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“What?” Cammie grabbed my arm but kept her eyes on Reed, and realization slowly dawned in them. “No!” she protested, lifting her hands to cover her eyes. “Why would he do that? This is so embarrassing. I’m never going to be able to show my face at school again.”
“Doesn’t he care about the game?” Paige asked.
“I think…” I hesitated, unsure if I was confident enough to voice my thoughts out loud or confident enough to believe it was true. “I think it’s for me,” I said, the words almost a whisper. “He’s showing me that I’m more important than the game.”
“Well, can’t he just tell you that?” Cammie replied before she started shouting at the ice. “Reed, stop! Go back and fight Hoffman now, or I’ll break your nose!”
But Reed was never one for half measures, and he didn’t let up. He landed another spin, and this time, instead of shocked silence, people started clapping. As he performed his next move, more spectators joined in the applause. Even the shirtless Devils fans started whistling and shouting their approval, and before I knew it, every person in our section of the arena was on their feet cheering for Reed.
Music began to blare from the speakers surrounding the rink, which only hyped up the crowd even more and spurred Reed on. Finally, the umpires shook themselves into action, and they shot across the ice toward him. But Reed was too fast and too skilled. He easily dodged around them, keeping well out of their reach as he continued twirling and leaping through the air. A few of his teammates seemed to be lending a helping hand by shifting just at the right moment to block the umpires from getting to their captain.
As Reed’s routine came to a close and he fell down onto his knees, the crowd went wild. Even the Saints supporters were clapping. Reed finally looked up, his eyes met mine, and he blew me a kiss. In that moment, I knew beyond doubt that all of it was for me, and it felt like my heart exploded. There was a nervous smile on his lips, and he didn’t seem the least bit worried about the game or what the routine might have done to his infamous reputation. He had sacrificed it all for me.
One of the umpires finally grabbed him by the arm and began directing him toward the penalty box. Reed waved and bowed to the crowd as he went.
“I have to talk to him,” I said. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest, a mix of worry and guilt swirling within me. Had he messed up the entire game for his team with that performance? Was he even going to bother playing once he was let back on the ice? I refused to let him lose this game because of me. I was here because Paige had insisted he needed my support to be at his best. But my presence only seemed to be doing the opposite.
“Go,” Paige insisted. “You better hurry. He might not be in the box for long.”
I nodded, but just as I was about to make my way to the stairs, I paused. “I’m just missing one thing.”
I turned to face the shirtless Devils fans in the row behind us and reached past one of them to grab the red hockey jersey off the back of his seat. “Mind if I borrow this?”
He shrugged before nodding his approval. I held it up and smiled when I saw the name and number on the back: Darling, number twenty-three. Reed had just tried to prove hockey wasn’t the most important thing to him. I needed to show him that if it mattered to him, it mattered to me.
I threw the jersey over my head before I raced down the bleachers and around the rink until I was directly behind the penalty box where Reed was sitting.
When I reached it, I threw my fists against the Perspex separating us.
“What the hell was that?” I yelled.
Reed’s eyes looked worried as he turned, but the moment he saw me in his jersey, a smile spread across his face. “You wearing my number, Sunshine?”
“Maybe.”
He came over and pressed his hands against the glass between us. “It looks good on you. Does this mean you’re a hockey fan now?”
I raised an eyebrow. “Uh, I don’t think that was hockey I was just watching. What were you doing out there?”
A cheer went up from the crowd, but it was followed by a groan as a Saints player shot wide of the goal. The game had started again, and with Reed off the ice, the Devils were a player down, and the Saints appeared to be taking full advantage.
“I heard what Jeremy told you,” Reed said. “None of it is true, but there was no way I was going to let him come between us, so I had no other choice...”
“But to show everyone the routine?”
He nodded.
“You said you’d never let anyone see it. That it would destroy your reputation and you’d have to be out of your mind to embarrass yourself like that.”
“Maybe I have lost my mind.” He grinned. “But I don’t care. I don’t care about any of that. All I care about is you, Violet. I just needed to let you know, that nothing is more important than you. Especially not this game.”
“I believe you.” His smile slowly grew as I spoke. “But I’m not letting you lose today because of me. You need to go back out there and win.”
Reed looked ready to argue. “But?—”
“I told you I believe you,” I said softly. “I know you wouldn’t use me just to win this game and get back at Jeremy. You were right. I was scared of being hurt again, and I ran. But I don’t want to be scared anymore. Not if it means I can’t be with you.”
“You want to be with me?”
