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“What, Logan?” Emma whispers, looking at him, mesmerized, as Angela sometimes looks at me. Under the table, Angela takes my hand. I give her a firm squeeze. Maybe other people will judge, will say I should’ve kicked this man out of my house, but they’ll never know how deep this bond goes.
Logan turns to Emma. “There’s nothing brighter than you and our family. Not the fans. Not the ice. Not hockey. Not even logic. You’re everything to me.”
Angela squeezes my hand. I can tell she’s giddy. Honestly, so am I, but I have to say this.
“Logan, if you ever hurt her…”
Other men might make a joke of it. Other celebrities, worth millions, almost twice my size, they’d belittle me for saying something like this, but Logan doesn’t. He looks at me steadily, seriously, as he did when we were children if other people mocked or bullied him. He never did. “I swear,” he tells me. “I’ll never, ever hurt her.”
I lean back, smiling, finally letting myself enjoy the news. My daughter is getting everything she ever dreamed of. A man who loves her. A man who’ll support her and a baby on the way. My smile grows wider, and I take Emma’s hand. She’s holding Logan’s hand with her other.
“Our child is going to love you, Michael,” Logan says. “Clearly, you’re an incredible father. You’re going to be an even better grandfather.”
“Well, of course.” I grin, winking at Emma. “Youhave to do all the hard parts. We just get to spoil them!”
We all laugh together, which is a miracle. I feel like something magical happened here. Or maybe that’s just the adrenaline of the mobster meeting shooting around me, but my head feels light. Perhaps from knowing that, in less than a year,I’llget what I’ve always wanted—a chance to meet my grandchild.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
TWO WEEKS LATER
Logan
“This is it,” I tell Emma, as our breath clouds around our faces, and we walk to the edge of the large lake. It’s a short way into a forest, with trees ringing it all around, as nondescript as any lake in this part of Canada, but not to me. I can still see the cuts in the ice and the old, rickety house on the edge, even if it was torn down years ago.
Emma turns to me, looking cute and glowing in her beanie hat, pulled low, bangs sticking out. She’s got earmuffs on, too, as well as a big coat. Since we told her parents, we’ve spent as much time together as humanly possible. When her college semester ended, she traveled to Canada. Now, I finally have a chance to bring her here. She grips my arm. I can feel her passion through her gloves and my coat.
“How does it feel being back?” she asks softly.
I adjust her scarf and make sure she’s warm. In early pregnancy, excursions like this won’t cause any problems. Later on, I may hire somebody to help her. Or perhaps we’ll head back to the States, and Angela can pitch in. Now, though, she looks so capable, so full of life. Still, I hired a car to drive us as far as possible. We’ve only walked half a mile, and I carried her some of the way.
“It feels…”
I look out across the lake. Shimmers dance across the surface and play off the ice.My mind tries to shut them down and stomp on them. Lock them into a room. Then Emma squeezes herself against me, and I feel the love burning between us—the love ignited that first time.
“I feel like I want to run. Get away from this place. I can hear my mother’s voice coming over the ice. I can hear her telling me to be careful of the forest. There are monsters in there. I can hear her telling me to chop more firewood. I can hear… so much, but…”
She wraps her arms around me as the past comes to life, springing from the lake. My eyes are stinging. I can’t downplay this. It’s just me and my woman. I have to let this sink deep. Let this cut. Let it scab over. Tears slide down my cheeks. I cough back a sob and rub my face.
“It’s okay,” she whispers.
I laugh it off. “I’m ice, remember? They’ll freeze.” I sweep her into my arms and kiss her. She makes that adorable gasping noise. I love it so much. It’s like she’s stunned by how much love burns between us every time, just like I am. “I’m ready to let the past go. That’s why I wanted to wait until we came here. I love you, Emma. I love you so, so much.”
She stands on her tiptoes, grabs my coat, and pulls me in for a kiss. “I love you too…”
I find her tongue and groan when I feel the pleasure taking over. She’s never going to stop being irresistible to me. The curvier she gets, glowing more and more every day… I move away, taking her hips, squeezing passionately.
“I never knew I couldfeel, not before you. I never knew I had it in me. You’ve made me feel young again.”
She giggles, shooting me a playful look. “Youareyoung. Thirty-six isn’t old.”
I smirk, squeezing her side, making her laugh even more. “Okay, smartass, youngerthen.” She smiles. I go on, “Everything with you feels like an adventure. Spending the day in bed with you, just holding you, feels like an adventure. We’ve got so much ahead of us. I wanted to wait until we were here. I left this place a husk. I was hollowed out. Then I met this perfect, funny, interesting, loving, beautiful woman.”
When I kneel in the snow, she blinks, tears filling her eyes. I remove my gloves, lay them on the snow, then reach into my coat pocket. Taking out the ring, I look up at her with so much love expanding inside me. She beams it right back at me. We’re swept up in a torrent of closeness.
I open the ring box, letting her see the diamond. It’s a four-carat rock set within a platinum band, not too chunky but full and beautiful. “Will you marry me?”
Her reaction is going to be carved into my mind forever. She looks like she almost rolls her eyes, as if she’s going to tell me,Uh… duh, obviously?She thrusts her hand down, looking at me through tears. “What do you think?”
