Page 65 of Rush the Edge

When he begins heading toward the locker room, I panic. Is he going to start showing up unannounced? Watching my every move? Demanding that I rest or stay in when he suspects that I’m sick?

“Wait!” I blurt.

Kane stops walking but doesn’t turn around.

“How do I prove it to you?” I’m hesitant, but I don’t know that I can handle him being around even more than he already is.

“Meet me on the ice in an hour,” he says.

Before I can question him, he’s out of sight.

I turn back toward the ice and sigh.

Peppermint fills my senses as I lather myself again to hopefully prepare myself for whatever Kane has up his sleeve.

Twenty-Four

KANE

I ended one game,only to start another.

The arena has cleared out, the majority of the staff and team disappearing for the night to get rest before tomorrow’s practice. I discarded the rest of my uniform and pads and traded them for gym shorts and a hoodie.

I’ve still got my skates on, which is the first thing she notices when she sees me sitting on the bench.

“You’re gonna need yours,” I say, checking her out from my peripheral.

Her bag falls to the ground beside me, and the scent of peppermint burns my nose. She sits down with a huff and starts to dig inside her bag for her skates. The grazing of her elbow against mine is subtle through our shirts, but my body is on high alert when Daisy is near.Always.

“What are we doing, Kane?”

I can’t help but grin at her annoyed tone. It’s just as easy for me to irritate her as it is for her to irritate me.

“You wanted to prove that you’re fine, right?”

Our eyes lock. She nods slowly.

I grin. “Up for a game of strip hockey?”

The number of times I played strip hockey in high school is countless. River never let Daisy play, for obvious reasons. He’d kick her out of the rink before she even shed a jacket.

Daisy’s lips part. “Are you serious?”

I lean back on the bench and spread my thighs. I gaze out onto the open ice. “If you manage to keep up with me and win, then I’ll believe you when you say you’re fine. It’ll be a done deal.”

“And if I can’t keep up? Then what? You’ll follow me around like a shadow?” She tightens her skates with so much force her fingers turn white.

I grip the bench. “Maybe. But I’d start with making you tell me what’s going on first.”

She mutters something under her breath about hating me, and I can’t hold back my chuckle. Her head snaps over to me so quickly another burst of peppermint hits me in the face.

“I want something in return if I win.” The attitude flowing out of her is damn near addictive.

“What do you want, little devil?”Why did that sound like I was willing to give anything to her?

Those baby blues flare with something I beg to touch, but then they soften, and her voice lowers. “I want to know the last time you talked to Miles.”

The breath leaves my chest.

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