Page 219 of The Maxwell Brothers
He cocked his head toward us, and I was probably imagining it, but I thought that even from here, I could see his grin. The goalie’s mask hid everything, but when he nodded at me, I knew for sure he saw it.
My heart was about to burst. I might not know a lot about hockey, but I felt a shift in energy the next second. Something about the way Tyler moved was different. The pacing wasn't angry anymore. It was just agile and energetic.
I was rocking back and forth on my heels and tiptoes, too full of energy to stand still. But I was holding my arms up in place. They were starting to get tired, and I could barely feel my left hand, but I was determined to keep it up as long as I needed to.
My breath caught when the Dogs came with the puck near our goal again, and I almost looked away when they shot it. But I didn't.
"Yes, yes, yes," I chanted along with everyone else when Tyler blocked it. Then Steve got the puck, and the Blades passed between them, all the way to the Dogs’ side of the rink.
Andscored.
"Yes, yes, yes," we all chanted again. The energy was infectious.
Everyone seemed to talk and shout at the same time, and I was happy I'd come down here to the ice because everyone was up on their feet. I probably wouldn't have seen anything from my own seat anyway.
Both my arms were now numb, and I lowered them just for a bit, putting the poster under my arm and rubbing my palms together before stretching them back up.
Two minutes later, time ran out, and the Blades won, 2-1. Our section of the arena seemed to be out of control. I finally brought the poster down because Tyler was being hugged by his teammates, and he wasn't going to see it anyway.
I saw the Maxwells come down to where I was.
"Okay, I need ideas," I said. "I want to get to Tyler. Is there any shortcut around here?"
"I'm afraid not," Reese said.
"A distraction technique would be great about now," Luke said, rubbing his jaw, "but I have no idea."
Declan patted his shoulder. "Mark the calendar, okay? The day I had more ideas than Luke."
"One idea," Reese said. "One."
"Yeah, we won't let it get to your head any time soon," Travis said.
The team went to the locker room, and I knew it would take a while for them to shower and maybe even discuss the game. We left the arena, heading to the lot where all the players parked, waiting there along with everyone’s families. They let a few superfans in as well—apparently they bought special tickets thatincluded meeting the team. Five security guys patrolled the area, and there was a roped section that kept the fans confined to a certain perimeter.
When the team appeared, the fans started cheering. Travis chuckled.
"Tyler’s elbowing his way to us. Literally. Look at him."
I followed Travis's gaze and realized he was right. Tyler came inside the parking lot first, but instead of greeting the fans and signing autographs, he just kept pushing forward. His teammates trailed behind him, taking pictures and signing everything in sight. Not Tyler, though. He was making a beeline for us.
I held my poster above my head as he came closer. He was smiling brilliantly. Without a single word, he cupped my face with both hands, sealing his mouth over mine.
His kiss electrified me. I dropped the poster the next second, needing my hands free so I could touch him and hug him. I put my hands on his shoulders, but I wanted to feelhim, so I moved my arms to his neck and put both hands around it.
He was breathing life into me with this kiss. I was so aware of his body and his connection between us, and it filled me with joy in every cell of my body.
"Okay, I was joking. Obviously he was elbowing his way to Kendra. I mean, Maxwell who?" Travis said.
I felt myself flush as we tore apart to draw a breath.
Tyler was totally oblivious to what Travis said, and when he pinned me with his gaze, I became oblivious to everything else too. Only Tyler mattered.
He still had his hands on my cheeks, and the skin-on-skin contact was addictive, as was the luminous, happy look in his eyes.
“Babe, let’s get out of here,” he said.
“But what about celebrating with the team?”
