nerves were strung so tight I thought they might snap. “I can’t relax. I’m so nervous.”
He stepped in so close, our bodies touched. He put his hand under my chin and lifted my face. “I’m going to be all over you tonight.”
“What?” I squeaked.
He looked apologetic. “I’m an affectionate guy when I date someone. Everyone in there knows that.”
“You’re going to be affectionate with me?” Saying that out loud didn’t make it any better.
“If you seem nervous, everyone will understand that. But try not to pull away from me. Just… go with it.”
Mica being physically affectionate in front of all those people was a terrifying prospect.
“Go with it,” I repeated.
“Yeah.” He reached up and brushed a strand of hair off my forehead. “Just go with it.”
We walked into the bar hand in hand. When a hundred pairs of eyes turned to look at us, closing the gap was no longer an issue.
The thought of Mica showing PDA in front of his friends? Terrifying.
The thought of facing all his friends without Mica by my side? A thousand times more terrifying. My other hand wrapped around his big forearm, and I leaned against him as we faced the cheers and the clapping as a couple.
The first ten minutes of the party were a nightmare. Complete strangers overwhelmed me with their hugs and excited congratulations. Each time I got hugged, I got separated from Mica. And each time we got pulled apart, he found my hand and yanked me towards him, so I could once again glue myself to his side.
Someone placed a drink in my hand, and I did what Krista told me to do. I closed the gap so hard, there was always part of us touching. He either held my hand, had his arm around my shoulder, or I wrapped my hands around his big forearm and leaned against him.
I met players, their wives, trainers and a constant stream of friends. Most of the people had a long-standing friendship with Mica. So when they came over to talk to us, they greeted me, congratulated me and then talked mainly to Mica. So I did what Krista told me to do. I plastered a smile on my face and stared up at him like he was a lifeline and I was the raft.
He talked, laughed, and frequently looked down at me until I blushed.
Those brief moments felt like a private reprieve from the surrounding chaos. When he held my gaze before dropping his eyes to my mouth, it felt like the entire bar faded away. My eyes clung to his face, allowing myself to drink in the essence of him.
Two long years of avoiding him, ducking eye contact and pretending I didn’t notice him, and now, I had full license to study him. I took in his sharp angular cheekbones and his straight nose. I stared into his blue eyes that were decorated with thick black lashes. And that mouth. I could not get enough of looking at his mouth. I drank in all of him until I was drunk on his beauty.
A clanging echoed through the bar, and everyone fell silent.
“Mica and Charlie,” Mark Ashford said from the front. “Will you do me the honor of joining me up front?”
Mica took my hand and led me up to the front to stand beside Mark.
Mark Ashford began his speech. “I’ve known Mica since the day he got off the plane from Russia. I’d like to say he was just a kid, but even at 19, he was built like an ox and had one of the fiercest competitive natures I’ve seen in a hockey player.”
The crowd laughed.
“He’s been an integral part of our hockey family for seven years, and he’s been like a wild son to me. I’ve tried to tame him, but I had to concede that Mica is untamable.”
More laughter.
“But that is what makes him such a phenomenal player. He’s got a wild side, and that fierce energy helps us win games and strikes terror in all our opponents’ hearts.”
The crowd cheered.
He looked over at us. “But I won’t lie, the fact that he’s married and settling down makes me not only relieved and proud, but it also makes me immensely happy that he’s found love. And now, I’m honored to invite his young wife, Charlie, into our family fold.” He lifted his glass to me. “To Charlie. For taming this wolf when no one else could.”
The crowd raised their glasses, cheered and stamped their feet in approval, before