Page 36 of The Pucks We Freeze
He exhaled, the tension in his shoulders bleeding out slowly. “You get any good shots?”
I tried to act nonchalant, shrugging one shoulder. “A few. One in particular of you in the penalty box looking like you own the place.”
That lopsided smirk curled onto his face, but this time it wasn’t cocky. It was warm and familiar. The same one that always unraveled something inside me.
“That look?” he asked. “Yeah. That was for you.”
My breath hitched, but I kept my cool. “I figured.”
Silence lingered again, but it wasn’t awkward.
“I just needed to see you,” he said. “After everything… tonight… I didn’t want to leave the ice without this. Withoutyou.”
That cracked something open in my chest. I stepped closer, close enough that the scent of him wrapped around me like a memory.
“You’ve got time before they drag you back in there?” I asked.
“Not much,” he admitted. “Still gotta shower. Talk to the team. But… wait for me?”
He looked at me like he meant it. Like tonight wasn’t just another win. It meant something more to him.
“I’ll be here,” I whispered. “Take your time.”
He hesitated for just a second longer, then leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek.
It wasn’t for show or a tease. This was a promise.
Then he was gone, slipping into the locker room and leaving me alone with that familiar ache. My knees wobbled as I leaned against the wall, a soft smile tugging at my lips. My fingers hovered over the camera bag at my side, but I didn’t reach for it.
Not yet.
Instead, I let the moment wash over me. The thrum of the crowd still pounded in my veins, the memory of his voice when he’d asked me to stay, and the ghost of his lips brushing my skin.
I closed my eyes, and as the truth settled over me, I knew I wasn’t ready to leave Kade.
I didn’t know if I ever would.
Chapter Twelve
Willow
The corridor buzzed with post-game energy. Fans talking over one another, families clutching Rixton Wolves gear, kids waving oversized foam fingers.
But none of it held my attention.
Not the fans clamoring for autographs, not the team staff hauling equipment cases toward the tunnel, not the celebration echoing through the building in distant bursts of laughter.
I was waiting forhim.
I shifted from foot to foot, heart thudding hard against my ribs as if trying to beat its way out of my chest. My camera bag rested heavily against my hip, but it wasn’t the weight that made me fidget. It was the anticipation and the nerves of whatever he had up his sleeve.
Kade’s oversized jersey hung off me like a dress, the sleeves swallowing my hands in warm fabric. His name stretched proudly across my back. I tugged at the hem to steady myself. His scent still clung to the collar, smelling of cedarwood and something fresh, with hints of sweat and a heat I couldn’t stop remembering.
He’d given it to me last night after everything happened. He’d pulled it over my head and murmured“mine”in a voice so low I felt it more than heard it. That word still echoed through me now, even as I stood alone in the crowd.
My phone buzzed in my palm.
Kade: You better be ready for me.
