Page 50 of Fate on the Ice

“Not the girls’ across the street?”

My lips turn up into a smirk. “Say hello to your new roommate. At least for now.”

“We’ve lost another one,” Forrest says with a laugh. “I knew it the moment you laid eyes on her. Fucking knew it. Another sister added to the pack. I’m here for it.”

Laughing, I grunt as the pain in my cheek slides through me. I clear my throat as I look across to him and sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “Your house payment is going to go up,” I mutter.

Forrest shrugs a shoulder. “Luckily for me, I come from money. I’m not worried about a few hundred bucks more. The view across the street is worth every penny.”

Arching a brow, I watch him for a moment, then lean forward slightly. “Any view in particular?” I ask in a whisper.

Alexei laughs, no doubt knowing exactly who he’s talking about. He’s a bit more observant than I am, well, when it comes to other things. My focus has been on Grace, and I would say that I’ve been fairly observant when it comes to her… every single inch of her.

“The blonde one,” Alexei announces.

I know exactly who he’s talking about, and that is going to be a wild ride. Brooklynn is, without a doubt, the most lively of all the girls in that house. And when I say that, I mean she’s the most dramatic, the kindest, and the most vocal, all rolled into one tiny body.

Chapter

Twenty-Four

GRACE

I don’t know if I’ve completely screwed up my life or not. The way my father stood up for me gives me pause. He’s never had my back or given two shits about me before. And here he was today. He got rid of Hayze, like, told him to get out and never come back.

Then there was Otto, who was prepared to give that asshole his beautiful car and a fistful of cash. I didn’t want to run, and I should have listened to my gut. Because this is where I belong, beside this man.

“Your father wants to work on your relationship,” Otto announces as he pulls away from the motel.

Alexei is taking my car home, back to their place. The guys’ house. Because I’ve already moved everything out of my room. Plus, I cannot pay rent, and I would never ask them or anyone else for help.

Except, isn’t that what I’m doing by staying with the guys? By living with Otto? But on the other hand, being beside Otto is where I belong. It doesn’t matter that this is happening so fast that my head and body are spinning.

“I will believe it when I see it,” I murmur. “But today showed me a lot more about the man he can be than the last nineteen years ever did.”

“Honey,” Otto rasps as he guides the car into its designated spot in front of his house. “I hope he changes. If he doesn’t, you always have me. Always.”

Turning to him, I lift my hand across the console and cup his uninjured cheek. “How did I fall in love with you as quickly as I did? This doesn’t seem real,” I whisper.

He leans forward until his lips touch mine, but he doesn’t deepen the kiss. Instead, he holds his mouth close, brushing mine as he speaks.

“It’s real, honey. Every single moment of it is real. It’s fast, but it’s real, and I want more of this, of you, of us. Don’t leave me again.”

My heart aches at his words. “I didn’t leave because I didn’t want you,” I explain. “I left to save you from myself. From my problems. I refuse to allow you to ruin your life for me. This team is your life, and I don’t want you to give it up for me.”

Otto hisses and shakes his head from side to side a couple of times. “You are my life, Grace. There is nobody else for me. And leaving the team would not be giving up anything other than a jersey because you are my life.”

His words cause my entire body to jerk. “Otto,” I breathe.

“You’re marrying me,” he says, his words more of a demand than a question. “Never again will you ever have to worry about your worth. Never will you ever have to worry about a single fucking thing.”

“I feel like a burden to you.”

The words come out on a whisper, but inside, I’m screaming them at the top of my lungs. I don’t want to be that. Not for him, not for anyone, but it’s all I’ve ever been—a burden. I feel it deep in my bones. I’ve been a burden to my mother, to my father, and to this beautiful man beside me.

Otto leans deeper forward, resting his forehead against my own as he lets out a heavy sigh. “Taking care of you is a pleasure, Grace. I would want nothing more out of this life. Just you and me. And me taking care of you.”

My heart flutters at his words. I cannot believe he’s said all of that. They are the most beautiful words in the world. They consume me wholly. As does he. I clench my thighs together and try to keep from climbing over the console and onto his lap.

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