Page 84 of It's Mother-Pucking Christmas!

“Protein, protein, protein,” Nate instructed. “And ice. Lots of ice baths.”

“We’re meal training at your house. Do you have any allergies?” my dad asked. “I make a mean smoked turkey.”

“That’s nice, but you don’t have to. I’m fine,” Ryder said. “The doctors say that the effect of the pepper spray should go away by tomorrow. They gave me eye drops.”

My dad hissed. “You have your big chance coming up. You’re family. We’ll make sure you get there.”

“But Dakota…”

“Turns out none of my children are that smart.” My dad sighed. “I have other daughters. Dakota is the only one that’s gainfully employed, though.”

“Hey!” The word turned into a sharp whistle as another chunk of my chipped front tooth disintegrated in my mouth.

“Thit!” I said and clapped a hand over my mouth.

Ryder peered at me. “Did you lose a tooth?”

“No.”

He tugged my hand away

“Ith just chipped. Don’t look at me!” I rushed outside into the cold.

Ryder was behind me though.

“I told you to get lost.”

“Dakota…”

“I was mean to you and lied to you and ruined your life,” I said, the words whistling past the tooth. “I’m sorry, Ryder. I’ll never forgive myself.”

“I forgive you, Dakota,” he said softly.

“You’re too nice for your own good.” I sniffled. “How did you even make it this far in life?”

“Because,” he said, “I knew that one day I’d meet the girl of my dreams, and she would make me happier than I’d ever been. And against all odds, I found her. You’re everything I’ve always wanted, Dakota.”

He tugged my bruised hands away from my mouth.

“I don’t want any other woman except you. I told you. I love you, and I want to marry you. I know we’ve only known eachother a few days, and it’s too soon, but I want you to know. I don’t mean to scare you off. I guess I shouldn’t have said it, but I’ve never felt that way about anyone.” He looked a little sad.

“It doesn’t scare me,” I said quietly. “I love you. I mean it. I love being around you, I love talking to you, I love spending time with you. It feels right, like that’s how it’s supposed to be—you and me.”

“You and me,” he repeated.

“But I made you miserable. You got pepper sprayed and almost lost a game because of me—almost lost your chance at the NHL. I refuse to take responsibility for the stalker, though,” I added.

A smiled played around his mouth as I talked, every so often whistling one of the words.

“I can’t be mad at you. You’re so cute with your chipped tooth.” He kissed me gently on my bruised nose. “Besides, with both of your hands out of commission…” He kissed my neck then whispered his next words hot in my ear. “How are you going to touch yourself thinking about me?”

I leaned into the familiar heat of his body. “Okay, that’s not how apologies work. You can’t just forgive and forget. You have to hold the other person’s mistake over their head for years and extort things from them.”

“Extort?” His voice dropped an octave.

“You sound way too interested in that,” I said with a shiver.

“I can,” he said, finally kissing my mouth, lips gentle, “think of a few things I’d like to extort you for.”

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