𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐣. 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬

𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐈𝐈

Two Years Later...

𝐣𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐨𝐯

Today's a big and special day, but Charlotte doesn't know it yet. After Nico proposed to Gabi two years ago, I'd told Lotte that that would be us one day and the time has come to make that happen. The last two years have been amazing and more recently Charlotte and I have been talking about what we both want for the future. I've had the ring to propose to her for the last few months but with a hectic season and a Stanley Cup win not too long ago, this off-season seems like the perfect time.

We're spending the first half of the off-season home in Jersey, and our break has been full of days down the shore and relaxing. I spent a long time talking to the guys about how I could propose to Lotte that represents her and how we met. Trusting a bunch of hockey players to come up with a perfect proposal is a pretty difficult task. Despite that little hurdle, everything is set up and it looks amazing.

"Marjorie, thank you so much for letting me set everything up in your shop. What can I do to repay you?" the short older lady smiles at me. "Oh, don't be ridiculous Jack. Witnessing young love is enough." She hugs me, and I hug her back trying to shake off some nerves.

To throw off any possible suspicions, I told Lotte I had some errands to run and I'd be back to pick her up for a little dinner date. Before the little dinner, I'm bringing her here first to propose and my only hope is that everything goes well and that she says yes.

~

Picking up Lotte, we start heading over to Marjorie's bookstore. "I can't wait for this dinner. You don't understand how much I'm starving right now." Glancing over at Charlotte while we're stopped at a light I feel myself laugh at the emphasis she puts on the fact that she's starving. "Don't worry babe we're almost there and you can eat anything and everything you want." Smiling at her, I look back ahead and keep driving. I can't help the nerves swirling in my stomach and the sweat lightly coating my palms.

Once I saw that we were only blocks away from Marjorie's, I asked Lotte to put on a bandana that I had put in my glove box earlier. "Why do I need to put this on?" I just tell her it's a surprise, and rather than ask again, she just puts it on. Parking at the front, I let Lotte know that we were there and that I'd open her door and lead her to the front door.

I wipe my palms on my pants before opening her door and leading her into the bookstore. I move her over slightly to where she's right in line with a cute arch a little ways away where I'll pop the question. "Okay, Lotte open your eyes on the count of three." Stepping away from her I take a deep breath before speed-walking to the arch, turning to face her.

"One... Two..." Here goes nothing

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐯

"Three"

Reaching towards the knot at the back of my head, I remove the bandana. "Oh my god Jack what's this?" I feel my jaw drop, seeing him standing in front of a beautiful arch made of books. Taking in my surroundings, I see a walkway of flower petals leading to Jack and thousands of books covering the walls. Looking at Jack's face, I feel my heart starting to race.

Is this really what I think it is?

Walking closer to him, his smile grows wide, and he takes my hand, leading us to the front of the arch, turning to face each other. "Charlotte Mitchell, the day that I met you, everything changed for me. That night on the ice I didn't expect to meet the love of my life." Jack's only now just started talking, but I feel my eyes starting to well up with tears.

"Every moment I've spent with you in these last two years has been some of the best of my life. To me, you are the definition of perfect, and your passion for your job and your fans is so inspiring seeing how hard you work made me love you even more. When I was thinking of what I could do to make this special, I spent hours thinking back to every memory we've made together, and this was the first place I thought of." He looks around quickly, smiling at our surroundings before looking back at me.