Page 13 of The Winning Hat Trick (The Steel City Knights #1)

Talon's head swivels to Thor, his jaw dropping in awe at the Viking-like man beside me.

"Hi, Talon. You can call me Thor if you want."

"W-whoa! You look like a real-life superhero!" The awe in Talon's voice makes Thoren and me smile.

"I've heard that a time or two." My best friend smirks.

"Can you stay here with Thor while I help your mom with your sisters?"

"Sure." Talon shrugs and starts talking Thoren's ear off.

I make my way to the SUV to help Celeste.

"Calla, you gotta help me out, babe. I know you're excited, but you have to sit still so I can get your arms out of the straps." Celeste huffs.

Debating on whether I should help Celeste or not, my mind is made up for me when my eyes meet Layla's over Celeste's shoulder, and she lets out an excited squeal. Celeste turns to see what Layla is looking at, and it's like getting slammed into the boards when our eyes meet.

Celeste is fucking stunning. Her long mahogany hair is in a braid over her shoulder, and she's got minimal makeup on, allowing her freckles to shine through. Her sky-blue eyes are alight with joy when she sees me, which sends my heartrate soaring.

"Hey, you." Her voice is soft.

It sends goosebumps across my skin.

"Hey, gorgeous." I place my hand on her back as I lean in and kiss her cheek. "You want me to get Calla, or can I snag Layla Bug?"

"I think that if you don't get your fangirl over there, we're all going to have to deal with a Layla meltdown, and nobody wants to start off our night of fun like that."

"No, we definitely don't want that." I smile at Celeste, then turn to Calla. "Sit still, sweet Calla, so you can get out and we can go have fun, okay?"

"Okay, Mac!" She smiles up at me, her little, chubby toddler cheeks rosy from the warm evening.

Making my way around the car, I open Layla's door and have to rub my hand over my chest at the ache that spreads there seeing the adoring look on her face as she smiles and babbles up at me.

"Hey, my little Layla Bug. I missed you," I croon as I lean in and blow raspberries in the crook of her neck, making her belly laugh.

"Let's see if I'm any better at getting these buckles undone as I was at getting you strapped in.

" Much to my surprise, and all the girls' amusement, I manage to get Layla out pretty easily.

"Come on." I grab Celeste's free hand, her other holding Calla on her hip, and tug her towards Talon and Thoren. "Thoren, this is Celeste." I reluctantly drop her hand so she can shake Thor's. "That's Calla in her arms, and this is Layla."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." My usually pretty stoic friend is putty in front of the group of pretty girls.

"It's so nice to meet you. Thanks for offering to help out so the girls and I could come skate too. It's been years since I've been on the ice, but I remember how much fun I used to have going with my brother and parents."

"I'm glad to be here. Every kid should learn how to skate and find the joy that comes with being on the ice." Thor ruffles Talon's hair, showing he really means what he says.

"Well, let's get to it. We only have so much time on the ice before they come to clean it for the morning skate." I lead the way into the practice facility.

I'd love to talk to Celeste, but our walk to the rink is filled with chatter from the kids.

Calla and Talon each tell us about their days at school and their friends.

Listening to the stories Calla tells is hilarious and confusing all in one go.

At one point, I look at Celeste since I'm completely lost, but she just shrugs and moves the conversation along.

The only thing that silences the kids is walking through the tunnel and seeing the ice for the first time.

"Whoa, it's huge!" Talon's eyes are huge as he takes everything in.

"It's regulation size for the NHL. That's the league Thor and I play for. It has to be this big so that we are used to covering all that ice come game day."

"Can I come to one of your games?"

"Talon—"

"Absolutely," I interrupt Celeste. "I'd love to have all of you come to one of our games. Maybe on the weekend since the games during the weekdays are way past your bedtime. You can sit in one of the boxes."

Even though this is the practice facility, there are still boxes for staff and the owners to use to observe, so I point to one so Talon knows what I'm talking about.

"Mac, you don't have to do that." Celeste worries her lip.

"I know I don't, but I will. Besides, Brooks and Wren already said they want to come to a game. You could come to the same game they'll be at. Someone needs to make sure Wren behaves."

"That's probably a good point. Alright, we'd love to come!" Celeste beams at me as she readjusts a squirming Calla on her hip.

"Great. Now that that's settled, let's get suited up for skating. Looks like we have some excited kiddos on our hands."

They all cheer in confirmation.

I guide them to the bench. I have skates, sweatshirts, gloves, and hats waiting.

I really need to give our PR manager a huge shoutout for pulling this all together.

Celeste gave me the kids’ skate sizes, but I had no idea what sizes to get them for the Knights gear.

All Autumn needed was their ages, and she was handing me a huge tote bag overflowing with our team merchandise and jerseys for the kids with my name and number on them.

"Oh my, Maclan. This is too much," Celeste whispers as she sees me digging through the bag and passing stuff out to the kids.

