Page 121 of Sweet Thing

“Don’t need your help.” Theo bumped me on the way back to his position.

“Don’t care, you got it.”

He skated back over. “I said?—”

“Heard what you said, but we’re still a team here, so you’re getting my help whether you want it or not.”

My best friend in all the world came right at me. “Adeline said it wasn’t a big deal—only a fling, she said. But I know my girl. You hurt her. You broke her heart.”

“I need to talk to her?—”

“Over my dead body.” At which point all hell broke loose and the gloves came off.

The first blow landed clean because I removed my lid to let him at me. I took that punch. And the next. I had hurt Adeline, and I deserved everything coming my way.

No one was stepping in. Hell, not even me. Let him whale on me and enjoy his vengeance. Flabbergasted by this turn of events, the crowd lapsed into silence. Even the zebras were stunned.

One of the most revered partnerships in hockey was breaking down right before their eyes.

The next punch broke my nose.Crunch.Seeing first blood, the crowd came to life and my teammates decided it was time to step in just as Theo got off another haymaker. Jacobs and Bell pulled him off me. I needed to speak before blood filled my throat and words were no longer possible.

“Ith-wanneth-a-flinth!”

Still restrained, Theo yelled back at me. “What the fuck did you say?”

I held the bridge of my nose—damn, that hurt—and snorted out a spurt of blood that made the crowd go, “Ooooh!”

“I said ‘It wasn’t a fling!’”

“You liar. You fucking liar.” And then more curious than pissed, “What does that even mean?”

“For Christ’s sake, Kershaw, I love her!”

Gasps all around. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the latest episode ofReal Housewives on Ice.

The ref finally rolled up. Veteran Johnny “Gally” Gallagher had officiated all manner of rumbles, including that one game twenty-five years ago when Cajun legend Remy DuPre beat the shit out of the asshole who had once struck his future wife, our CEO and Rebel queen, Harper Chase-DuPre.

Gally pointed at me. “Off! You need a medic. And Theo, you’re out.”

“Yeah, I’m headed to the sin bin now,” he muttered as he defiantly shrugged off his teammates’ grip.

Gally looked uncomfortable. “No, you’re out of the game.”

Theo threw up his blood-covered hands. “You’re ejecting me?”

Fuck. This could not get worse.

ChapterThirty-Three

Adeline

For the entiretyof the first period, the only friction I’d had to deal with was a bickering Conor and Rosie. First, it was the Ice Girls, and whether they took dance lessons. Then the beer concessions got the treatment. Seedless grapes were next (if you can make them seedless why are some of the varieties available with seeds? Who’s the market for that?I kind of agreed with Conor on that one.) It was so odd because they rarely saw each other, and Rosie got along with everyone else in my family. She and Conor just rubbed each other the wrong way.

Landon nudged me before the game started. “You okay?”

“I don’t know. Not sure I should be here tonight, it’s just kind of stressful.”

I’d happily played with fire and was now regretting my singed fingertips.

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