Saying goodbye on the last homestand is all I need. It’s for the fans here in Dallas. Then, my wife, we ride off into the sunset and let Nate and Matt pick up the charge.”
I nod. Nate is beyond ready to be a captain, as he’s been the alternate captain for years now. Matt has also shown maturity and growth, and I know the coach will elevate him to be an alternate along with JP, who wears the other A now.
“But before that,” Harrison says, brushing a lock of my hair behind one ear, “I believe we have a party to go to. I’ll go get our beautiful daughter, and then we’re off.”
I smile as Harrison drops a kiss on my forehead before going to get Charlotte ready. God, I love this man.
I can’t wait until we become a family of five in the future, I think happily. Because Flynn Party of Five has a wonderful ring to it.
So much so I might have to start on this plan tonight instead of this summer.
With that thought in my heart, I follow Harrison down the hall, ready for our last Christmas party with the Dallas Demons. And dream of how our Christmas with another Flynn baby will be next year.