"No, it's not. If you guys are going to come to a game, you've got to have the right gear."

"Yeah, Mom! Do I look like a hockey player, Mac?"

Talon has a sweatshirt on, and Thor is helping him get a mini version of my jersey over it. I get that tight feeling in my chest again at seeing Talon with my number and name on his back, but I quickly shake it off.

"Yeah, little man. All you need are your skates." My voice is gruff as I try to fight off the emotion.

It takes all three of us adults to get the kids in the warm gear and skates, but we finally manage to make it out onto the ice.

I have no idea where they came from, but two ice skating trainer devices are sitting on the ice.

If I had to guess, I'd say Coach left them.

He might be gruff and unforgiving while we're playing, but he's all about family and has a soft heart.

As much as I hate passing off my Layla Bug, I hand her over to Thor so I can help Talon.

He's so eager that he reminds me of a baby fawn just learning to walk.

It takes a few minutes to get his wiggles out, but once he does, he really starts to get the hang of being on the ice.

His movements are natural, and he listens to my directions really well.

"Okay, this might be because I'm his mama and am biased, but Talon seems to be doing really well." Celeste looks proud as we watch Talon zip across the ice unassisted.

"Maybe a little biased, but he's taking really well to it. Honestly, the earlier you start kids out on skates, the better. If Talon enjoys it and keeps it up, he could be a hell of a skater someday."

"Are you kidding me? Do you see his face right now? I can guarantee he's not going to leave me alone until I'm signing him up for a hockey league." Celeste huffs as if she's frustrated, but I can tell it's fake.

"I'm pretty sure the Knights have a kids' league. I can ask Coach about it if you'd like."

"You don't have to do that, Mac. You've already done so much."

"It's no problem."

"Well, I suppose that would be fine. This would probably be the closest rink to us, which would be pretty convenient." Celeste thinks it over as she watches Thor zoom around the ice with both girls in his arms until they make their way over to us.

"Mama, Tor go tuper fast." Calla squeals.

"I saw that. You were flying out there." Celeste tickles her belly.

Layla giggles along with everyone then lunges towards me.

"Whoa, Layla Bug. Give a guy some warning."

"She's good at the surprise attack." Celeste smooths a curl off her face.

"Come on, Calla. Let's race Talon before it's time to call it quits." Thor skates backwards, much to Calla's delight.

"They're going to be so bummed when it's time to leave."

"Good thing we can do this again." I bump my shoulder into Celeste's.

I don't expect her to lose her balance, but before I realize it, her arms are flailing as she tries to stay on her feet.

I catch her right before she hits the ice and pull her close to me.

Our bodies are pressed together, faces inches apart.

We're both breathing heavily, the tension between us pulsing as everything around us melts away.

It isn't until Layla screams in my arms that I'm pulled back to the arena.

Celeste tries to push out of my arms, but I'm reluctant to let her go in case she falls. Our attention is stolen once again by Talon's loud cheers only feet away.

"Looks like he beat Thor." Her voice is breathy.

"Sure does," I grit out, my voice rough from the sexual tension still flowing through me.

"Did you see that, Mom? I was flying, and I even stopped without falling that time," Talon gushes as he makes his way to us.

"I did. You were amazing out there, buddy. Unfortunately, I think our time is about up."

"Aww, man. Can we come back and skate another time?" Talon turns towards me, a full pout on his face and hands clasped under his chin as he begs.

"Sure, little man." I chuckle as I ruffle his hair.

Thor and I help Celeste get the kids out of the skates and take all of their gear to the cars. They're just as animated as when they arrived. I have no idea how Celeste does it all on her own. I'm fucking exhausted.

Thoren says goodbye to everyone then heads out while I help get the kids loaded in. Once they're settled, I open the door for Celeste. I try to fight back my urge to pull her to me and kiss her, but it's damn near impossible. Instead, I settle on tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Thanks for today, Mac. This is one of the best days the kids and I have had in a really long time. You're a really great friend, and I appreciate everything you did today."

Hearing the word "friend" come from Celeste's mouth in regard to me is like a kick to the balls, but I try to fight off how much it affects me. Just because I want to make this woman mine, it doesn't mean she feels the same.

"The pleasure was mine. It's always good to get out on the ice and be reminded why I love doing what I do every day. I'll text you about the kids’ league for Talon and about getting you guys to a home game."

"That sounds great. Thanks again, Maclan." Celeste squeezes my arm, and I have to clench my fists at my side when I see heat fill hers. She quickly turns and climbs in the car.

"Text me when you get home, okay?"

"Okay." Celeste nods.

I close the door and step back. Once her car is gone, I run a hand through my hair, then slowly make my way to my truck.

Being friend-zoned was not how I expected my night to end, but seeing the heat flash in Celeste's eyes when she gripped my arm gave me more hope than it probably should. It let me know that, if nothing else, she wants my body. That's something I can work with.