“I’ve got no chance,” Teagan murmured from beside me. She was eyeing the gap between Cole and us, as though that in itself was insurmountable, let alone actually catching our bachelor.
“You’ll do fine,” I said.
“Easy enough for you to say,” Laurie hissed from the other side of me.
Yeah, I was really missing my personal space right about now.
Angus stood in the center of the rink. There was one camera trained on his face, while another lens was pointed toward us. The third one was focused on Cole, although I imagined that once the competition started the film crew's careful set-up would probably turn to mayhem.
“Everyone ready?” Angus called, his gaze checking on each contestant before he glanced over his shoulder at Cole. Everyone nodded in return.
“On your marks,” Angus shouted, a wild grin lighting his face with excitement. “Get set,” he boomed.
“Go!”
I took off as quickly as I could, but my left skate immediately slammed into something hard and I was thrown forward. I flew through the air, unable to control myself, before falling swiftly toward the ground. My knees and my arms crashed hard against the ice, and I slid along it before coming to a stop. I swore under my breath and groaned as I went to push myself back up again.
My palms and knees burnt hot from the impact, and my limbs felt weak as I struggled to push myself off the ice. It was a bad fall, but I’d had worse. At least I hadn’t had too much momentum at the time.
People were shouting loudly from the other end of the rink, but I couldn’t tell whether they were cheering at the game or angry about something.
“Madi, are you okay?” Teagan asked, taking my arm and helping me to my feet.
I looked up at her, confused about what she was still doing beside me. “What are you doing? Get back in the game!”
“Not until I know you’re okay,” she replied.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “Now go!’
Teagan didn’t move though. “Laurie tripped you,” she growled.
“Are you kidding me?”
“She’s not. I saw her put her skate out,” Evan added. “This isn’t the freaking Hunger Games, Laurie,” he shouted across the rink.
“Evan?” I turned as I realized he was there with me too. “Why aren’t you guys chasing Cole?”
“We weren’t just going to leave you lying on the ice,” Teagan said.
I couldn’t believe the two of them had stopped to help me, but I wasn’t surprised to hear that Laurie had cheated. I looked ahead to find she was about halfway down the rink. She was closing in on Cole, who seemed to be about to meet her in the middle. He was skating quickly down the center of the ice, a frown creasing his brow and his eyes focused on me.
Laurie launched herself toward him as he neared, but Cole easily dodged around her before continuing to close in on the three of us. It was almost comical how swiftly he managed to dart past her floundering arms.
“Laurie hasn’t won yet,” I murmured, looking between my two friends.
“I think it’s only fair if you beat her to our man,” Evan replied.
I grinned. “It would seem appropriate given the circumstances,” I agreed.
“Are you hurt?” Cole called out, as he neared. He stopped a short distance away. He wasn’t close enough that I could steal the bright red piece of material hanging from his pants, but he hadn’t put enough distance between us that I couldn’t attempt to catch him either.
“I think I’ll be fine,” I called back to him. “You ready to hand over your hanky?”
“This old thing?” He flicked the red material at his side. “No, I think I’ll keep it.” He smiled, and there was a hint of relief to his expression, as if were a weight off his shoulders that I wasn’t too injured to joke with him.
Laurie started to close in on him once again, and Cole glanced over his shoulder as he heard the scrape of her skates behind him. With Cole distracted for a brief moment, I took off toward him.
He quickly noticed I was coming though. He shot me a smirk and started to skate away. Cole was better than I remembered on the ice, but I was faster, and I could feel myself gaining on him.
The ice slid smoothly beneath my skates as I powered across the rink. Skating had always felt as natural as breathing to me, and I found myself grinning wider as I continued to build momentum.
I was practically flying I was going so fast, every second inching closer and closer to Cole. When he neared the far end of the rink, he slid to a stop and turned. His eyes were determined as he watched the distance between us growing smaller. I knew he was waiting for me to draw close enough so he could dodge around me. He had to wait until the last second so I couldn’t alter my trajectory and catch him.
What he wasn’t counting on was the fact that I wasn’t afraid to continue toward him at full speed. I surged toward him faster, not giving him a chance to try and outwit me.
I was almost to him when he started to move. He accelerated too slowly though, and I collided with his chest, throwing the two of us to the ground. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist as we slammed into the ice.
I clenched my eyes shut as I felt the impact. It was hard but not nearly as bad for me as I suspected it had been for Cole.
“Geez, Matthews,” Cole wheezed. “Are you trying to kill me?”
I slowly blinked my eyes open and found my face hovered right over his. I was looking directly into his eyes. They were more blue than green today and were filled with concern. His hands still gripped my waist, and I was pressed firmly against the hard planes of his chest. I’d never been this close to Cole before, and I found myself not wanting to move away.
“Did I hurt you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Nah, I’m pretty big and strong, if you haven’t noticed. No injuries here. How about you?”
“I’m fine,” I replied, still staring into his eyes. I knew I should be trying to get up again, but I also couldn’t seem to drag myself away.
