Page 89 of Heart on Ice

Issy: Hey, just come right on in, my hands are busy. You know the code.

Pierre: Just arrived now.

I walk up the stairs, punch in the code, and enter her home. The house smells amazing the further I walk in, but as soon as I turn the corner, I notice the kitchen is empty.

“Hey, Issy, I’m here,” I call out to her.

“I’ll be right down,” she calls from upstairs. I place the bottle of champagne down, as well as the flowers and her presents. I go in search of a vase while I wait for her to come down. The dining room table has been set and there are candles, she’s gone to some effort for dinner tonight. Please mean that this is a good sign of where tonight is heading. I find a vase and put the bouquet in it, move it to the table, and place it beside the flowers that are already in the middle of the table.

“Hey,” she calls out.

When I look up, I almost have a heart attack. There she is standing in one of my college hockey jerseys. I’ve lost the ability to speak. My heart is thundering in my chest. I just stare at how beautiful she looks. Flashes of her in a Mavericks jersey with my name on the back and a baby in her arms wearing the same thing flash through my mind. I want forever with her. She is my everything. Issy has always been it for me, and it’s taken me fifteen years to grow the balls to finally do something about it.

“I love you.” The words tumble out of my mouth.

“I love you too, Saint.” She grins, and the next thing she is launching herself into my arms and kissing me. Thank fuck. I kiss her back feverishly. I pick her up, my hands cupping her ass as I place her on the kitchen counter, her legs wrapped around my hips. “I want us to have a second chance,” she tells me, cupping my face. I kiss her desperately because this is all I have ever wanted.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get you back,” I tell her as my hands run down her sides, taking in my old jersey. “I can’t believe you still have it.”

“I couldn’t bear to get rid of it,” she confesses.

“I will never make you regret giving me another chance, Issy. I’m done. This is it. You and me. I want forever with you.”

“Me too. I’m sorry I locked you out of my life for so long.”

I cup her face. “This is the last time you and I apologize to each other about the past. Deal?”

“Deal.” She grins as I kiss her.

“We look to the future now. You and me.”

“And Frankston,” she adds.

“And Frankston,” I say, kissing her softly as she wraps her arms around my back. “I got a present for you, but I think I kind of like what you’re wearing now.”

“You did?” She grins.

“I bought the lingerie I saw you in yesterday. The whole set,” I tell her.

“No way.” She giggles.

I nod as I lean in and whisper in her ear, “But I would rather see you bent over the sofa so I can see my name on your back while I fuck you.”

Issy groans.

Tonight,my brother and I are playing with The Mavericks. It’s an exhibition game, but it’s against Felix’s old team, and he is going to have to play against his ex-best friend and teammates who slept with his ex. I think shit is going to go down tonight, but I’ve got my brother’s back.

“Get your head in the game, man. Those assholes from LA are in the next changing room and deserve some fucking revenge,” I tell my brother as I slam my hand against his helmet. He needs to focus. I know he sent Harper his jersey to wear tonight. If she comes to the game, then she says yes to getting back together, but if she doesn’t come then I don’t even want to think about it. Issy messaged assuring me Harper would be there, that she’s wearing my brother’s jersey. I may have bought Issy a coupleof new ones to wear while I fuck her. New kink unlocked. Issy in my jersey bent over the sofa while I fuck her. My name on her back makes me fucking come so fast.Also makes me want to change her name permanently to mine.Just can’t wait till she has my name for real. My brother suggested I should wait and propose next year because it’s probably not good luck ditching one wedding with one woman while preparing to marry another in the same year. And I would have to agree. I just want reassurance that she is mine, I’m still worried that all this happiness could vanish.

“We have your back,” Emmett Black, the Captain of the team, says as he walks past, so do a couple of the other guys.

“Envision annihilating them,” I tell my brother. “Felix,” I knock our helmets together, “nothing matters more than beating those assholes. You hear me.”

“Yes.”

“Good, now let’s get out there and fuck their shit up,” I say, firing him up. I want to show The Mavericks fans what I am made of.

We walk out of the locker room and wait in the tunnel until we get called out. This is the moment the adrenaline kicks in. You can hear the crowd going crazy. The music is pumping. The boys are all hyping each other up. One by one, they call our names out, and the crowd goes wild.

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