Page 35 of Blue Lines and Lullabies

I’m in love with Gabe. Ilove him, love him.

If something happened to him tonight, I’d be devastated.

Turning to Hannah, I don’t even need to speak before she nods. “I’ll take you down.”

We swiftly walk to the elevator, and Hannah speaks quietly to a security guard. “Marshall can take you down to the players’ area, Cassie. Can I get your number from Gabe if it’s alright with you? I’m sure he’ll give it to Luca. I’d love to have coffee or lunch with you next week.”

“I’d love that, Hannah. It was wonderful to meet you,” I tell her warmly.

Marshall gestures for me to enter the elevator. As we’re descending, he looks at Mackenzie. “Gabe talks about her all the time. Both of you, actually. If I didn’t know the situation, I’d have said she looks like you.”

“Really?” I say emotionally.

He nods as we reach the floor and step off the elevator. “She has your nose.”

I giggle, thinking about how amusing it is that it made my day for someone to say Mackenzie resembles me. I’m about to respond when I hear a crash.

“Are you fucking done? Come on! My girl is here, I need to get back on the motherfucking ice!” Gabe bellows.

“Uh, maybe we should wait a moment or two,” Marshall says hastily, stepping in front of me. I shove him aside and move into the room where Gabe is getting stitched up.

Everyone stops when they see me, but when Gabe’s eyes meet mine, I forget anyone else is in the room. “Did you tell me you love me?”

Gabe smiles softly. “You came all the way down here to ask me that?”

“Answer the question. Were you telling me or Mackenzie?”

I vaguely notice people quietly leaving the room as Gabe motions for me to approach him. He’s sitting on an exam table, and it makes it so we are at eye level with each other. Gabe reaches up to gently move my hair behind my ear. “I was telling you, baby.”

My eyes fill with tears. “Really?”

“Yeah. I love you, Cassie. I’m in love with you,” he whispers, leaning forward to place a tender kiss against my lips.

“I love you too,” I breathe. “I saw you go down, and I think I had this epiphany that I was in love with you, and I worried that I wouldn’t get to tell you. Hannah got me down here.”

“Babe, you know hockey injuries happen.”

“I know,” I say fretfully. “But it’s never happened like this. When my heart was on the line. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you. In such a short time, you’ve become my rock. That’s really scary.”

“I feel the same way, Cass. And I’m glad you came down to tell me that. But I gotta get back on the ice,” he says with a chuckle.

“Crap. The game is still going on. But you don’t need to impress me, Gabe. I’m in awe of what you do on the ice.”

“Thanks, Firecracker,” he whispers, giving me another quick peck before he jumps off the exam table. With his skates on, he towers over me. “You’re incredibly short like this.”

“I wish I had my skates so I could at least be back to our normal height difference.”

“You have skates?” he asks as he puts his helmet back on.

“Of course I do. I wasn’t about to let Grant do all the skating growing up,” I tease.

“If you tell me you played hockey, I’m liable to request some extra time on the ice just to see you all geared up,” he says huskily. I don’t know if I’d call it playing hockey, whatever I did, but there were pucks and sticks, and I certainly could hit the damn thing. Just don’t ask me to move at the same time. But Gabe doesn’t need to know that ... yet.

I cock my head, backing up toward the exit, grinning mischievously. “I have a wicked slapshot.”

I hear Gabe’s deep groan as I walk out the door.

Gabe, Three months later

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