Page 283 of Cross Check

I’m engulfed the second I skate to my teammates. They surround me in hugs and yells and whoops of glee. Hudson lifts me off the ground and four other guys hold me above their head, yelling we are the champions over and over. I can’t stop laughing, but I take a second to move over to Canada’s side of the rink during all the celebrations.

Ethan sits on the ice, his face buried in his hands, and I grab his jersey.

“Chin up, E,” I murmur, and he looks at me with red-rimmed eyes. “I’m so sorry I had to do that to you.”

“I’m glad it was you.” He sniffs. “But fuck does it hurt.”

“You can kick my ass in four years.” I hold out my hand and he takes it, standing and wiping his eyes. “We’ll call it even.”

Coach Saunders puts a hand on the back of my head, giving me a shake that has me grinning from ear to ear.

“That’s what I’m fucking talking about,” he says. “I knew you had it in you.”

“Thanks for trusting me, Coach.”

There’s a ton of things happening at once, and when I shuffle into the line they’re organizing us into, that’s when I see her.

Golden hair.

Blue eyes.

Her hands clasped in front of her and her mouth twisting in a sad smile that makes it look like she’s in pain.

Amelia is in the front row, right against the glass, and staring at me. She doesn’t wave or open her mouth to speak. She just watches, and that’s when I realize how right Hudson was.

This is a fucking game.

I have a gold medal around my neck, but all I want to do is run over to her.

I can’t though, and all of my excitement snuffs out when she turns and heads for the stairs, leaving me wondering what the hell is going to happen to us when we get home.

EIGHTY-NINE

AMELIA

LATE FEBRUARY, THIS SEASON

From the very first time I took the ice as a young kid, I was never nervous when I laced up my skates.

Excited, anxious, antsy, and thrilled?

Always.

But never nervous.

It’s different today as I walk through the Hutchinson Center on my way to my meeting with Darcy and the team’s board of governors. It’s our first formal conversation in the wake of my leaked relationship with Grant, and I couldn’t sleep last night.

I went through every possible outcome of how this discussion is going to go, and none of them end well.

I just hope I can leave with my dignity intact.

The arena halls are empty on the way up to the administrative floor, and I check my reflection in the glass doors before I step into the offices. It’s quiet in here too, but hushed voices lead me to the large boardroom where I met Darcy for the first time.

How ironic this is also the spot where she’s going to fire me.

Fate is cruel and cunning.

I fix my blazer and push open the doors, stepping inside the lion’s den.