Page 127 of Break the Ice

“Sorry,” she says. “It’s just so good to see you like this. After all the crap David put you through, it’s deserved.”

Her words couldn’t be truer.

I let David manipulate me for years. He preyed upon my innocence and naïveté and then proceeded to string me along because he knew he could. After the travesty that was our relationship, and after I got my revenge for what he did to me, I closed myself off. I vowed to never trust another man.

I’d never really trust anyone again.

But Rafe’s changed my perspective of what trust really means. He’s shown me he’ll see me through thick and thin. He’ll be with me during moments of light, but more importantly, he’ll be there for the dark.

He’ll keep my secrets and I’ll keep his.

You don’t go through the kind of things we have without irrevocably trusting the other person involved.

We’ve found love amid it all.

The second period comes to an end with a resounding buzzer. The intermission begins, a Wolf mascot skating onto the ice to entertain the crowd that hasn’t gotten up to go to the bathroom or grab a snack.

I sit where I am, watching the Wolf mascot perform an impressive trick or two on ice skates. When I glance back at the team benches, I realize Rafe’s gone. Scanning the entire area, I don’t see him anywhere.

Jhene notices. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t see Rafe.”

“He’s around.”

Jhene’s words almost fall on deaf ears. I’m too engulfed in my search for him.

On the ice, the Wolf mascot finishes his performance, giving a dramatic bow. The crowd breaks out in applause.

Something I don’t think much of until the noise grows louder.

And louder.

And louder… to the point my ears ache and I gain a sudden hyper self-awareness. The spine-tingling feeling of being watched strikes me as I glance around and discover that’s exactly what’s happening.

All eyes are on me.

But… why…?

I gasp a split second later.

My gaze has landed on the Jumbotron and realized I’m on camera. But that’s not all. Rafe has come over. I turn my head from the giant screen and find him only an arm’s reach away.

On bended knee in front of me. A jewelry box in hand, propped open to reveal a sparkling diamond ring inside.

“How about it, Sugar?” he asks. “Will you wear my jersey forever?”

The moment is so shocking, so unexpected, it becomes a blur. My hands come up to cover my mouth and I stare at Rafe in speechless shock for several seconds ’til his dimpled grin brings me back down to earth.

“Yes! It’s the only jersey I’m ever going to wear,” I cry out, leaping out of my seat. My arms wrap around him in an enthused tackle that makes the crowds go even wilder.

We wind up on the floor, among the sticky caramel popcorn and salted peanut shells, laughing to their cheers. Rafe slides the ring onto my finger, then captures my lips in a kiss, proving he meant what he said so many months ago.

We were playing for keeps all along.

THE END