The sound of clapping brought reality crashing back to me though, and I finally pulled my eyes away from Cole in time to see Angus and the film crew approaching.
I blinked and quickly shook my head as I went to roll off Cole and scramble to my feet. For a moment I’d completely forgotten anyone else was there. As we both stood up, I found Cole’s red handkerchief lying on the ice beside us. I picked it up and passed it to him.
“I guess I won,” I said.
He looked down at the handkerchief and smiled. “You do realize that means you have to spend some time alone with me, right?” he asked, with a laugh.
“I’m sure I’ll survive,” I replied.
He smiled and lowered his lips to my ear, his hands lightly touching my waist as he drew near. “Don’t lie,” he murmured. “You know you can’t wait.”
His words caused my stomach to drop and my heart to flutter rapidly. Before I could respond, Angus came up beside us, and Cole pulled away. I almost missed his touch but resisted the temptation to reach out and stop him.
“No broken bones?” Angus asked. He almost sounded disappointed, like he wanted one of us to be injured.
“We’re both fine,” Cole replied, and I nodded my agreement.
I couldn’t seem to look Cole in the eyes after his whispered words, so I was glad of the distraction Angus brought.
“Congratulations on a great win, Madi,” Angus said. He directed his comment more at the nearest camera than at me.
“Thanks,” I replied with a tight smile. I wasn’t sure I’d have called what happened a great win. There was no mention of Laurie’s cheating, and Angus clearly wasn’t concerned about the fact I had been close to injuring myself.
I looked past Angus to find Laurie scowling at me while Teagan and Evan both talked with her. Their expressions were angry, and their motions were exaggerated. They kept pointing in my direction as they spoke, so I got the feeling they were having serious words with Laurie about what she did to me.
Brett had his camera focused on the whole interaction, so I had a bad feeling the drama would end up on the show come Sunday night. Skye went over to calm them down. As they listened to her, she started directing them off the ice along with the rest of the contestants who had stayed to watch the last challenge. Teagan caught my eye as she was leaving and gave me a small wave and mouthed, “good luck.”
“Thanks,” I mouthed back at her. I was probably going to need it.
“So, what now?” I asked, focusing back on Angus.
It wasn’t Angus who replied though. Cole reached out and took my hand in his. “Now we have our one-on-one date,” he said. I was surprised by how warmly he was looking at me. He seemed happy I’d been the one to catch him, and that I was the one he wanted to spend some alone time with.
Not that we were really alone. One of the film club guys stood only a couple of feet from us with his camera, and Angus was whispering in his ear from beside him. I could see Brett fixing his camera on us from further down the rink, while Skye and some of the other members of the club watched from the sidelines. It was easy to forget the cameras were filming when the crew had to split their time between multiple contestants. But when it was just Cole and me, and all the cameras were trained on us, it made me feel like some kind of strange attraction in a zoo.
Cole started skating toward the center of the rink, pulling me along beside him.
“What are we doing?” I asked, trying to push the cameras from my mind.
“I thought we’d have a little competition,” he said.
“Haven’t we had enough of those for one night?” I replied.
He laughed and shook his head. “You’ll like this one. It’s a shootout.”
“And why would I want to do that?” I asked. “I happen to like having an unblemished record against you.”
“We haven’t played in years…”
“That doesn’t change the fact you’ve never beaten me in a shootout,” I responded.
“Well, what if we made it interesting?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.
“I’m listening,” I murmured, making him grin.
“If you win, I’ll give you a kiss.”
It took me a brief second to digest the idea. I quickly laughed to cover how nervous Cole's suggestion made me feel. I took my hand out of his and turned to skate backward as I looked at him. “That’s not much of a prize.”
“Fine,” he replied. “What would you like?”
I rolled my lips as I thought it over. I definitely wasn’t asking for a kiss. I was pretty confident I would win, so I wanted to make this worth it. “If I win, I get to ask one favor of you, and you have to do it.”
“Within reason,” he said, swallowing. He must have seen the evil glint in my eye.
“Who decides if it’s reasonable?”
“Angus can,” he said, without missing a beat.
“Fine,” I replied. “If I win I get one favor within reason.”
“And if I win you have to kiss me.”
I purposely screwed up my nose at him, though my heart started to race. Why did he keep suggesting that?
“Afraid I’m going to win?” he teased.
“Nope. You look awfully shaky on your skates. I’m guessing you haven’t practiced in a while…” He didn’t look shaky at all, but I had managed to catch him just before, so I wasn’t too concerned.
“Maybe it’s an act,” he replied.
I laughed. “It’s a very convincing one.”
“So, are we doing this?” he asked.
I looked him over one last time. The boy had never gotten a puck past me before, and I liked the idea of him owing me one. I also liked the idea of having something to lord over him.
“Let’s do this,” I agreed.
We skated back over to where Skye was stationed by the rink entrance. She had a stick, goalie gear and a puck for us. I couldn’t imagine Cole doing this activity with any of the other contestants. It felt like he’d planned the whole group date around me, and I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or nervous.
