Page 27 of My Pucking Valentine

They are enjoying the eye candy on the ice. My gaze scans the middle of the arena as the men skate in. They’re moving around, but I don’t see him. The tickets were for tonight. Where could he be?

A few moments later, I see him. He skates out onto the ice. His name is bold on the back of his jersey. He’s beautiful, helmet and all. I suck in a breath, and my entire body stiffens when he slides up to the glass in front of me.

His eyes find mine, and his lips slowly curve up into a grin. Sexy as hell. Beyond sexy. I don’t know what other word I could use, but if there is a word for him better than that, that’s what he is.

While they warm up, I catch him looking at me every few minutes. I hope he doesn’t get distracted tonight. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. When the teams head back to their locker rooms and the announcers start talking, that’s when my leg starts shaking again.

“Everything is going to be okay,” Barbara states from beside me.

She has finally torn her gaze from the rink and is looking over at me. “He gave me a ring,” I hiss. “Nothing is okay. If I say no, then maybe my whole life is over. I doubt I will ever fall in love with anyone else. I know he’s the one. If I say yes, then my career could be over, and I doubt my mother will ever talk to me again.”

Barbara arches a brow. “Does it bother you that this could ruin your relationship with your mother?”

I think about those words, about that question.

“I don’t think it does,” I whisper.

I haven’t talked to her much since I went away to college an hour from home. That was one reason why I was ready to get out of Wisconsin. Nothing was keeping me there. I didn’t spend holidays or breaks with my mom because she liked to go on vacation during those times and would ask me to dog-sit for her.

The only time she’s called me since moving to Ohio was on my birthday and the other day when the news story broke about Luke and me. I’ve always hoped that she would want to be close to me, that she would like to know about my life, but she hasn’t.

“I think you should live the life that makes you happy. Clara, Luke makes you happy.”

Luke does make me happy. Incredibly happy. Sinking my teeth into the corner of my bottom lip, I shift my gaze from her to the rink and then back to her. “He does make me happy. I want a life with him, but I don’t want to ruin his world in the process.”

“He doesn’t give a shit about it,” Sarah says.

I start to argue with her but decide against it, mainly because I don’t want to keep talking about this, but also because the announcer begins the game. We stand for the national anthem of both the United States and Canada.

Then, the game begins.

I watch as the men skate around the ice, slamming into one another and slapping the puck across the entire arena. It’s exhilarating, and Luke is at the center of it all. He’s amazing. I didn’t know he was so graceful, but the way he moves around the ice is mesmerizing.

I’ve only ever watched the games on television, and this is a million times better. Barbara shouts next to me, slamming her palm against the glass, causing my entire body to jump. She is seriously into this game.

Luke skates up and down around the goal, and then it happens. He brings his stick back and launches the puck straight for the goalie. Lifting my hands, I cover my lips with a gasp and jump to my feet.

The entire arena screams, a horn blows, and music plays.Score. I jump up to my feet along with everyone else, losing my mind because that’s my man—mine. Once everyone settles down, I look at the clock. There is only a minute left. And in that minute, the Vortex scores again. This time, it’s not Luke. It’s someone else, but it’s still exciting.

When the buzzer sounds that the period is over, I sit down, smiling from ear to ear. That was exciting, like, beyond exciting. Then something happens, and the entire stadium goes dark. The announcer starts to speak, and my heart slams against my chest.

I’m not sure what is going on, but there is a spotlight in the middle of the rink. I watch as someone skates into the middle of the ice, and as soon as I realize who it is, my whole heart stops beating in my chest as he begins to speak.

“Thank you all for being here tonight and supporting the Vortex. I am so proud to be part of this wonderful family. I asked if I could take over the period break.”

His voice echoes around the arena, and my whole body freezes. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I have a feeling it has to do with the ring that’s in my pocket. I’m grateful that at least this part is not on TV.

“As some of you may know, I fell in love with a girl. She’s sitting right over there,” he says, pointing in my direction.

Then another spotlight appears, and it’s focused on me. I don’t look up to see if I’m on the Jumbotron. I don’t care. I can’t look anywhere but at Luke in the center of the ice. Barbara gasps beside me. My focus is on Luke, though, as he continues.

“Some people may not agree with the fact that we’re stepsiblings, but that’s all we are. Never raised together, never lived together. When Clara moved here a year ago, she didn’t know a soul. I’d only met her once before, but I offered to show her around because I knew what it was like to be in a new city,” he says, continuing our story.

And every single word that he’s saying is true. My heart hasn’t started beating again. It’s frozen in my chest, and I wonder if I’m going to expire soon because it sure as shit feels like it.

“Clara Winslow, I know I already sent you the ring,” he says as he sinks down to one knee in the middle of the ice rink, wearing his full uniform. “Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”

The entire stadium is silent. It’s so quiet I can’t even hear anyone eating popcorn. Pressing my lips together, I try to force myself to breathe slowly in and out of my nose. The spotlight is literally on me, and the entire place is waiting for my answer.

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