Tripping (Iced #2) - Kristine Allen Page 0,80

peeing yourself, trying to work an elbow or foot out from under your ribs, having trouble getting comfortable to sleep… I could go on and on,” she said with a laugh.

“Is Alex excited to be a dad?” I asked.

“Lordy, is he! He’s already bought everything you could imagine with the Amurs logo. If he could, I think he’d get diapers with it too. Oh, and last week when they were home, he bought kids’ hockey gear for him. I was like, babe, he’s not even here, let alone walking.” She rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

My gaze drifted out to the ice, and I wondered how Cameron would be as an expectant dad. Then I shook my head because we weren’t in that place yet.

“Oh! He’s kicking! Wanna feel?” Her dark hair swung over her shoulder as she faced me, and her blue eyes were bright and full of joy.

At my nod, she took my hand and placed it where she felt the baby kicking. “Oh wow,” I said with an amazed grin as her stomach bounced under my palm.

“That’s when it’s pretty cool.” She snickered.

The guys finished their warm-up and left the rink for the locker room. Sydney decided we should go get snacks while we waited for the game to start. By the time we were making our way back to the seats, arms laden with junk food, they were announcing the home team.

Everyone around us was cheering. For the first time I wondered how it was going to go with us cheering for the opposition surrounded by home team fans. I needn’t have worried, because they were great people.

When the Amurs scored and Sydney and I jumped up screaming, they smiled and joked with us. It was easily as fun as a home game.

As the game played on, it was becoming evident that Cameron was gunning for my ex-boyfriend. Luckily, the refs only caught half of it, because if not, I think they would’ve had Cameron in the box all night. Either that or they realized it was going both ways between Cam and Richard and left it be since they weren’t being too bad.

“Oh, ouch!” Sydney and I both exclaimed as Richard ran Cameron into the boards in front of us. It was hard enough to shake the entire glass, and Cam’s face smashed against it. I think it would’ve been okay if Richard hadn’t shoved him again as they got off the boards.

Cam spun to him, and they began shouting. A few shoves ensued before the gloves came off and they began fighting in earnest. Several of the other players tried to get involved, but the refs held them back. Once things hit the ice and Cam slammed a fist to Richard’s eye, they pulled him off.

Both players skated to the penalty box, and their teammates skated over to toss them their gear they’d left behind. Cameron had an extremely satisfied expression, in contrast to Richard’s scowl—he had blood trickling down from a small cut. While it didn’t look overly bad, I was sure it would leave him with a black eye.

My hands had been over my mouth through it all.

“Damn, Cameron wasn’t playing!” Sydney exclaimed as she gripped my thigh.

A glance around us showed that the fans had eaten the fight up and didn’t seem to hold it against us. Thank goodness.

I knew exactly what that was all about. Cameron had set out to make Richard pay for the incredible douche he’d been to me. While I was a little appalled at the barbarity of it all, an old-fashioned feminine part of me was simpering.

He was my knight in shiny skates.

Two years later….

It was the best night of my life. We had clinched our spot in the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We all were ready to go all the way, and we believed we could bring home the cup this year. Two years ago, we’d lost in the second round. Last year we didn’t make it due to a shit ton of injuries that dragged our morale down the tubes.

The locker room was boisterous and loud as fuck. Kris wrapped an arm around my neck and shook me in his excitement. It was good to see him all-in again. The last couple of years had been rough on him. First, all the drama that I’m not getting into, then the accident that took his parents.

“We’re going to the cup playoffs!” he shouted in my ear. Though I was riding high on the win