Page 110 of Icy Pucking Play

"Oh my God," Ryland groans. "Now who's being romantic?"

"Still gross," Cynthia adds.

But Sophie just looks at me with those eyes that see too much.

"You really mean it?" she whispers.

"Yeah." I rest my forehead against hers. "I really do."

Because here's the thing about walls: sometimes they keep the wrong things out. Sometimes they need to come down. Sometimes...sometimes, you need to let the warmth in.

Even if it means risking everything. Even if it means letting people see you. Really see you. The way Sophie always has.

"I love you," she says softly. "Ice and all."

And for the first time, those words don't feel scary. They feel like coming home.

"I love you too." The words come easier than I expected. "Even if you put vanilla in perfectly good coffee."

She laughs against my lips. "Even if I’m terrible at golf?"

"Even then."

"Even if…"

I kiss her again, ignoring the chorus of "awws" from our audience. Because some things are worth an audience. Worth the risk. Worth everything. Especially if they make you brave enough to feel again.

“Kiss her again!” Natalia chants and several people groan.

And I laugh.

Because maybe this is what happiness feels like.

Maybe this is what love feels like.

Maybe this is what it feels like to let yourself have something good. Something real. Something warm. Something and someone worth holding on to.

Chapter 28

Evan

"Your golf game hasn't improved at all, has it?"

Sophie glares at me over her driver, which she's currently holding upside down. Again.

"I'll have you know I've been practicing."

"With what? A baseball bat?"

"Very funny, Ice Man." She flips the club right-side up. "Some of us have been busy writing award-winning features."

She has a point. Her article—the real one, full of heart and family and something suspiciously like love—has been getting attention from sports media across the country. Even Clark's attempts to trash it backfired when Sophie's honest portrayal of our family resonated with readers.

"You could have practiced between interviews."

"I was too busy defending your honor." She lines up her shot. Or tries to. "Do you know how many people have asked me if you ever smile?"

"And what do you tell them?"

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