Offside Hearts (Love and Hockey Book 1)

I’m freezing as I walk into the practice rink the next morning, wearing the thin pink dress I found at the second store I went to. It’s really more 90s style than 80s, but it was the only thing I could find on such short notice. I have a big coat on top, but nothing covering my legs, and I have goosebumps running up and down my whole body. At the door that leads out onto the ice, I check my phone to see if Noah has texted. It’s 9:05, and just as I’m about to send him a message to let him know I’m here, his voice rings out from the other side of the rink.

“Hey, Sunflower!”

He waves, and I wave back. “Hi.”

He’s in his hockey uniform, which is what I told him to wear. He’s also got his skates on, and he gets onto the ice and skates over to where I am. His dark brown hair is a bit messier than usual today, and it makes him look way too sexy for my own good.

“Is that what you’re wearing for the video?” He eyes my long wool coat that’s dark brown and, in all honesty, not very attractive. But it’s the warmest item of clothing I own, and I needed something more than a thin layer of pink polyester between me and the cold air.

“No,” I say. “I was just chilly. I still am.”

But even as I tell him that, I begin to undo the buttons on the coat and slide it down my bare shoulders. Noah’s eyes widen as he sees what I’m wearing underneath. He whistles softly under his breath, and now I’m starting to blush.

“Okay,” I say, trying to shift the attention off myself and onto the task at hand. “Did you watch those videos I sent you?”

“Yes,” he tells me. “And I’ve seen the movie before, obviously.”

“Right. Good.” I nod. “So—do you think you can do it?”

He laughs. “Yeah. I definitely can.”

“You sound confident.”

He lifts a shoulder, his lips tilting upward. “Look, I’m not the type of man who asks a lady how much she weighs, but I have a pretty good feeling I could bench press at least two of you if I had to. So I really don’t think this little dance move is going to pose any problem.”

I try not to look impressed by this, even though I can’t deny the way my stomach flips over itself a little at the thought of him lifting me up over his head like I’m a mere feather. Which is pretty much exactly what he’s about to do.

On the ice.

While wearing skates.

Suddenly, the nerves come flooding back.

“But have you ever… done anything like this before?” I ask, twisting my fingers together. “I mean, I know you’re strong and all, but this is very different from playing hockey, or even bench pressing an inanimate object. It’s… delicate. Or rather, I’m delicate. You can’t throw me around on the ice like you can a player of the opposing team.”

He smiles at me. “What? You think I’m gonna drop you? You don’t trust me?” He rests a large hand against his broad chest as if I’ve mortally wounded him. “After all we’ve been through? Ouch, Sunflower. That hurts.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you,” I amend quickly. “It’s just… I don’t want to land face first on the ice, okay? Can you understand why that might scare me a little?”

“Fair enough,” he says. “But clearly, you have faith in me, since I was the first person on the team you asked to help you with this.”

What? How does he know that?

He laughs when he sees my shocked expression, one eyebrow shifting upward. “I talked to the other guys last night, and they said you never reached out to them to do the video.”

“I—well—I thought about reaching out, but I didn’t think any of them would say yes. And—”

He puts a hand up to stop me. “It’s okay, Sunflower. I’m happy you texted me first. I wouldn’t want you to do this with any of the other guys on the team. Plus, I think the team captain will have a bigger draw than anyone else, not to sound arrogant.”

“Yeah, well, I’m hoping our video will just sort of get the ball rolling,” I say, still a bit flustered. “Then maybe the rest of the team will make their own. Reese can do it with his girlfriend, and so on. And I was thinking we could make it sort of a challenge. Like, we tell all the Denver Ace’s fans to make their own video and tag us, and we’ll choose a winner to be featured on our page.” I shrug. “I thought it would be a good way to get more women involved. The majority of our fans are male, but this could be something fun that the men could do with their girlfriends or wives.”

“I think it’s a great idea.” Pride burns in Noah’s blue eyes as he adds, “But that’s not surprising. You’re full of great ideas.” Then he claps his hands together and skates backward on the ice. “Now, come on! Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“Hang on. I have to set up the camera.”

I’ve brought a little tripod with me, along with one of the work cameras I’m allowed to use as long as I check with Ted beforehand. He’s got access to all the good filming equipment, and I don’t even want to know how much the device in my hand costs, but I’m guessing it could easily cover a few months of my rent.

Once I get it on the tripod and position it where I think it’ll get the best shot, I turn the camera on and hit record. I think it’s best just to let the thing continue recording, even if Noah and I need to do a few practice rounds. You never know when you’re going to hit the stunt perfectly, so I want to get any and all attempts on camera.

“Alright,” I say, stepping out onto the ice in my winter boots and moving slowly. “I’m going to play the music for us on my phone, just so we have the right timing, but then overlay the audio with much better quality in post-production.”

“Sounds good, but… you’re not going to put on skates?”

I shake my head, pulling a face. “No way. Not for this. Besides, I’ve never even skated before.”

