Page 23 of Ice Princess

Trying my best to hide my growing interest, I face Gunner. “You said you brought me here to negotiate. What did you mean by that?”

“If you and I start dating, we need to go all-in.”

I frown at the term. “What does that mean?”

His eyes dart to my lips. My heart starts thudding. Is he going to ask for a kiss?

“You’ll need to smile at me.”

I’m so astonished, that I can only stare at him for a second. “S-smile? Seriously? That’s it?”

He nods.

I bare my teeth in what I know is probably the ugliest smile in my arsenal. “There.”

“Not like that.”

“How then?”

Slowly, Gunner reaches out. The pad of his thumb brushes against the corner of my eye. It’s a whisper soft touch and yet my heart thumps wildly.

“The smile that reaches your eyes.” He runs his thumb back and forth. “It doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow, but eventually, give me that one.”

CHAPTER

EIGHT

GUNNER

Sweat dripsfrom the edges of my hair and trails down my forehead. I adjust my grip on the hockey stick and lean my weight back to maneuver around the orange cones.

Thwack!

The sound of the puck slashing into the net echoes through the empty stadium. I make three shots at a rapid-fire clip, adjusting my balance to increase speed.

“When didyouget here?” Chance’s voice reverberates over the ice.

I straighten and nod in welcome. “You think you’re the only one who comes to training early and leaves last?”

“It’s not a competition.” Chance chuckles. “Unless it is. Because I’d win for sure.”

My lips rise imperceptibly. No matter how close we are, as athletes, we turn everything into a fight for number one.

“Whoa.” Chance’s eyes fall on the pucks in the goal. “Something going on?”

I hesitate and then I shake my head. What exactly do I tell him?As of two hours ago, I’m a taken man. My girlfriend’sthe prettiest girl in town. She still hates my guts and would like nothing more than to set me on fire, but we’re in a serious relationship.

Have I mentioned that my mom hates her and now I’ll be stuck between a rock and a hard place for as long as we’re together?

“Gun?” Chance arches a brow.

“I’m fine,” I grumble.

A grin stretches across Chance’s face. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

“Yeah, Scooby’s Nightmare won today’s meet.” I fish the pucks out of the goalie net.

“That’s not what I heard.” Chance sings. His smile widens and I kind of wish we were enemies again, so I had an excuse to punch him.

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