Gloves Off: a marriage of convenience hockey romance (Vancouver Storm Book 4)

“Did you two end up leaving the hotel?” Darcy asks as we sit behind the net a few nights later with Pippa and Hazel.

I let out a soft laugh. “We explored the town on the last day. Silver Falls is nice.” Walking hand in hand down the main street with my husband was nice, too.

Darcy grins. “Maybe you can go back for your anniversary.”

Our anniversary. A pleased huh slips out of me. “I like that idea.”

Alexei skates past, his eyes meeting mine through the glass, and when his gaze drops to my jersey, a possessive, proud look fills his eyes. My stomach dips with pleasant warmth.

He loves me. I don’t know what the future holds, but he loves me, and I love him. I’m going to be happy, I’ve decided. I’m going to enjoy being in love.noveldrama

On the ice, Alexei steals the puck from the other team before passing to Luca, who moves it up the ice with the forwards. Hayden scores after Luca assists, and the arena erupts with noise, the goal horn blaring, lights flashing. I’m on my feet along with every other fan, cheering and smiling ear to ear.

It’s Alexei I’m cheering for, though. He gives Luca a firm nod of approval before slapping him on the back. As Luca and Hayden skate past the bench, bumping gloves with the rest of the team, Alexei watches with a proud expression. It’s a good look on him.

We take our seats again, and I look over to Hazel. “Are you two going on a honeymoon?”

She nods. “Hawaii during All-Star week,” most players have that week off in February, “and we’ll do a longer trip in the summer.”

Hazel Hartley-Miller, Rory had said during their vows. “You decided to change your name.”

“Yes.” She sighs, smiling. “I did.”

“So much paperwork,” Pippa groans. Professionally, her last name is still Hartley, but legally, she changed it to Hartley-Streicher.

“What are you going to do, Darce?” I ask.

She taps her lip, frowning. “I think I want to change my last name to Owens.”

“Darcy Owens.” My eyebrows lift. “It sounds good.”

She glances between all of us. “Is that . . . un-feminist of me?”

“Not at all.” I nudge her. “The beauty of feminism is that you can do whatever you want.”

“Yeah.” She watches Hayden through the glass as he skates past, giving Darcy a big, dopey grin.

“Besides,” Hazel smiles at her own hockey player. “It makes them very happy.”

“Yeah.” Pippa gazes at hers. “Very, very happy.”

I think about my own name. I never felt attached to it. The opposite, actually. It’s a reminder of a horrible man who made my parents’ lives very difficult.

Georgia Volkov. A pulse of warmth hits me in the chest as I find him on the ice, towering above the rest. The whistle blows for an icing call, the game stops, and he turns, giving me his handsome half smile.

Changing my name isn’t as repulsive as it once would have been. I actually kind of like that idea.

“I’m still not used to seeing him smile,” Darcy says.

“You two seemed to be getting along at the wedding.” Hazel smirks at me. “Very marital.” She makes a face. “Sorry. Rory keeps trying to make that word sound dirty but it doesn’t work. You two just seemed happy together.”

The guys line up for a face-off, and my throat squeezes with emotion as I remember the way he looked at me in bed, like I was everything to him. “We are.”

“No more sleepwalking?”

A player from the other team cross-checks Alexei, and my stomach lurches. “Still sleepwalking.” Probably tonight, although it doesn’t look like he’s gotten injured. “Alexei helps with that.” Usually with a big arm around my waist, holding me to his chest, keeping me safe.

Another pleasant pulse hits me.

The others exchange smiles.

“Don’t be smug,” I tell them, and they laugh. “It’s unbecoming.”

Rory sends the puck to Luca, and while Alexei buys him time, the rookie shoots the puck at the net. He misses, but Hayden passes it back to him. He tries again, aiming for the top corner of the net—and it goes in.

The arena explodes with a volume particular to two goals in quick succession, a delighted roar of surprise and gratitude. On the bench, the guys all jump up, and on the ice, the players surround Luca again, slapping him on the back, jostling him with big grins.

Alexei just wears that proud look again.

“The rookie’s pretty good, huh?” Pippa asks, and I smile.

“He’s incredible, with the right coaching.”

In the third period, the Storm are up three–nothing, with goals from Luca, Rory, and Hayden.

The thing about hockey, though, is that everything can change in a split second.

Alexei has the puck when a defenseman collides with him at speed, hitting Alexei’s head with his shoulder. Alexei’s head snaps back at an angle that makes fan gasp, before he drops.

Over the blood beating in my ears, the whistle blows. I’m on my feet, watching in horror as Rory and Hayden fly to Alexei’s side. He’s lying on the ice, not moving.

Fuck. Oh god. He’s not moving.

He’s not moving.

Rory shifts to let a doctor through. Blood runs down Alexei’s face onto the ice. His eyes are still closed. The arena is a deadly, horrifying quiet.

He’s still not moving.

I’m sprinting, pushing past people, until I’m in the arena concourse, rushing to the ice. No one stops me. I don’t even show my ID.

At the bench, someone blocks my path.

“Georgia.” Tate’s voice is quiet, eyes worried and serious. “No.”

“I need to get to him.” I’m shaking. I can’t breathe. My eyes stay glued to the group on the ice, waiting for a glimpse of him. Waiting for him to get up.

Get up, I pray. Open your eyes. Glare at me. Call me your wife. Call me Hellfire. Tell me I’m your everything.

“Let them do their jobs,” Tate says, eyes full of patient sympathy. “You can follow them to the hospital, but let them take care of this.”

Every cell in my body revolts, but he’s right. We keep family members out of the way during times like these because of how I’m feeling right now. Reckless, terrified, and desperate.

The arena is silent as Alexei is moved onto a stretcher and carried off the ice, and my stomach hardens into a tight, cold block. It’s so much worse than two years ago.

I love him now. I can’t be without him. Seeing him like this makes that clear as day. I’ll stand by his side, watch him get hurt and take care of him after, even if it kills me.