Page 49 of A Winter's Wedding

“And John, whatever is going on between you and Poppy, figure it out.”

“She hates me,” John said. “She blames me for the incorporation and seems to be personally offended by my presence here.”

“Figure it out,” Leo said. “I am not cleaning out those stables.”

“Yes, you are,” Vivian said as she skated a circle around them, stopping behind Paul. Her arms snaked around his torso, and she whispered something into his ear. Whatever she said had Paul slack-jawed and pulling at his collar. She smirked as she skated away.

“You alright there?” Cam said. “I know that look.”

“Guys. The women are clearly playing a game with us, and it’s not hockey,” Leo said having caught on to what they were doing. All the flirting and suggestive banter was their way of distracting the men, and he had to admit, the women were playing the game better than the men were.

“Listen to that,” Leo said as ‘We Will Rock You’, came on the stereo. “Let’s finish this!”

On center ice, Alfonso waited, waving the puck above his head.

Pa positioned himself for the face off and pointed at Carol to meet him in the middle. “I want you, here.” He pointed to the ice in front of himself.

Answering his request, she skated to his position. “Right here?” she said and pointed to the ice a few feet away.

“No. Here.” Pa signaled to the space directly below his nose where he was leaning over.

She swizzled her toes and came so close, she bumped into his shoulder. “Right here?”

Pa was forced to stand up straight to accommodate her proximity. “That’s pretty good,” he said. Their noses were only a couple centimeters apart.

America looked at them and then at Leo with a smirk. Vivian covered her smile with a gloved hand and Leo nodded to Alfonso to drop the puck.

The glowing green disk hit the ice between them. Instead of going for the puck, Carol’s lips touched Pa’s and his hands became limp. He dropped his stick, and it bounced off the ice. By the time Leo saw Carol’s stick move toward the puck, it was too late for him to get his own stick between them.

Carol shot the puck to a waiting Jenny who took it, while spinning, down the ice. Passing to Vivian, who passed to America, while Poppy and Thandie blocked for them, Carol left a shocked Pa standing at the center. America passed to Carol who swung and pegged the puck right into the back of the net.

That was it. The men were officially on horse doodie duty. And the women would never let them live their loss down. Ever!

The women deserved all the cheering, and Alfonso joined them in their celebration huddle. There was nothing the men could do but clap their sticks against the ice in applause. With heads hanging low, they reluctantly congratulated the ladies on their rather unexpected win.

As though the music selection hadn’t been fitting enough, ‘We Are The Champions’, boomed over the ice and inflated the ladies’ egos even more. He could practically see their heads blowing up.

“Good game!” Leo said to America and hugged her. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Am I!?” she said.

They thanked everyone for an unforgettable party and America sat beside the keg where she had left her untied winter boots. Leo took one more cup and filled it with Pa’s beer. “I need a good night’s sleep after this.”

“You’re not going home with her,” Grant said. It’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. “Nope, you’re staying here tonight. But first…” he skated away and returned with the can of money and the others in tow. “We all agreed that you two should have this. As a wedding gift.”

Amidst all the fun, Leo had forgotten that they hadn’t told everyone about accidentally getting married in Vegas. Even though he knew all of these people would learn the truth in just a few hours, there was still a pang of guilt squeezing his conscience. He nodded. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Thank you all,” America stepped in and spoke.

“And I guess I’m staying with the guys tonight. Will you be alright?” he asked America.

“We’ll make sure she’s settled,” Vivian said and took America under her arm. “Get some sleep.”

If there was one thing Leo knew he could do following the most exhausting week of his life, it was get some sleep. He thanked Vivian and kissed America. “See you tomorrow.”

Chapter27

Of all the finished rooms in her half-renovated house, America’s upstairs office was the most ideal for having her morning coffee. She sipped the steaming Columbian brew and pulled open the sheer white curtains, hooking each panel behind a gold, palm-frond holdback on each side of the window. Outside, the snow on the ground amplified the mid-morning sunlight and contrasted with the clear blue sky above. The trees and bushes, still bare from winter, wore a layer of frost, and bridged the space between the white of the ground and the azure sky on the distant horizon.

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