While Carter plays video games with Olivia asleep in his lap, his mother, Jennie, and Hank arrive unannounced. The family teases Carter mercilessly, especially Jennie, who mocks his pet name for Olivia. Jennie tells Olivia that Carter has arranged horseback riding lessons for them in the spring. At dinner, everyone bonds, though Hank embarrasses them by referencing the spicy audiobook he and Olivia are listening to together.

The next day, Carter surprises Olivia at her school. Her principal, Ray, praises how well she manages students. Carter watches as male students challenge Olivia’s volleyball skills; provoked, she executes a powerful spike that stuns everyone. Carter proudly claims her as his girlfriend and guest-teaches her class.

On his next road trip, Carter is bored and misses Olivia. His teammates tease him about how much he has changed. During a video chat, Garrett and Emmett briefly hijack the phone. The team jokes about Carter and Olivia not having said “I love you” yet.

Carter flies home early to surprise Olivia by attending Alannah’s hockey game. At the rink, he meets Jeremy, who is holding baby Jem, and Jeremy’s wife, Kristin. When Alannah spots Carter, she shrieks with excitement. During the game, she scores twice, pointing at Carter and playing an air-guitar solo with her stick each time.

After the game, Carter takes everyone for pizza and wings. He bonds with Alannah, and when Jeremy hands him Jem, Carter is nervous at first but quickly finds the baby adorable. Kristin snaps numerous photos, calling them her family, which warms Carter’s heart. Alannah invites him to a future Oreo-themed slumber party, and he enthusiastically accepts.

Back at home, Carter and Olivia finally get time alone, but his phone repeatedly interrupts them. When he finally answers, a distraught Adam is on the line: He just found Courtney, his girlfriend of seven years, in bed with another man. Carter immediately says he is on his way.

Carter picks up a devastated Adam and takes him to a dive bar. Adam wonders if Courtney’s infidelity is his fault because of his hockey schedule. Carter and other teammates who arrive reassure him that the blame lies with Courtney. Adam reveals that he told her to leave his house for good.

As more teammates join, Adam buys shots for the entire bar while Carter quietly picks up the tab. Carter stays sober, anxious about the idea of losing Olivia one day. The party moves to Adam’s house, where they find Courtney still on the couch, acting as if nothing happened. When Adam orders her out, she blames him for always traveling. Carter backs him up, and Adam stands firm, sending her away.

Emmett reassures Carter that Olivia would never cheat, and Olivia sends Carter intimate bath photos. Sensing Carter’s distraction, Adam tells him to go home. Carter finds Olivia naked by the fireplace, wrapped in a blanket. After discreetly photographing her from behind, he kneels beside her, kisses her neck, and whispers that he wants to show her how much he loves her.

Olivia starts crying when Carter says he loves her. Panicking, he admits that he has been screaming it in his head for two weeks. Olivia tackles him, kisses him, and declares her love, too. They exchange repeated declarations and make love all night.

Afterward, they eat leftovers in the kitchen. Olivia asks why he never had a serious relationship before. Carter explains he focused solely on hockey in high school, and his father warned him about women who might use him for fame and money, which made him cautious. After his father died, seeing his mother’s grief made him fear being that vulnerable. He admits he is afraid of losing Olivia but that she makes him better.

Olivia apologizes for her own fear. Carter reassures her that fear reveals what matters most. He asks her to stay with him forever. She tells him she wants him to be himself, which is everything she needs. He promises to love her the way she deserves for the rest of their lives.

It is Valentine’s Day and Carter’s 28th birthday. He has been on a road trip for a week and five days. Olivia sees photos of him in New York wearing a shirt proclaiming his love for his girlfriend. They have a morning video call during which Carter watches her get dressed. Because of heavy snow, he sends his driver to take her to work.

Carter sends a series of gifts throughout the day: coffee and a cinnamon bun; a teddy bear wearing Carter’s jersey; chocolate-covered strawberries with a suggestive note; and a bag of Lululemon leggings and yoga pants. The final gift is a mariachi band that serenades Olivia in the gym in front of students and staff while Cara films the spectacle.

At home, Olivia finds balloons and a bracelet with a heart and their initials, along with a heartfelt card. She follows rose petals to her bedroom and discovers Carter there, naked on her bed with chocolates and a red ribbon tied around his penis. He gives her a red lingerie set, warning that he bought two because he plans to rip the first one off. They go to dinner wearing matching shirts declaring their love. Carter reveals he discovered all her planned gifts for him, including an Oreo cake and Disney movie tickets.

