and thought of it. “I wanted you close.”
“Okay. Yeah. Sure. I’m here for you. Always.” Her smile is shaky, and she reaches out, brushes a hand over the teddy bear hat on Angelo’s head.
She straightens it and takes the headphones from him. “We should probably make him look cute, then.”
The reporter, Niklas Karlsson, is a former professional hockey player. He now works for the major hockey network and is most known for his on-ice interviews immediately following the games.
“Mikah Lutzgo.” He stops his skate at my side, shock apparent on his features as he takes in Angelo. “Long time no see apparently.”
“Lots has changed,” I agree. “Which is why I wanted to talk to you today. Niklas, I’d like you to meet my son, Angelo.”
It grates on me he still has Angela’s last name. For three weeks my lawyer has tried to get in contact with her and she hasn’t once answered. For someone who originally claims to be easy to find, Luke is now talking about hiring a private investigator. At some point, we might have to go backward and bring the police in. I probably should have it done the correct way from the first night, but I didn’t want everything to go public. Plus, I was the fool who trusted her.
Now Angela has me worried. If she was so anxious to get rid of him, why is she hiding or dragging her feet on fully letting him go?
That is a worry for another day, and fortunately for me, Niklas doesn’t ask his last name. Instead, he has the camera on, his back to Paisley so she doesn’t have to worry about being on camera, although I don’t care.
He welcomes Angelo into the Ice Kings family and we joke about baby spit-up and sleepless nights. It takes a few minutes, but it’s done.
Hockey fans across the world will now know I’m a father…even my own.
When Niklas leaves, I hand Angelo back to Paisley. She leans down and brushes her lips across mine. Hers are freezing. Mine are still hot from practice. I’m learning Paisley is always cold. Even when it’s ninety outside, she can have cold toes.
“You look so sexy in all your gear and holding Angelo, talking about how much you love him.”
“You look sexy all the time. But mostly when you have nothing on.”
Her cheeks turn bright pink, nothing to do with the cold and she shakes her head. “Go play with the kids. I’ll get him to Viola and meet you outside the locker room later.”
“Deal.”
I kiss her again and I’m bumped into the boards when Hendrix skates by. “Oh. Sorry.”
He winks. He’s not sorry. He’s skating backward, holding onto a small boy who looks part terrified and part ecstatic to be on the ice with him.
“On it.”
I skate away from Paisley only to reach the end of the rink when Jude skates up next to me. “Let’s go, slowpoke.”
Slowpoke my ass. I’ll show him.
I grab one of the older boys and narrow my eyes, pointing at him. “We will race this fool and win, right?”
The kid’s ankles shake in his skates. “Uh. Yeah. Yeah, definitely.”
I elbow Jude so hard he almost falls to the ice, pull the kid onto the ice and shout, “Let’s go!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Paisley
* * *
I cannot believe the day I’m having. Skipping a day of classes has never been so much fun, not even in undergrad. Those days of missed classes were usually due to hangovers where I spent the day on the couch, chugging water, and prepping for the next night of partying ahead.
Today has been for hockey. It might be a sport I still know absolutely nothing about, despite Mikah’s attempts to teach me, but I cannot deny the appeal after watching him practice all morning.
The way they glide across the ice so fast like they’re flying, and then can come to such a quick stop without falling on their ass, sending ice into the air. Every time a stick met the puck, the sound of wood on rubber slapped into the air like a fist through a wall.
And yeah, they’re covered under so much padding and protection it’s not like you can check out their backsides like in other sports, but to me, it only adds to the attractiveness of Mikah. He hides so much muscle and power and control beneath his gear, and I’m one of the very few who have seen it fully unleashed.
Needless to say by the time I see him take the ice of