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EPILOGUE

HEL

“D o you have your lunch?” Frost called to Hel as she rushed toward the door.

She screeched to a halt and spun around, dashing back to the small kitchen in Clara’s cottage, where Frost stood in his pyjamas—which, luckily for Hel, were only a pair of shorts, leaving his glorious muscles and tattoos on display for her.

The night Frost arrived back in Australia, he had moved in with Hel, and despite both of them offering to look for somewhere else to live, Taylor and Clara declined. The actor stating that he worked away so much it made him feel better knowing Frost was close by, as he didn’t like leaving Clara alone in such an isolated house.

“No! I totally forgot,” Hel said, and rather than taking the lunch from Frost’s hand, she flung her arms around his neck, looking up at him, grinning. She still couldn’t believe she got to do this. Standing on tiptoes, she kissed him.

Frost groaned against her lips, murmuring, “This is going to make you late for work.”

“Meh, who needs work,” Hel replied, kissing him again.

Frost kissed her back, and Hel’s heart raced—she couldn’t get enough of him. She grumbled when he pulled away and pushed some of her curls behind her ear.

“You need work. You’re nearly as big a menace as Gloria is when you’re bored.”

“That is true,” Hel sighed but didn’t step out of his arms. “Maybe I can call in sick today,” she suggested.

“Are you really going to do that?” Frost’s eyebrows raised in surprise.

Hel huffed. She would never call in sick if she didn’t need to. It put a massive burden on her colleagues.

“No. I am going to be five minutes late though. Stuff them.” Her lips met his again, and she couldn’t stop the smile even as they kissed.

It was a bit more than five minutes when Frost pulled away and handed her the lunch box that he still clutched in his hand, telling her, “You need to leave.”

Hel groaned, “I know.”

“You also need to look in the mirror first,” he added.

“Why?” Hel’s hand shot to her face, and she rubbed at her lips.

“Did you put lipstick on this morning?”

“Yeah. I’m trying a new Dior one that Clara gave me.” Pulling her fingers away from her mouth, she frowned at them. She couldn’t see the problem, there was no colour staining her fingers.

“Well, I’m assuming you want it on your lips, not smeared around your mouth.”

Hel stared at his lips and realised they were redder than usual. He was clearly now wearing a good amount of her lipstick.

“Shit.” She pulled out of his arms, dumped her lunch box, and dashed to the bathroom, Frost’s laughter travelling in her wake.

When Hel peered in the mirror, she saw he was right. She couldn’t go to work like this, it looked like she had been thoroughly kissed. Grinning to herself, she washed the lipstick off and didn’t bother reapplying it. When she checked her watch, she grimaced. Crap, she really was going to be late now.

“I have to go,” she hollered as she sprinted for the front door.

Frost stood right next to it, holding out her lunch. “I know.” He handed her the box as she passed.

“Love you,” Hel shouted as she rushed to get into her car, grinning when Frost called back to her.

“Love you too. Stay safe, see you tonight.”

As Hel put the car into gear and drove away, she glanced in the rearview mirror to see Frost standing outside, watching her go. She still pinched herself that he was her man.

Hel sat in the stands at the Burra Wombats last game of the season. Her attention wasn’t entirely on the ice, it was more on the player’s box where Frost was as he shouted at his team.

She could see the new team doctor down there too, chatting with some of the benched players—she had offered to do the job again, which Frost turned down, telling her she was already overworked and he wouldn’t be adding to that burden.

Much to the disgust of the young and single team members, the doctor they found was sixty and male. Although he redeemed himself as he loved hockey passionately and would enthusiastically talk about the game with the players and compliment them on their skills.

At least now, when she came to a game, she could follow it a bit as Frost had explained all the rules of hockey. Not that she could recall more than two of them.

“This is literally the worst idea I’ve ever had,” Hel said quietly to Clara, Sadie and Gloria, who were all sitting with her.

“Darling. This is the best idea you’ve ever had,” Gloria declared as she sipped on her champagne—Which was a new addition to the snack stand after Gloria told the manager of the ice hockey rink they needed to stock champagne and if they didn’t, she would bring her own and pay the fine.

Hel stared straight ahead, her eyes unfocused as the clock counted down until the end of the game. Unable to cope any more, she leaned across, plucked the glass out of the older woman’s hand and took a large gulp.

“I want some too,” Clara complained.

