Page 192 of Ice Mechanic

“One of us stupidly got behind the wheel and as we were driving, we hit a patch of ice on the road. My friend tried to get control of the vehicle, but the road was too slippery. We were heading straight for a steep ravine that could kill us all.”

I hold my breath, feeling like I’m right there in that spinning car with him.

“For a moment, my life flashed before my eyes and I didn’t like what I saw. Partying, getting caught up with girls, doing stupid dares, not having a purpose, I hated it. I decided right then and there that I’d dedicate myself to my family and to hockey. Just those two. Nothing else.”

“I had no idea,” I whisper.

“Underage drinking isn’t something my parents could have on the news. Not at the time. So they took care of it.” He shrugs. “But I remember that moment vividly.” He pauses and waits for me to meet his eyes. “April, after talking with you that night on the phone, I had a similar experience.”

“Our break up conversation was as violent as a car accident?”

His smile unfurls fully and I can’t stare directly at it. It’s like staring into the sun. Too brilliant. Too blinding.

“In the silence after you hung up, I saw my life play out like a movie,” Chance says. “I saw me going all the way with hockey. I saw all the trophies, the accolades, the recognition. I saw the fame and the awards, and I didn’t like what I saw.” Distaste etches itself into his handsome face. “It all seemed meaningless… because you weren’t there.”

Emotions claw at my throat and I blink rapidly to keep them back.

I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve him.

I plead one more time. “Let’s work it out some other way. There has to be another way?—”

“Hey, hey,” he calls soothingly. “I respect your career choice. I respect your path. I one hundred percent support you in whatever future you want to have, whether it’s with marriage, the garage,ourfuture kids.”

“Ourkids? Really?” I sniff.

His eyes soften as he says, “All I ask is that you respect my choice too.”

A mangled sob gets caught in my chest and I can’t speak. Chance brackets my face with his hands. Slowly, tenderly, he plants a whisper-soft kiss on my forehead.

Tilting my face up so I’m looking at him, he breathes out, “I don’t just love you, April Elizabeth Brooks. I’d sacrifice everything for you. I’d give my life for you. Ichooseyou.”

“I really hate…” I sniff harder this time, “how often I cry with you.”

“At least you’re still pretty when you cry.”

I ball my fist and land a light punch against his chest. “I’ll accept your decision, but please,pleasetell me if you ever want to leave and change your mind, okay?”

“I won’t leave, April. And I’m not changing my mind.”

“But if you ever?—”

“If I ever cause you to think that I regret it, I wantyouto talk tome. Because whatever we face in the future, whatever challenges we’ll go through, it won’t be because of this moment.”

A tear slips down my cheek. “You’re so…”

“Charming?”

“Insane,” I mumble.

Chance laughs and pulls me into his strong embrace. I hug him fiercely, wishing I could say something profound, wishing the English language had words that would accurately describe everything I’m feeling.

But all I can say is, “I love you.”

And when he whispers ‘I love you too’, I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he means it.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-SIX

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