Page 79 of Melt the Ice

His whole body goes rigid, the muscle in his jaw jumps under the pressure. “Lettie…” He drags both hands through his hair, dropping his bag from his shoulder before he looks back at me, eyes sharp and filled with tears all at once.

“You sat there, this whole time. Like this…” He motions to the hat. “While I was–” He shakes his head, looking up at the ceiling before continuing. “I skated around like everything was hunky dory?”

My hand lands on his forearm, “It wasn’t your fault,” I whisper.

“The hell it isn’t!” His hand slams against the wall. Every head turns, but he doesn’t notice the audience we have. “I made a promise to you. I said I’d protect you as long as I was around, and I didn’t.”

I flinch, he catches it, and immediately deflates. His breath shudders as he takes a step closer, pulling me into his chest, “I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at me.”

His head rests on top of mine, his thumbs brushing small circles over the backs of my arms. “You’re shaking,” he whispers.

I swallow hard, tipping my head back to meet his heavy gaze. “He’s gone.”

His brow furrows, “He?”

“My godfather, Damien,” I force out, the name tasting bitter on my tongue. “He showed up, said it was time I fixed everything I 'ruined’.”

Lucas’s chest expands like he’s seconds from exploding. He takes a small step back, releasing me from his hold. “Tate already called Elliott,” I add, trying to keep him from ripping the place apart to find him. The last thing any of us needs is an article about violent hockey players.

“Where is he?” Sammy bellows through the hallway, his shoulders pulled up to his ears, scanning the room until he meets my confused gaze. He stomps over, pulling the hat off my head much like Lucas did, with a hell of a lot less finesse. “What the… Why I oughta…”

“Calm down, Daffy.” That earns me a reluctant grin. “I don’t know where he went, but if Elliott is as good as you guys keep telling me he is, he’ll find him.”

“I fixed her up real nice,” Abby says, elbowing her way into our circle.

Lucas pouts, “I’m mad at you.” He says, crossing his arms over his chest.

Her mouth falls open, “Why? I ran into the bathroom to get her. He would have done way worse if I hadn’t.”

“She shouldn’t have been alone anyway. What were you guys thinking?” he counters.

I clear my throat, drawing both of their eyes, “I’m right here. I’m an adult, and I make my own decisions.” I turn to Lucas, “I told her she didn’t need to go with me. I didn’t expect him, of all people, to be here, or to be part of whatever’s going on, but here we are.”

Turning to face Abby, I pull her into a hug. “Thank you for realizing something was wrong, and for saving my ass. I owe you one.”

She chuckles, “No, just marry the big doof over here, and we’ll call it even.”

I feel Lucas behind me, and heat travels up my neck in a way that excites me. This isn’t the first time she’s brought this up, and I can’t deny I like the sound of it even more now than I did the first time she said it.

When I glance over my shoulder, he’s already looking at me. The cheesy smile that I’ve loved for most of my life stares back at me. My lips curve before I can stop them, slow and small. “I like the sound of that,” I murmur, closing the distance between us.

I run my hands up his chest, wrapping them around his shoulders, “What do you think?”

He bends, wrapping his hands around the back of my thighs, lifting me off the floor before pressing a kiss to my lips. “I think that as soon as we get this figured out, I’m going to ask you a question, and your answer better be ‘yes’.”

I laugh, a raw, joyous sound. “Let's go home then. There’s a mystery to solve and a man to marry.”

He doesn’t wait for anyone else to respond before he throws me over his shoulder, running down the hallway toward the exit. “Wait, what about your bag?” I ask between peals of laughter.

“Ehh, Sammy will get it.” He says as he presses me against the wall next to the exit. “I love you,” he whispers before he leans in, running his tongue over the seam of my lips.

I kiss him back, gentle and certain. “Don’t get me all hot and bothered when you can’t do anything about it, Goldie.”

His eyes darken, tongue running over where mine had just been. “You underestimate me, Lettie Girl.”

“God, if you two go any further in a very public hallway, I’m going to have to bleach my eyeballs.” Sammy walks past us with two bags full of hockey gear slung over his shoulder. He pushes through the door with his eyes screwed shut and both his hands out in front of him as if to feel where he’s going.

Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. And I wouldn’t trade it for a damn thing. Peace wrapped in chaos, a life I’m proud to call my own.