Page 31 of Offside and Off-Limits (Love in Maple Falls #2)

I shake my head at him. “You’ve used my gym more than once. Remember, old man?”

He barks out a laugh at my jest. But he doesn’t know the full story. Not yet, anyway. He doesn’t know I turned over the leaf I knew I needed to do by moving to this town.

And turning that leaf led me to the love I now have.

“Catch you both later,” I say as I make my way through the crowd.

Stepping up onto the stage, I scan the crowd for Clara. She isn’t hard to spot, her blonde hair catching the light, glowing like gold. She’s speaking with Veronica and the guy I recognize as Paul Vaughn, CEO of the Ice Breakers.

The tautness of her features tells me everything I need to know.

I stride over to the microphone and tap it a few times, making a banging sound that reverberates around the room, bouncing off the walls.

A few heads turn to look my way, and I clear my throat.

“Hey, everyone,” I say into the mic, feeling like I'm about to jump off a cliff without checking for a safe landing below.

A hush falls gradually over the crowd. “For those of you who don't know me, my name is Cade Lennox and I'm a winger for this awesome new NHL team we’re celebrating here tonight.”

I pause, watching Clara go pale as she watches me, wondering what I’m doing.

Sorry, Triple, but sometimes you've got to go all-in when the stakes are high.

Because this is about me and Clara, and the man I’ve become.

“I’m not that good at this sort of thing, but I’ve got something to say, and I hope you’ll give me the chance to say it.”

There’s a murmur that rumbles around the room before it falls to silence.

I clear my throat. “I bet I can guess what most of you think about me. Pro hockey player, am I right? Big contract, bigger ego, probably goes through women like I go through hockey sticks.”

There are a few chuckles that ripple through the crowd, and I can practically feel my teammates cringing somewhere out there.

“And to be honest, for a long time, that guy you're thinking of was me.”

The room has gone completely silent now, all eyes on me, which is either really good or totally catastrophic.

Me? I don’t take my eyes from Clara’s, her features creased in worry as she hangs on my every word.

“ But here’s the thing. I’m not that guy anymore. Haven’t been for some time, in fact. Moving here to this town, joining this team? It was to give myself the space to explore the man I knew I could be.”

Mary-Ellen McCluskey is practically vibrating with excitement in the front row, and I’m sure this moment is going to fuel Maple Falls gossip for the next year.

“The truth is, I've fallen in love with the most wonderful woman, and it’s the kind of love that means I’m willing to make a total fool of myself in front of the whole town.”

“You’re proving that part all right!” some guy calls out, but I won’t let him break my stride. I’ve got something to say, and I’m going to say it.

“The woman I love is smart, and funny, and strong. Strong enough to rebuild her entire life from scratch. Someone I’m proud to say loves me back.” I take a breath. “That someone is Clara Johnson.”

Gasps burst from the crowd, and people swivel their heads in Clara’s direction. She’s watching me, her eyes intense.

“I knew it!” Mary-Ellen McCluskey calls out.

I pull my lips into a line. “The problem is, because of me, Clara’s job is now at risk.”

There are more murmurs, but this time, I push on.

“So, here’s my proposal to team management.

If Clara loses her job because I was stupid enough to fall in love with her, the most amazing woman I've ever met, I'm stepping down from my contract. I’ll pay the penalties. I don’t care.

For the first time in my life, I've found something more important than hockey, and I’m not going to let it go. ”

The silence is deafening, and all I can hear is my own heartbeat, thrashing in my ears.

But I’ve said what I needed to say, and now the cards will fall where they fall.

A blur of blue and gold pushes through the crowd. “Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me,” a voice says, and it takes me a moment to realize it’s Clara, urgently making her way to me.

She steps up onto the stage and gives an embarrassed wave at the guests before hurrying across to me. She places her hand over the microphone and immediately a loud piercing shriek sounds around the room.

She snaps her hand away. “Sorry, everyone. I didn't mean to do that. I just wanted a quiet word with Cade.”

“I think we would all like to hear what you have to say to that romantic declaration,” Mrs. McCluskey calls out and there's a murmur of agreement among the crowd.

“Really? Because it's kinda just between him and me,” Clara replies.

“Come on, Clara. Say your piece,” Mrs. McCluskey instructs.

She shoots me a brief look before she lowers the microphone to her height, and says, “I just wanted to say that what Cade said is amazing, and I love him all the more for it.” She smiles at me and my heart sings. “But the thing is, I get to keep my job.”

“You do?” I ask, dumbfounded.

She nods, her big blue eyes pooling with tears. Happy tears. Tears of joy. “Paul just told me.”

I reach for her hand. “I love you,” I say, and she says it right back, her eyes like fire as she gazes at me.

“What about the no fraternities policy?” Mrs. McCluskey asks.

“It’s not about fraternities, Mary-Ellen,” her friend corrects, another older lady, dressed to the nines in a black velvet dress and a huge, sparkling necklace. “It’s a non-flirtation policy. Isn’t that right, Clara?”

Clara bites back a laugh. “It’s called a non-fraternization clause, and my bosses, Veronica Reynolds, and Paul Vaughn, have agreed that they can make an exception for me.” She squeezes my hand, smiling up at me. “For us.”

“Seriously?” I ask, and I feel as giddy as a tween meeting his hockey idol.

“Seriously,” she confirms.

And then I do the most natural thing in the world.

I reach out and collect the woman I love in my arms, pressing a blistering kiss against her soft lips.

I get lost in her, the woman I’m lucky enough to call mine, until the sound of whoops and whistles puncture our little bubble, and together, we turn to look out at the crowd.

“Show’s over,” I tell them with a grin. I wrap my arm around Clara’s shoulders and together we climb down from the stage, and out the exit, into the empty corridor.

“So, you keep your job? You’re sure?” I ask again, just to be safe.

“I do.”

“And I don’t have to quit? ”

“Of course you don’t. Honey, I had no idea you were going to do that.”

I grin at her as I scoop her up in my arms once more, feeling her soft curves melding against me, right where they belong.

“You’re worth it,” I murmur against her lips before I claim them once more, wrapped up in the most emotional kiss of my life, right here in the town I call home, with the woman I love.