“Well, my grandchild doesn’t want you to have any.” Gloria reached over and patted Clara’s bulging belly.

“If anyone else did that, I’d bite them,” Clara said grumpily.

Hel reached over and did the same, giggling as she touched Clara’s pregnant belly. Who responded by growling and snapping her teeth at her friend.

Sadie leaned in. “She bit me the other day.”

“You deserved it,” Clara sniped back.

“What did she do?” Hel rolled her eyes. Sadie definitely did something.

“She took hold of my belly, shook it and said it was made of jelly,” Clara groused.

“It was funny,” Sadie said, trying to defend herself.

“You are never funny,” Clara replied seriously.

Hel began to giggle. She was glad she had brought her friends along tonight. She wasn’t sure at first why she had done it, but now she was. There were very good distractions from what she had decided to do.

“I’m going to leave you all to your discussion about who is allowed to touch Clara, which, by the way, should be neither of you. And I’m heading to the ice.” Hel got to her feet and squeezed out of the row.

Usually, she sat right behind the player’s bench, but today, she had sat up in the stands as Frost thought she was working at a Midnight Thunder concert.

“Good luck,” the women chorused.

Hel had already arranged with the announcer to go out onto the ice at the end of the game, and she waited by the boards for the final play to end.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Burra Wombats win against the Darwin Dingoes, four to two.”

Applause broke out around the arena, and the Wombats skated a victory lap. Hel grinned when she realised one of the Dingoes players was among them. Rocky had broken away from his new team and decided to skate with his old teammates.

He noticed her as he flew past and skidded to a halt.

“Hel,” he called in delight.

“Hi, Rocky. How are you?”

“I’m good. I miss the Wombats, but Darwin is great, and the Dingoes are growing on me.”

“How’s Abbey?”

“She’s brilliant. Why aren’t you on the bench with Frost?”

“Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a lady here who would like to ask a question to her young man.”

“Are you? Is that?” Realisation dawned on Rocky’s face.

“Yup.” Hel smiled.

She was still nervous but had never been so sure of anything in her life.

“Do you want a lift?” Rocky flung the door to the ice open and grabbed Hel up into his arms before she had a chance to object.

“Yes,” she answered belatedly, chuckling as he skated her to the middle of the ice, the microphone clutched in her hand.

He deposited her in the centre, gave her a thumbs up and skated away.

Hel took a couple of deep breaths. She was a total idiot. What was she thinking? However, when she looked across the ice and saw Frost staring back at her, her nerves evaporated.

“Hi everyone.” Her voice sounded a little squeaky as she spoke into the microphone, so she moved it away from her mouth and cleared her throat. “I’ve come here tonight to ask my boyfriend Frost a question.” She still loved calling him her boyfriend.

She stared at Frost as he vaulted over the boards and out onto the rink. Making his way over to her like a man who was born on ice. His limp gone now after a lot of hard work in the gym to restrengthen the wasted muscles.

“Hi,” Hel said when he stood right in front of her.

She couldn’t stop herself, she grabbed hold of the front of his suit and pulled him in for a kiss. It set her off balance, and she slipped. Frost caught hold of her, turning it into a dip, where he kissed her at the bottom.

Hel dimly heard the applause and wolf whistles around her.

Frost pulled her back to her feet. “What did you want to ask me.”

“I love you. Will you marry me?” Hel kept it simple. She would have got down on one knee but knew she would fall on her arse if she tried.

Frost’s green eyes burnt into hers, and for a moment, she was afraid he would say no, then he dropped to one knee in front of her.

“Of course I’ll marry you. Will you marry me?”

Hel’s jaw dropped when he pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it to show her a stunning ring with a large central ruby surrounded by tiny diamonds.

When she didn’t say anything and stared at him, he continued. “I bought it a few months ago. It reminded me of your hair. I’ve been carrying it around for a while but didn’t want to freak you out by asking so quickly.” He offered it to her. “You haven’t answered my question, Hel.”

“Absolutely.” She dropped down and sat on his knee. Kissing him until she was breathless.

When she came up for air, she realised the noises in the stands were louder, and they were all for her and Frost.

Looking up at her friends, she could see all three women on their feet, dancing and celebrating.

She turned back to Frost and kissed him one more time.

He pulled away and said, “I love you, Hel.”

Hel didn’t hesitate. “I love you, Frost.”