“You what? You’ve never skated before?” Noah looks utterly shocked. “I can’t believe this! You work for a hockey team, and you’ve never been on ice skates before? That’s crazy. Now I have to teach you how to skate.”

“There’s no way I’d get good enough to pull off this maneuver in time,” I say. “You can teach me how to skate later.”

Something hot and possessive flashes across his face, and he glides a little closer to me as he asks, “Is that a promise?”

Once again, my heart gives an entirely inappropriate flutter, and I’m not so sure my nipples are hard because of the cold or something else. Trying to hide my reaction to his flirtation, I shoot him an impatient look.

“I don’t know. Maybe. Probably not. Can we just get back to filming the video? Practice starts in half an hour, and I don’t want to hold anyone up waiting for us.”

“Alright.” He skates backward a little, moving across the ice effortlessly, then holds his hands out to show he’s waiting to catch me. “Ready when you are.”

I take a moment to breathe, square my shoulders, and feel the ice underneath my feet. My boots have good tread, so I’m not worried about slipping. Running will be the easy part. It’s the being lifted high up into the air that’s giving me a bit of a stomach ache. Still, I know it’ll make for a great video, so I push down my fears and hit play on the music.

My pulse pounds in my ears, and I think about all the times my sister and I watched Dirty Dancing as kids, how often I dreamed about what it would feel like to be in Baby’s place. She made it look so damn easy. I can do it.

The key to getting this lift right, according to the movie, is not being afraid. If I hesitate or tense up, I could end up ruining the whole thing and cracking my head on the ice. In a lot of ways, Noah actually has the easy part. He only has to trust himself, whereas I have to have faith in both him and me.

I’ve timed it out so that I have about ten seconds of buildup before we get to the part in the song where I’m supposed to run. I take a few more deep breaths, and when the moment arrives, I take off toward Noah, who’s standing smack dab in the middle of the rink.

You can do this, Margo. You’re not about to die in the arms of the sexiest hockey player you’ve ever met.

I’m just a couple yards away from him now, and I feel my chest tighten with panic, but when I meet Noah’s gaze, he looks confident. His eyes lock with mine, and I can practically read his thoughts on his face.

I’ve got you.

I continue running full speed and leap at the last second. I feel Noah’s large hands curl around my waist, and the next thing I know, I’m up in the air. My breath catches. I feel like I’m flying, and even though a second ago I couldn’t stop thinking about how stupid this was, how easy it would be for us both to totally wiff it… now it’s like I don’t have a care in the world. Up here, nothing can touch me. Noah has me, and there’s no way he’s going to let go. I can feel it.

A massive smile spreads across my face, and I let out a soft laugh as Noah spins me around slowly, rotating on his skates so that I can get a full view of the practice rink.

The music swells and then drops off, and it’s time for him to put me down.

“Okay, you ready?” he asks.

I don’t dare nod, not wanting to disturb his balance, so I just say, “Uh huh.”

He bends his elbows and lowers me, and I clench my abs as I drop my legs so that I’m more vertical than horizontal. Using his body to secure us both, I slide down inch by inch. Even though his pads add bulk between us, I can feel the heat of him through our clothes as he lowers me down.

My breath catches as I’m reminded of our time together in the elevator. He smells just as good as he did then. His body feels just as warm and strong against mine.

He takes his sweet time bringing me back to the ice, but I’m not complaining.

When my feet finally touch down, Noah doesn’t let go of me just yet. My chest is pressed against his, and he keeps one hand on my hip, wrapping the other arm around me and splaying his hand across my back. Our faces are mere inches from each other, and he stares down at me intently. My heart is pounding so hard against my ribs that I’m worried it’s going to burst free at any second.

“That was… that was good,” I whisper.

“Yeah, it was,” he murmurs back, and something about his tone makes me think he’s not referring to the technical aspects of the lift at all.

The hand at my back curls slightly, as if he wishes he could bring me even closer than I already am, and I feel my lips parting. His do the same, his tongue darting out quickly to wet them, and then—

“Yeah, that’s right! Nobody puts Baby in a corner!”

The voice comes from off the ice. Noah and I turn our heads to see his teammates filing in for practice. It’s Reese who says the line from the movie, but Theo’s the one who puts his fingers in his mouth and whistles at us. Sawyer doesn’t make any teasing comments, but he chuckles and shakes his head as he takes in the two of us, while Maxim and Owen just look a little confused.

Noah and I quickly separate, and I almost go down on my ass before he catches me. He makes sure I’m steady on my feet before he lets go of my arm.

“Thanks,” I mutter.

Then I tuck my chin to my chest to hide the redness of my face as I hurry off the ice and retrieve the camera to check the recording. As the team starts to warm up, I break down the tripod, trying without success to convince myself that I wasn’t about to kiss Noah before they all showed up.

Dammit. I keep slipping.

And I don’t mean on the ice.