He laughed and pulled down my ball cap.

"Kelly, I got some news from work. I'm heading back to Calgary at the end of the next month. We will have wrapped up all the conversions from the Olympics by then and there's lots of work back there."

"Oh no," I said. The sunny day suddenly felt dark. "I'm going to miss you so much."

Phil patted my hand. "I'm really going to miss you too. But we discussed all this before." We were going to date long distance until we could find the right match for our jobs. I wasn't in a position to move until I had at least finished my internship. The flight to Calgary was only ninety minutes, so we could spend weekends together.

He drove up the mountain until we got to Rice Lake. The weather was incredibly mild for February, something that the snowmakers had been complaining about all during the Olympics. We ran around the lake five times, and then Phil wanted to stop and sit down.

"I can't believe you're quitting. You're always the one who wants to run for ages while I'm sweating and dying."

"Are you sweating and dying now?" he asked.

"No. I feel fantastic." Despite the bad news, I did feel great.

"It's the magic cure for a tired Tanaka: exercise and fresh air."

I grinned; he was totally right. I took a drink from my water bottle and leaned over and kissed him. "You know me so well."

"Years of experience."

We sat in silence for a bit. I was enjoying the calm after the hectic pace of the Olympics. I already felt less ripped up about Phil leaving. It would be a challenge, but we'd get through it. We had gotten through so much already. I leaned against his firm shoulder. Might as well get all the physical contact we could while he was here. Phil smiled down at me. "Remember when we got back together, I pledged I'd show you every day how much you meant to me?"

I smiled at him. The greatest pleasure was to love someone who needed you, but gave you so much as well. "You have. And I appreciate everything. I love you, Phil."

"I've loved you for so long. Will you marry me?"

Everything spun for a moment. Marriage, already? But what else did we need? We'd known each other for so long, and right now things were perfect.

"Sure," I replied.

Phil looked shocked. "Wow, that was easier than I thought." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box.

"You have a ring? Did you plan this whole thing?"

"I've been carrying it around for a while." He put his arm around my shoulder. "You're so adorable, and I wanted things to be perfect. But you had so much on with work, I didn't want to ask when you were stressed out."

"See, that's why stress is bad for you. It wards off proposals."

"I figured you were the last person in the world who would want a proposal."

"I don't want them from just anyone." I put my arms around his neck and kissed him.

He fumbled uncharacteristically with the box but finally pulled out the ring. It sparkled blue and white.

"It's so different," I said. He slipped it on my finger, and I held out my hand to look. The setting was very simple, and the ring had diamonds and a beautiful dark blue stone.

"It's a sapphire," he explained, lifting my hand in his palm. "I wanted something that was one of a kind. I worked with this jewellery designer and came up with a ring that looked like you."

It did. The ring was beautiful, and it would go with jeans or even-a wedding gown. A wedding gown? That was a scary thought.

I swallowed. "I love it. But we're not getting married for ages, right?"

Phil laughed. "Now this is the reaction I was expecting. Obviously we can't get married until we actually have jobs in the same city. But somebody smart told me that an engagement ring kept guys from hitting on her. So I figured that I'd take that precaution before I left town."

"Hey, what about you? You're not wearing an engagement ring." All Phil had was one of those engineering rings. "How do women know you're taken?"

"Doesn't seem fair, does it? All I have is this complete blindness to every other female on the planet."

"You better. Or I'm making up t-shirts that say 'Property of Kelly Tanaka.'" I wasn't really worried. Phil and I had confidence in each other. We'd both dated enough to know that what we had was the real thing. He didn't get jealous anymore, and I laughed off the girls who tried to hit on him.

We were sitting side-by-side on the ground, and Phil's arm was wrapped around me. To be outside in the fresh air with a view of the serene lake was wonderful. I took a deep breath in.

"It's beautiful. Everything today is beautiful." Then something twigged. "Hey, isn't this the place where you kissed me for the first time?"

Phil scowled at me. "What? All this time you didn't even remember? It was eight years ago-almost to the day. I planned this whole thing." He shook his head in disgust. "Sometimes I wonder if you even have a romantic bone in your body."

I wormed my way in front of him and kissed him on the nose. "Only when we're having sex."

He thought for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. He smiled at me, his face relaxed and content. These days, he looked happy all the time.

"Of course, I remember kissing you. My very first kiss." I punctuated that statement with a quick kiss on his lips. "Probably your billionth kiss."

"Nope. My first kiss too."

"Awww, that's sweet." I had assumed that Phil was more experienced from the beginning. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him for real. His lips were soft, and the pressure of his mouth was perfect. When he kissed me, I felt a little dizzy and a lot happy. Good thing too, because this was the guy I'd have to kiss for the rest of my life.

The End.

Afterword.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the book. Please visit my website or join my mailing list to get advance notice of new works and bonus stories.

Recommending books you have enjoyed is how writers can flourish. If you liked the Hockey Is My Boyfriend series, I hope you will consider leaving an honest review wherever you find your book recommendations.

Acknowledgments.

First off, I'd like to thank my lovely readers. Everyone who read Parts One and Two, then sent emails and compliments-you helped me to power through the long process of writing Part Three. I tried to make the best book I could, because you deserved that.

Secondly, I'd like to thank my writing friends who help me by reading, suggesting, and rolling their eyes when necessary. Kate Willoughby, for her humour and encouragement, as well as her terrible memory which makes every reading like the first time. Jaymee Jacobs, my partner in crime from the beginning, and a source of calm for me when I'm freaking out. Zoe York, who is my stealth marketing guru. I say stealth, because she doesn't even know. I write down everything she advises in our writers chatroom and then do it. Please check out their books, all contemporary romance and many with hockey.

And thanks always to Daisy. She reads my drafts and reacts with laughter, tears and praise. That's very motivating.

About the Author.

Melanie Ting is a maker of lethal margaritas, a wrangler of cats, and a fan of hockey. You can find her dodging raindrops in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, where most of her books are set.

Also by Melanie Ting.

How the Cookie Crumbles.

She's champagne and cupcakes. He's beer and burgers.

Frankie Taylor has a perfectly organized life-including a checklist for her ideal man. Just when she thinks her dream boyfriend is going to propose, he dumps her instead. Heartbroken, she impulsively flees across the country. She lands in a small town where her only romantic prospect is unshaven, unsophisticated, and definitely not her type.

Jake Cookson likes living large. After the grind of playing hockey eight months of the year, he wants to party in the off-season. And while he doesn't do commitment, he's more than willing to have a summer fling with the curvy brunette who's new in town. To his surprise, she's unimpressed by his NHL fame, money, and athletic prowess.

Can Frankie throw away her plans for the future and appreciate what's in front of her now? And can Jake even pronounce the word relationship?.

end.