Carter prepares for a sleepover with Alannah and Jem when Olivia does not arrive home on time. He panics, unable to reach her, which reminds him of his father’s death. When he finally contacts her, she tells him her car is stuck in a snow-filled ditch. He drives to rescue her, then insists she take his truck home and keep it until the snow melts. He parks her car in his garage.

Back home, Olivia discovers a large canvas print of her nude back hanging above the bedroom fireplace. Initially upset, Carter quickly distracts her, and they nearly have sex before the kids arrive. Jeremy and Kristin drop off Alannah and Jem. Jeremy is disgusted by the photo; Kristin finds it beautiful.

They have a movie night in the blanket fort, eat brownies, and hold an impromptu dance party. Carter watches Olivia sing Jem to sleep and feels overwhelmed with love. He carries a sleeping Alannah to bed, and she wakes briefly to tell him she loves him. After the kids go to sleep, he and Olivia have sex.

The morning after the sleepover, Olivia finds Carter, Alannah, and Jem working out in the home gym. Alannah proudly announces that Carter changed Jem’s diaper. Carter teases that he would make a hot DILF. When Alannah asks what that means, Carter panics and claims it stands for Dad I’d Like to Fish With.

Carter takes them for a private skate at the Vipers arena. He insists Alannah wear a helmet, acting responsibly, which Olivia finds attractive. He skates around holding a giggling Jem. He smugly tells Olivia she looks like she wants to have his babies, and she internally agrees.

After the Vipers game that evening, reporters are interviewing Carter when Alannah runs up to him. She talks about their sleepover and playing hockey herself. When reporters try to deduce whether Alannah and Jem are Olivia’s children, Alannah hugs Carter and says she hopes they get married and have lots of babies. The moment fuels media speculation for weeks.

In late April, during the playoffs, Olivia and Carter visit Hank. They discuss the persistent media narrative depicting Carter as a stepdad. Hank reveals a large bruise on his back from a shower fall, which deeply worries Carter. Hank also announces their next erotic audiobook series for the book club, horrifying Carter.

That evening at Carter’s house, the team celebrates a playoff series win. Olivia notes that she and Jennie have become close friends through their horseback riding lessons. Finding Carter brooding alone on the balcony, Olivia joins him as he voices worries about Hank. He hates leaving her for road games and asks her to move in with him. After teasing him briefly, Olivia says yes. Carter joyfully announces the news downstairs.

In late May, Carter and Olivia spend a day fishing to honor Carter’s father’s birthday. Olivia catches four salmon while Carter catches none, and she teases him. During their shore lunch, Carter reminisces about everything his father taught him: fishing, skating, hockey skills, and how to love. He confesses he has not visited his father’s grave since the funeral, but Olivia makes hard things easier.

On the drive home, Carter spontaneously decides to visit the cemetery. They stand before his father’s gravestone. Olivia kneels privately at the grave for a moment while Carter watches. In the truck afterward, when Olivia asks to stop at his condo, Carter reveals he sold it very early in their relationship, right after bringing her there for the first time.

Back at his house, Carter asks what Olivia said to his father. She tells him she thanked his dad for raising Carter and for bringing him to her. Deeply moved, Carter makes love to her. While barbecuing dinner later, Carter receives a phone call from Dr. Murphy at Vancouver General Hospital, informing him that Hank has been in an accident.

Several weeks later, after being hospitalized for a bad fall, Hank is moving into Sunset Living, an assisted living facility. Carter is critical of it, but Sherry, the intake manager, assures them it is highly ranked.

When Sherry mentions that Dublin can visit, Carter realizes that pets cannot live there permanently, due to liability concerns. Olivia explains that it is common. Hank admits he can no longer care for Dublin properly and asks if Carter and Olivia will adopt him. They both immediately agree.

Later, the team helps move Hank into his room, and Carter and Hank walk by the river. Hank tells Carter how perfect Olivia is for him and asks when he is going to propose. Carter admits that while it feels soon, he thinks about marrying her constantly and cannot imagine life without her. Hank says true love does not follow a timeline. Carter internally agrees, thinking it will be real soon.