Page 15 of Puck Me Better

All I know is I need to talk to Dalton, Ace, and Maverick before the game starts. "I need to go to the locker room and talk to my guys."

Heidi gives me an "I told you so" smile before it slips from her face: "They're not in the locker room. They're already on the ice. Coach Davis is trying something new for pre-game warm-ups." She shrugs.

"But…"

Heidi snaps her fingers, interrupting me, "We wear the same shoe size."

"And…"

"Take my skates and skate out there to your men and tell them you love them." I don't miss how her eyes dart to each referee as she tells me what to say to my men. It seems like she should take her own advice if I'm not mistaken.

"That's brilliant!" I kick off my high heels as she unlaces her ice skates.

I slip into Heidi's skates and lace them up tight. With the help of the referees, I make my way to the entrance of the ice rink. Gliding across the ice, I dodge players and pucks on my mission. I'm a few feet from my targets when my mission is cut short byan angry-looking Coach Davis with his arms crossed over his big, burly chest.

"I expected this nonsense from Heidi and the other young girls, but you're a full-grown woman, Cassi. You're interrupting a crucial game." His scowl deepens, making me feel guilty for skating out onto the ice like a crazy woman interrupting the teams as they warm up for the game.

"You're right, Coach. It was a foolish idea. I'm sorry." I turn around, intending to skate off the ice, and wait until after the game to talk to Dalton, Ace, and Maverick. It's a miracle they haven't noticed me on the ice yet. If I'm lucky, I can skate off without them seeing me.

But before I can skate away gracefully, my skates get tangled in my haste to leave the ice, and I begin to sway to the left. I try to regain my balance, but only to overcorrect and sway to my right. I can only imagine how I look to a packed arena with my arms flailing around as I fall to the solid ice.

I close my eyes and wait for the hard impact, but it never comes. I open my eyes to find I'm being held up by three pairs of arms that magically appeared when I needed them most to position me back on solid ground as they bombard me with questions.

"Are you okay?"

"What are you doing out on the ice?"

"I thought you were out on a date?"

The last one from Maverick hits closest to home with his accusation. Did I technically have a date tonight? Yes. Was I actually going to go through with the date? No. But they don't know that yet. I have to convince them that I was scared and wrong to push them away like that.

"I'm fine." I start answering their questions. "I'm out here on the ice because I need to tell you all something before the game starts. And for the last question, I was wrong to accept a date when I'm in a relationship with the three of you." I glance at them through my lowered eyelashes. When they don't speak, I add. "Or was in a relationship with the three of you."

"Go on." Maverick doesn't make this easy on me, challenging me to defend my bad behavior.

I straighten my shoulders and lift my gaze to meet theirs before I continue, "I found myself falling in love with the three of you." At my confession, their faces changed from confusion, concern, and anger to love and desire—exactly what I needed to see to continue my little impromptu speech. "I got scared. What would three young, hot studs want with a woman almost a decade older than them." I take a deep breath and blow it out before I finish. "I'm here out on the ice with a furious-looking head coach staring at me like he wants to rip my head off to tell you I'm sorry and that I love you. And if you'll have me, I want a permanent relationship with all of you."

My stomach twists in knots as I wait for what feels like forever for them to answer. I can feel the eyes of the over twenty-five thousand fans, players, and coaches boring into me. But I ignore the trickle of sweat that slides down my back and wait.

Finally, they break eye contact with me and glance at each other before Maverick finally speaks, "Of course, we love you and want a permanent relationship with you—on one condition."

"Anything," I beg, not caring if all twenty-five thousand plus in the arena hear me grovel—my men are worth it.

"Our one condition is after the game, you," Maverick pauses, and my heart beats faster. Take us to bed or lose us forever! " they yell at the same time.

To which I yell back with a big smile, "Show me the way home, Honeys!"

Epilogue - Cassi

Twelve Years Later

"Mommy, come watch!" Riley,our oldest, yells from the ice skating pond in our backyard, which the guys have turned into a hockey rink. "It's going to be girls vs. boys."

I waddle over to the comfortable outdoor seating arrangement my husbands built. It's a nice change from the uncomfortable seats at a real hockey arena, complete with outdoor patio warmers to keep us nice and cozy.

I place one hand on my nine-month-pregnant stomach and one in the middle of my back. I've been having contractions all morning, but I don't want to alert anyone until I know for sure it's time. It's been twelve years and ten babies, including two sets of twins. At forty-two, this pregnancy is my last, so I want to enjoy it for as long as possible.

The last twelve years have been the best anyone could ever ask for. I continued my job as an agent but limited myself to only the players on the Minnesota Norse hockey team and, of course, Hadley for when she ever decides to return to acting or pursue a career in singing. But I think she's happy the way her life is, so I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.

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