Page 29

PMDD hit and it hit hard.

Which served Astrid right after the way she’d behaved. Getting all cosy with Blake when she should have left with Aiden. Offering up a rematch, too – gah!

How could she have been so duplicitous?

Only she hadn’t meant to be duplicitous.

She’d sent a text to each twin. One to Aiden saying thank you along with praise for his cooking. And the other to his brother, also saying thank you but wanting to say so much more, because she’d been overflowing with… with so much feeling towards him… and the rematch had rolled from her fingers.

She was useless.

PMDD-ridden useless. And so she’d spent the rest of the week in hiding. Keeping up to speed with her girlfriends via message, keeping her distance from the twins, and carrying out research for her article while trying to track down their father too.

But she’d known come game day, she’d have to do something to try and take the edge off. Something to exorcise every Blake-induced craving from her body before she saw him on the ice.

Something that would exhaust her body so much it wouldn’t dare get all perky for him. And exhaust her mind so much that it would quit the negative spiral of PMDD gloom.

So that afternoon, she’d dragged Bella to NYC’s most extreme hot yoga class…

Bella, who could help Astrid get out of her own head.

Bella, who could refocus her on the plan and boost her with an update on Chase.

Bella, who couldn’t know the truth about her feelings for Blake – hell , Astrid didn’t want to know about those – but could be told enough to sympathise with her.

And now here Astrid was, at the game, sore in places that hadn’t existed before today, head still ranting, body too…

‘Good evening, New York!’ A roar rippled through the crowd as the announcer cut through the music and Astrid’s head shot up, her heart too. ‘Welcome to what promises to be an electrifying matchup here at Empire State Ice.’

The noise around her built, reverberating through her limbs as she stood with the crowd and cheered the teams onto the ice. The Knights came first, unperturbed by enemy ice as they swooshed around, sticks and fists pumping the air.

‘And now, it’s time to welcome your Titans…’

She turned to watch the players launch onto the rink, her eyes eagerly taking in every jersey, waiting and waiting until…

Blake appeared, his eyes finding her as though they were connected by some invisible thread, his grin making her perkier than perky! And in that moment, she didn’t care.

‘Good luck,’ she mouthed.

His gaze swept over her, not that she could see his eyes clearly through his visor, but she could sense their approval as he took in her Titans jersey.

It had been a last-minute purchase on her way in, not so much an attempt at blending in with the masses but being one of the masses.

A few weeks living and breathing the hockey world and she was as caught up in the team and the game as the next fan.

Didn’t think to catch Aiden’s eye though, did you?

Oh God, she really was useless! She hunted him out now, caught the back of his 88 jersey…

‘Both teams are hungry for this win,’ the announcer was saying. ‘The Titans want to maintain their lead, the Knights want to steal it, so buckle up, fans!’

Aiden turned, throwing her a grin as he settled into position. Bullseye!

She gave him a double thumbs up and then gripped her fists beneath her chin as the ref prepared to drop the puck…

* * *

Astrid was going to need a fresh manicure. Hockey was savage. It was fast. And it was giving her acid reflux. How could they stand it? The players, the fans, the poor refs caught in the middle…

Her gaze zipped up and down the ice with the puck, barely blinking as the closing minutes were upon them. The crowd around her buzzed as the Titans headed for a shutout. Their first against the Knights in a decade and perfect fodder for her article.

The twins were incredible. Seeing in the flesh what she’d only ever seen on screen and read about – the connection, the ability to know where the other was, where they were going to be, what they needed. It was evident in every play.

And Blake had escaped the penalty box – something the fans near her were all passing comment on. Questioning it. Judging it.

She didn’t care. She was just glad he was in one piece. The way they hit the boards… she was gonna crack a tooth! But she hadn’t dwelled on her PMDD. Not once. Who knew hockey could be another coping mechanism!

The ref called time, and she roared with the rest, the Titans’ celebratory lap rousing the crowd further as the Knights left the rink and she stood there mesmerised. She’d never been big on spectator sport, never had the time or the inclination, but she was hooked now.

‘Come on, Foxy, it’s time to celebrate!’ Harry hollered from the benches. ‘Get yourself down to the locker rooms, stat.’

The woman beside her gave her a wide-eyed grin. ‘He talking to you?’

‘Yeah, he’s talking to me.’

‘Wow!’

‘Right.’ Lips pursed over a giggle, she fought her way through the crowds to the private tunnel, flashing her pass as she went and feeling every bit the VIP.

The noise emanating from their locker room reached her long before she reached it.

And then she was being tugged into the madness by one rookie as another thrust a beer into her hand.

‘Is it always this crazy?’ she laughed out. There were half naked bodies everywhere, bottles of booze being sprayed, noise, so much noise.

‘Depends on the win!’ Harry said. ‘Against the Knights, always!’

And then Blake appeared in the throng, his grin making her own quiver… along with her nether regions.

She licked her lips as he approached, her feet rooted to the spot.

‘Hey, you enjoy the game?’

