Page 51 of Well Played

I turned toward her voice, grinning as she hammered on the plexiglass.

“Mia Maddren,” I said into the microphone, wincing as feedback screeched through the speakers. Behind me, my teammates chuckled, but I only had eyes for the gorgeous woman in front of me.

“What are you doing?”I read the words on her lips and couldn’t help the giddiness that bubbled through me. We’d been dating for six months now. A short amount of time, for some, but considering I’d known she was the one the moment I met her, this felt way overdue.

“I adore you.” I paused to check for feedback, but the sound tech had worked his magic and everything was working smoothly.

“Since the moment you danced into my life, you’ve held me captive. You’re the last person I think of at night, and the first person I think of when I’m foiling the crow’s attempts to kill me.” I paused as her laugh reached me over the distance between us.

“I was hoping to do this on the back of a win, but it feels fitting that while one chapter is closing, I’m reaching for the rest of my life with both hands. Marry me, Balloon girl. Please?”

Tears tracked down Mia’s face as she cupped her hands over her mouth.

Shit. Was she going to say no? Maybe I should have planned this more. How stupid had it been for me to propose in front of a stadium full of people?

My heart rate sped up as long seconds passed before her chin dipped. I skated toward her so fast, I hit the boards with a resounding thud, but all I cared about was…

“Yes?”

“Yes!” she shouted, her smile so wide I wanted to claw my way to her so I could taste it.

As though she could sense my need, she turned and ran for the nearest gate. I beat her there, throwing it open in time to catch her before she could slide on the ice.

I lowered my head, annoyed when I couldn’t get close enough to her until I realized my helmet was still in place. Without dropping her, I tossed it off, ditching my gloves and stick for good measure and pulling her into a searing kiss as the lingering crowd erupted in cheers. This was all I needed. My future in hockey was uncertain, but I had Mia.

“I love you,” I murmured against her lips.

“I love you, too, Caveman.”

2

Mia

“So you’re tellingme that if I want the space for a birthday party it’ll be three thousand, but if I need it for a wedding, it’s five thousand. That’s extortion! How can you-”

I sputtered to a stop as my phone disappeared from my hand and a warm arm wrapped around my waist.

“If you have availability for the date, please book it. Yes, I’ll send the deposit. Thank you. Bye.”

I dropped my head back against Oscar’s shoulder as he ended the phone call and buried his face in my neck.

“Can we just go to town hall tomorrow to get a marriage license and call it done?” I asked hopefully. He bit lightly on my collar bone in response and a shiver of need passed through me.

“Not a chance. You deserve the big white wedding, and can you really tell me you want to deprive Luca of the chance to walk you down the aisle?”

My brother would love the opportunity to avoid having the attention of so many people on him. Despite being an Olympic swimmer, and even bigger than Oscar’s six foot four, he wasan expert at fading into the background and avoiding human contact.

Unfortunately, I knew that the wedding was an exception to the rule, and Luca couldn’t wait to do the honors.

I sighed.

“Fine. But I don’t need the big wedding. I just need you.”

A knock at the window caught our attention, and Oscar’s grip tightened around me as we noticed a large black crow looking inside.

“It followed us,” he hissed, subtly maneuvering me in between himself and the window.

“Nice to know you’d sacrifice me,” I snarked, but couldn’t keep the laugh out of my voice.

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