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"You didn't say you thought we'd lose."
She cocked her head to the side. "What?"
"You didn't say when we went down two goals you thought we might lose."
She searched his face, surprised he'd even think that. "I never thought you were going to lose, Will. I knew you had it in you to win that game, no matter the score."
"I love you, Amber."
Her breath caught. "What?"
"I love you. Do you want to know why?"
Her heart was beating so fast she could feel her blood pumping. "Yes, please."
"You're the sweetest woman I've ever met. You always think of other people. You're thoughtful, insightful and smart. And smart women are sexy as fuck. You're also the sexiest woman I've ever known."
That comment surprised her and her brows went up. "I am?"
"Hell, yes. You throw yourself into your sexuality wholeheartedly and without restraint. Do you have any idea how hot that is?"
"No."
"It is. No matter how many times I've been with you, Amber, you always leave me wanting more of you. And last, but not least, you believe in me, and that touches my heart in ways I never expected. I told you I believe in love." He raised his hand to show her the tattoo. "I've seen it firsthand. I know what love is. And I feel it when I'm with you."
She felt like she was going to hyperventilate she was breathing so fast. "I didn't expect this. I don't know what to say."
He smoothed his hand down her arm. "You don't have to say anything."
"Yes, I do. Because I've had all these feelings--all these emotions having to do with you--that I didn't know what to do with. But I don't know if what I'm feeling is love, Will, because I've never been in love. I do know I have very strong feelings for you. How could I not? You're honorable and kind and funny and smart and athletic and sexy and hot and everything I could ever want in a man."
He smiled at her. "But I'm also the first--and only--guy you've ever been with."
She shrugged. "That doesn't scare me. I know my own mind. I know what I want and what I need out of life. It's not like I need to go out and have sex with five more guys before I decide you're the one I want to be with. I'm not that kind of person."
"I'm actually glad you didn't blurt out 'I love you, too.'"
"You are?"
"Yes. Because if you say it back it has to be because you feel it. Because you mean it."
Relief washed over her. "Thank you. That means so much to me."
He slid her off his lap and took her hand. "I didn't intend to tell you that when I came over today. You have enough pressure going on with your performance."
She half turned and draped her leg over his. "You do realize that you telling me how you feel about me doesn't put any pressure on me, right?"
"I'm glad to hear that. Because I don't want anything to change between us. We can continue to hang out and have fun. I just believe in being honest. Honesty is important to me."
She nodded. "To me, too."
"Good. So let's just hang out together until it's time for you to go."
They ended up watching some of the day's events on television. She laughed when he told her they'd done tequila shots last night at the bar they'd ended up at, and that one of their players had thrown up in the trash can outside the bar.
"Oh, hopefully no media was around," she said.
"No, they weren't, but we all got it on our phones and we showed it to him this morning. He was so hungover it made him sick all over again."
She let out a sympathetic laugh. "Oh, that was mean."
"Yeah, it was. After interviews he said he was going back to his apartment and back to bed."
"He must feel miserable."
"He's twenty-one. He needs to learn his liquor limits."
She laid her head on his shoulder. "It was a big night. You can't really blame him for wanting to celebrate with all of you."
"I guess not."
When it was time to go, she stood and walked Will to the door. She lifted up on her toes to kiss him. "Thank you for being here with me today. And for your declaration. I don't even have words for how much it means to me."
He cupped her neck and brought her closer, then kissed her in a way that made her toes curl right into the wool of her socks. If she didn't have to be at the arena, she'd keep him right there with her to explore that kiss, to get him naked and spend the entire rest of the day playing with him.
But not tonight. Rarely would there be anything of a higher priority than her spending time with Will. Except now, when she had to skate for her life.
It was Will who finally broke the kiss. "Now my dick's hard and I'm going to have to calculate stats in my head on the way to the elevator."
"Stats, huh?"
"Yeah. My official stats. Boring as fuck. Guaranteed to deflate my erection."
She grinned. "Sorry about that."
"It's okay. You can make it up to me later."
"Consider it done."
He grabbed his coat. "Go kill 'em out there on the ice, babe."
"I intend to."
He walked out and she shut the door, then turned and went into the bedroom to get herself ready for tonight's performance.
TWENTY-NINE
HAVING A GUY TELL YOU THAT HE LOVES YOU WAS A strong motivating factor when preparing for your last performance in the games.
Amber had always connected to her music, to her movements, but this time she felt an emotional link that had never been there before.
First, though, she had to wait. Since she was in second place after the short program, she'd skate second to last.
She had warmed up and now she was in her tracksuit, staying limber, doing squats and wall stretches and hanging out with Tia, who seemed nervous as hell. So she decided to distract her.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when you get back home?" she asked.
Tia dragged her gaze away from the French skater. "What?"
"The first thing you're going to do when you get home?"
"Oh." Tia thought about it for a few seconds, then answered with a wide smile. "I'm having a large sausage and pepperoni pizza with extra cheese."
"Oh, God, Tia. That sounds so good."
"Doesn't it? Then I'll go back to training, but I have to have a pizza or I might die. Oh, and loaded nachos. And a huge cheeseburger with grilled onions."
Amber's lips curved. "Clearly you've been thinking a lot about food."
"My mother's a nutritionist. So she makes sure I eat well, but she knows I have a thing for pizza. And nachos."
"And cheeseburgers?"
"Yes. With bacon cheese fries."
"You are killing me here."
Tia laughed. "It's good to skate hungry. It makes you perform better."
"Who told you that?"
"My trainer."
"Ha. She lied."
"I know. But it got me through a few more salads with grilled chicken."
Amber wrinkled her nose. "I don't want to see another salad with grilled chicken for a while. I think I'll take at least a week off from the healthy diet as well."
Tia bent forward at the waist and grabbed her ankles to stretch her hamstrings, then turned her head to look at Amber. "What's your indulgence?"
"Chocolate marshmallow milkshakes."
"Oh, that does sound good."
"And pie."
Tia stood and stretched her back. "What kind of pie?"
"I don't even care. Any kind. Apple, cherry or peach. With ice cream on top."
"Mmm."
"Oh, and a huge steak, with a loaded baked potato. And, of course, a cheeseburger. Who can resist a cheeseburger?"
Tia's eyes widened. "Yum. We should go out to eat tonight after the performance. Something really disgusting."
"We do have the gala Saturday. So we'll still have to fit into our skating outfits."
"I didn't say eat twenty pounds of food. We'll eat tonight, then run in the morning."
"You've got a
deal."
When it was time for Tia to skate, Amber hugged her. "Leave it all out there, and most importantly, have fun with it."
Tia nodded and smiled. "I will."
Tia skated a clean program, which Amber had hoped for her. She looked beautiful out there, too, and the crowd was behind her. And while she lacked the power and technicality that some other skaters had, her performance had been lovely and without flaws. Amber applauded loudly for her when she came off the ice.
Tia sat with her coach and trainer and waited for her scores.
When they came up, Amber cheered. They were higher than her short program scores.
