Page 121 of On Thin Ice

He gave a wobbly, uncertain smile that was nearly a grimace. “He asked if you felt the same.”

“And?”

In struck me in that moment that IwantedBell to be able to tell his friend—our teammate—that I felt exactly the same way as he felt about me. That I loved him so fucking much it hurt, and the fact that he had to pretend like that wasn’t what we were to each other was a sharp stab between my ribs.

His voice was a little unsteady when he replied, “I said it was complicated.”

My chest ached at the raw honesty in his voice. I nodded, because yeah—itwascomplicated.

But it didn’t need to be.

Not forever.

I took a breath. A deep one. The kind you take when you’re standing at the edge of something vast and terrifying, knowing that the only way forward is down.

I didn’t know what waited for me at the bottom, only that, for the first time in my life, stepping into that great unknown didn’t feel like a fall.

It felt like flying.

Like maybe when I landed, I wouldn’t be shattered—I’d be free.

I stepped closer, untwining my fingers from his and lifting my hands to cradle his cheeks in my palms.

His breath caught as our eyes locked.

“You should’ve told him I do,” I said softly.

Bell’s lips parted, but no sound came out. His brows knit together, and for a second, I thought he might cry.

And then my words echoed back at me, heavy and bright.

I do.

Suddenly, I could picture it: standing across from him, saying those words again.

I knew I wasn’t ready.Weweren’t ready.

But God, I wanted to be—someday.

I wanted a future that ended with me beside this man, growing old together.

I wanted it all.

And maybethatwas the first step off the cliff.

EPILOGUE

ETHAN

Four Years Later

The hot water pounded against my shoulders, steam curling around us as Bell moved inside me with slow, deliberate strokes. My hands were braced against the shower wall, my forehead resting on the tile, every nerve ending singing. His breath hit the side of my neck, warm and just a little uneven.

God, he felt good.

Thick and deep, his rhythm unhurried, savoring every second of this, of me.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for all that. I had to be at the Thackeray College hockey rink in two hours.

---