Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100294 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 501(@200wpm)___ 401(@250wpm)___ 334(@300wpm)
Madeline nods, taking a deep breath, calming herself. Or so I thought. Instead, she was refocusing.
She hits my chest. “You idiot! You could have been killed! You stood there like a target and—”
I kiss her, stopping her from saying anything more.
She freezes for half a second, then melts into it, her fingers gripping my shirt, clinging to me. When we break apart, she’s crying and hits my chest a few more times.
“You scared me,” she whispers.
“I know.”
“Don’t do it again.”
“I’ll try.”
She looks up at me, moonlight catching the tears on her cheeks, and I see it. Really see it. She truly does love me.
She doesn’t care about Kingmakers or the money or any of that shit. She’d be with me if I had nothing.
She loves me.
I kiss her again, softer this time, while the sirens start to wail in the distance.
Chapter Forty-One
MADELINE
The smell of ice is always a little bit like coming home. I stand behind the boards in my Ice Crew uniform—a navy skirt and a Kingmakers jacket. I’m watching Luke during his warm-ups. I swear it’s as though he was born with a stick in his hand. He’s got a natural talent.
It’s been a week.
It’s been one week since Joey’s garage, since the shotgun blast, since I thought I’d watch Luke die in front of me.
The scar on his cheek is still angry pink, visible even from here. How does he make scars look so hot? Oh, that’s right, because he got it while saving my life from a mess I pulled him into. I’ve said sorry a million times, but he brushes it off and says I’ll surely get into more, and that’s why I have to keep him around. Not sure it’s really an option, but I’m good with it. Okay, more than good.
He catches me staring as he skates past, tapping his stick against the glass and giving me a wink. My heart does something complicated in my chest, and I smile like a giant goofball.
“You’re spacing out,” Georgia says from behind me. I turn around and lean up against the small wall between us and the seats. I’d saved her one when I got here early so we were close. She’s got her curls down and is wearing a Kingmakers sweater. Does she have lip gloss on? Is that mascara accentuating her already long lashes?
I inwardly smile, knowing damn well that she and Grant aren’t only friends. They may not see it yet, or want to admit it, but my eyes work perfectly fine.
“Game starts in ten.”
“I know.”
I lean up against the wall to stare back out at the ice. I can’t look away from Luke. I’m sure it’s part love and part the lingering fear that I could have lost him.
Grant is out there too, taking shots on the backup goalie. Then Luke and Grant start passing the puck back and forth as casually as breathing. I smile, kind of loving this bromance growing. It’s good for Luke. We all need a best friend in life. They are no longer just teammates. What happened in that garage stitched them together. Not that I think those two will ever have that chat.
The stands are quickly filling up, the student section already loud. There was supposed to be a memorial planned before the game for Coach Murphy, but that was nixed when they found out she’d been sleeping with students. Emily hadn’t been the first.
Luke skates over to the boards, pulls his helmet off, and leans close enough that I can smell the mint on his breath. “You look good in that skirt.”
“Focus on the game, Locke.” The man is obsessed with my legs, but I don’t have much room to talk. Locke has thighs that make me think all kinds of dirty shit.
“Can’t.” His eyes drop to my mouth, then back up. “You think about my idea.”
“Luke!” I laugh. “No, because I already told you. We finish the year out where we currently are.” His expression turns into a pout like I kicked his puppy, but I’m going to kick him here in a second.
He wants us to move into the dean’s house together. That’s just all kinds of complicated. Besides, it’s not like we don’t end up sleeping in the same bed every other night. Plus, as much as I love Luke, Georgia and I had already planned this. Luke is just going to have to wait his turn to live with me.
He even tried to be underhanded and asked, “But what if you’re pregnant?” I could have fallen over. That’s when I filled him in on my birth control I’ve been taking for years to offset cramps. He appeared highly offended by this, which only made me laugh harder. He’s definitely crazy, but it’s part of his charm.
“Just play. We’ll talk after.”
“Oh.” He perks up. “So it’s still open for debate.” I roll my eyes at him.