“So, is this a best of three situation?” I asked as Cole started to suit up.
“No,” he replied. “Sudden death. First one to score wins.”
“Sounds good to me. I’d hate to have to embarrass you three times in a row.”
“You wish, Matthews,” he replied.
I took the stick and puck, skating out into the center of the ice as Cole went to position himself in front of the goal. It had been a long time since I’d played hockey. I’d never been a great shot, not like my brother, but at least I’d always been better than Cole. This should be easy enough. I just needed to stay focused.
“Anytime now, Gretzky,” Cole shouted at me.
I scowled at him across the rink, making him chuckle, but I didn’t hesitate as I started to leisurely make my way down the ice toward him. The stick felt like an extension of my arm, just like it always had, and the puck was well within my control as I set myself up to take the shot.
Boys like Cole always went for the big shot, but I’d always had more luck with tricky maneuvering. I didn’t take my focus off of him as I continued to close in. He watched me warily too, his eyes tracking my every movement as I got closer and closer.
With a sudden burst of speed, I raced forward. I saw my opening and slid to a stop as I took the shot. The puck blurred as it slid across the ice directly toward the gap. Cole was far quicker than I remembered though, and his pad came down on the puck, blocking it. I’d missed.
“No!” I groaned, placing my head against my stick. The move had been so close to working.
Cole pulled off his helmet. “One step closer to my kiss,” he said with a broad grin.
I wrinkled my nose at the comment and moved to take the helmet from him. “Still have to make the shot,” I replied.
“There’s no way I’m missing.”
“There’s no way I’m letting you score.”
A deep chuckle rumbled from his chest. “I think you secretly want me to though.”
I took the helmet and slammed it down on my head. “In your dreams, Kingston.”
He laughed and skated away with the puck, readying himself to take his shot. He looked good on the ice. His skill was nowhere close to my brother’s, but Cole wasn’t bad. The thought of my brother had me clenching my teeth. He’d never let me hear the end of it if I let Cole win our little contest.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d defended the goal. I used to practice with Lucas all the time. I was nowhere near good enough to play against him these days though.
As Cole lined himself up and slowly started skating toward me, I found my stomach tensing. I watched the puck darting back and forth as Cole dribbled it down the ice. My breath caught in my throat as I waited for him to take his shot. This was supposed to be a fun date, but instead I felt like I’d been thrown into a battle to the death. I couldn’t let Cole win this.
When he lifted his stick to take the shot, I started to move in the direction he was swinging, but it was a fake. A second later he darted forward, swerving the puck around me and using the backside of his stick to sink the shot.
My heart dropped as I saw the puck go over the line and hit the net. Cole let out a cheer and I turned to face him as he spun around on the ice in celebration, his hands raised above his head.
“What the hell was that?” I yelled, pulling the helmet from my head and dropping it on the ice.
“I believe that was me winning,” Cole replied, unable to keep the smile off his face.
My eyes narrowed on him. Cole was always fire and brawn when it came to hockey. That shot was nothing like him. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?” I asked, refusing to back down.
“I may have had a lesson with Lucas the other night,” he replied.
I gasped. “You cheated!”
“No, I won fair and square,” he laughed.
“I want a rematch.”
“Nobody likes a
sore loser, puddles.”
I scowled at him, making his grin grow larger. He skated in toward me so he was standing directly in front of me.
“You ready to pucker up?” he asked.
He was so damn cocky, and puckering up was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Fine,” I growled, making his eyes light up brightly. “But you have to close your eyes.”
“Whatever floats your boat,” he replied, before immediately shutting his eyes.
I smiled as I watched him standing there. I closed the distance between us, placing my hands on his firm chest as I lifted myself to get closer to his face. He shuddered under my touch, which made my stomach tighten. I had wanted revenge on him, but that one small response had me questioning everything. Did Cole really want me to kiss him? Or was this all just one big game to him?
Deciding it was the latter; I followed through on my plan. I lifted my lips toward his cheek and, with one swift movement, I ran my tongue up the side of his face. As his eyes flew open, I darted backward and skated away, grinning as I took in his reaction. He seemed stunned for a brief moment before his eyes grew bright with humor.
“That wasn’t a kiss,” he called after me.
I smiled at his response. “I agreed to a kiss if you won, Kingston. I never told you what kind of kiss. It’s not my fault if you don’t like my puppy kisses.”
I turned my back on him and skated to the edge of the rink where the rest of the film club was waiting with amused looks in their eyes. Cole’s laughter followed me as I made my way off the ice.
“That kiss doesn’t count! I’m holding you to that, Matthews,” I heard him yell. My stomach dipped with anticipation. I wasn’t sure if it was a promise or a threat. I think it was a little of both.
15
Madison
Hayley was buzzing when she picked me up for school on Monday. She was chatty at the best of times, but right now my best friend was talking like she’d smashed back three energy drinks before arriving at my house.
The Wrong Bachelor Page 14