‘You bet she did, Fury,’ Harry said, ‘just look at her.’

‘Why? How do I look?’

He came up close, his body towering over her, his protective gear making him feel twice the size. ‘You look good. Especially in this…’

He tugged the sleeve of her jersey.

‘Do you think it’s my colour?’

‘Everything’s your colour, Twinkle Toes.’

She gave a tight laugh, his sincerity burning her up from the inside.

‘You going to come celebrate with us?’

‘I…’ She wanted to say yes! High on the win, high on him, but she knew where that would lead. Could see it in his gaze as readily as she felt it in her own. ‘I best not, I’ve got a busy day tomorrow.’

‘You sure?’

‘Yup.’

‘But it’s early, Foxy!’ Harry piped in again. ‘Come join us, we don’t smell that bad surely.’

‘You need to quit it with the Foxy, Harry,’ Blake warned, flicking the lad a look that had zero effect whatsoever. They were all too high on endorphins. ‘He’s right though.’

‘About the smell?’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘Because now you mention it… there is a certain aroma.’

His grin twisted to the side. ‘You’re?—’

‘Hey Astrid.’ Aiden came striding up, swinging his arm around Blake’s shoulders. ‘Enjoy the game?’

She gave him the dazzles. ‘It was immense.’

‘You joining us for a drink?’

She flicked a look at his brother. ‘I need to be getting home.’

‘It’s still early.’

‘It’s almost midnight, Aiden.’

He checked the clock on the wall. ‘So it is, but we’re hours from sleep.’

She laughed. ‘You guys might be, but this little lady needs her beauty sleep.’

And to recharge her resolve and her ability to get done what needed to be done.

‘Come on, stay,’ Blake pressed softly.

Both twins were now giving her puppy-dog eyes and my God, she needed to get out of there and douse her body in ice.

‘I need to go.’

She passed Blake the drink she’d been given and he immediately passed it on.

‘So you keep saying.’

‘And I mean it.’

He cocked a brow. ‘And yet you’re still standing there.’

She shook her head with a laugh and twirled on the spot. ‘Congrats, boys! Have a great night!’

She got as far as the door when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her traitorous heart soared as she turned, expecting Blake and getting Aiden.

‘Is everything okay?’ she asked as her heart took a dive.

‘I just wanted to say thank you.’

She frowned. ‘What for?’

‘Whatever you’ve said to Blake, whatever magic you’ve imparted, thank you.’

‘I haven’t done anything.’

‘That’s not how I see it. Something’s changed since you came along. He’s different.’

‘In a good way?’

‘In the best way.’

He pulled her in, squishing her to his chest, and it reminded her of the overzealous hug she’d once given him.

Only this time, she was the one stunned still.

Her eyes found Blake’s. He was back in the thick of the celebrations, but his eyes were on her, watching her, watching them. Her heart returned to her throat.

‘So, thank you!’ Aiden released her. ‘Sleep well.’

‘And you,’ she said on autopilot, forcing her body to do her bidding and leave while her head and heart floundered on it all.

Aiden. His gratitude. The karma. And Blake. Always Blake.

* * *

‘What was that all about?’

Blake frowned at his brother who looked even smugger post Astrid hug.

‘Nothing.’

‘It didn’t look like nothing.’

Aiden gave him the side eye as he took a swig of beer. ‘Jealous?’

He grunted and his brother laughed. ‘Lighten up, bro, we’ve got a win to celebrate.’

And then he disappeared into the foray, his cheer drawing the team all around into a chant loud enough for the entire arena to hear.

Blake looked back to the exit. To where she’d been stood…

feeling her presence even though she was gone.

Feeling the effect of that embrace too. His brother didn’t give affection easily.

Yet, there he’d been, hugging the life out of her.

‘Come on, Pretty Boy!’ Larsson punched him in the arm. ‘You’re lagging!’

He gave a choked laugh. ‘Alright, alright, take it easy, Big Man!’

With one last look at the exit, he raked a hand through his hair and turned back to the throng. ‘Chuck us a beer, Harry.’

He caught it mid-air, twisted off the cap and knocked it back though it failed to hit the spot. He had a feeling nothing would hit the spot. Nothing but a certain brunette with honey-gold eyes and a body that rocked the Titans’ jersey.

He eyed the bottle and realised how much he hadn’t missed it last night. Astrid’s suggestion that he lose his negativity in the virtual world had worked.

Though if he was honest, his focus had only half been on Street Fighter , the rest had been on her and the questions she had raised over his life, the way he chose to live it, and the way he should be proud enough to stand apart from his bro.

And the more he thought about it, the more he knew she was right.

He’d also woken that morning with a clearer head and an extra kick in his veins… a kick that had more to do with her attending the game, than the game itself.

And what was that about? The game was his life, Astrid was… he had no clue, but it was big, and it ran deep. Too deep to be ignored.

As for his brother… if she had the power to make Blake feel this way about her, did she have the power to make the Ice King feel the same? And if so, what the hell did he do now?