Page 90 of Ice Mechanic

She’s on her feet, eyes glued to me. Her mouth is open, her brows knitted, her hands clasped in front of her. My jacket is slipping down her shoulders, revealing more of her beautiful red gown, but she seems oblivious to the cold.

Suddenly, the rest of the world rushes in.

I hear the screams of the crowd. Feel the biting cold of the rink. Taste the sweat above my upper lip.

“You okay?” Gunner yells as he skates past me.

I rejoin the game, my heart pumping and my hands shaking.

“Can you believe that? Chance McLanely walked away from a fight.”

“Someone learned his lesson after leaving the league.”

“I never thought I’d see the day McLanely avoided the sin bin!”

Pushing the noises out of my head, I take advantage of the opposing team’s crippled state. They’re down a man and I’m going to make it hurt.

My first score is a punishment for scheming to lock me in the sin bin.

The second score is specifically to number thirteen who slammed me into the boards and robbed me of my chance to score a goal and impress April.

My third score is just because I’m in a good mood, the game’s about to be over and that means, my date with April will begin soon.

Five… four… three… two…

The buzzer goes off and I raise my arms, grinning at the scoreboard.

Gunner, Renthrow, Theilan and Watson converge on me, followed by the rest of my teammates who scramble over the boards to make a dog pile.

“McLanely has done it again! He’s on fire!” the announcers boom.

The celebration continues with lots of roaring from my teammates.

After three minutes of being suffocated by hockey sticks, hockey gear, and men that weigh more than motorcycles, I’m allowed to surface.

The first pair of eyes I look for are April’s. She’s smiling in the stands, her cheeks flushed pink from the cold and her straight hair flowing down her shoulders.

Tearing off my helmet so there’s nothing obstructing my view of her, I blow her a kiss.

A bunch of ‘awws’ break out from the crowd.

Cameras flash all around.

We’ve got the attention of the entire stadium.

I smirk at her, an eyebrow arched. She sees me staring and her brows lift in response.

Telepathically, I invite her to join me.

Do you dare?

A bright, adventurous smile skirts over her face and she scoots out of her row. For a second, April disappears from sight and then she pops up in the entrance to the ice.

I skate toward her. My cheeks hurt and I realize it’s because I’m smiling too broadly.

Seeing this woman running toward me… my heart is about to burst.

Is this what heaven feels like?

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