Fire & Ice
Page 30
“The Swedish national team.”
“Players’ . . . wait for it . . . Champion!”
Callie finally laughed. How could she not? Never in her whole life had she shared these moments with someone who seemed to relish them even more than she did. Over the last six and a half months, Max had gone from adversary to reluctant curling convert to Callie’s biggest fan. And in the two months since their reunion, both of them had gone on a tear, both professionally and personally. Team Mulligan had won four of the five bonspiels they’d entered while Max’s stellar and charismatic coverage of those events had helped secure preliminary funding for a documentary that would follow them through the entirety of next season and hopefully into their Olympic year.
More than that, though, they’d worked together, eaten together, traveled together, and virtually moved in together. While many of Max’s belongings were still in storage back in New York City, she’d turned in the keys to her hotel room and was spending all of her nights in Buffalo curled up at Callie’s side.
“What?” Max asked, as she pushed the camera button Callie had come to recognize as the zoom.
“Nothing.”
“Come on, your eyes got all dreamy. Were you remembering the moment in the sixth end when you played a triple takeout to sit two?”
She shook her head.
“The push back onto the button in the fourth?”
She bit her lip. If Max’s increasing fluency in curling speak wasn’t so damn endearing, she might have cut her off sooner.
“The shot you called that Brooke didn’t think would work, but totally did?”
“Nope.”
“You know,” Max finally said, “this is going to be a long, boring documentary if you refuse to reflect on your matches with me.”
“Lucky for your viewers the documentary doesn’t officially begin for another six months, and lucky for you the dreamy look you caught on camera had nothing to do with curling.”
“Oh.” Max managed to appear a little sheepish. “Care to elaborate?”
“Care to turn off the recording?”
Max must have heard something in Callie’s tone that caught her attention, because she pressed another button and snapped the lens cap back in place. “Tell me, please.”
“I got a little dreamy thinking about how much I love having you with me every night. It doesn’t matter if we’re working, or traveling, or trying to catch up on sleep, or—”
“Which we are very bad at,” Max cut in.
“Only because you keep looking at me the way you are right now, even when we’re both exhausted.”
The corner of Max’s mouth quirked up. “Hey, I tried. I put the camera between us and everything, but you’re in nothing but a very thin hotel towel. It’s not as if you’re projecting the air of someone who wants to spend the evening reviewing video from her triumphant performance or plotting the opening scenes of the film.”
She pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“Okay then.” Max shrugged. “I never really expected to be the half of this relationship who was more interested in talking about curling, you know.”
Callie laughed lightly. “No, and don’t get me wrong, that makes me almost stupidly happy. I don’t want to rain on your parade, but you do know today’s win does very little to help our national ranking.”
“But it helps a bit.”
“We’re certainly on a winning streak, but the season is practically over, and we are still going to start the next one in basically the same position we did last year.”
Max leaned a little closer, those gray eyes filled with focus and a hint of defiance. “Except for one small difference.”
Callie arched an eyebrow.
“This time you’ve got me with you.”
“My, someone is awfully fond of herself.”
“I am,” Max admitted without a hint of chagrin, “and I’m more than fond of you, but more importantly, I’m fond of us, you and me together, and how far we’ve come. Think of who I was the first day at the club.”
Callie smiled immediately.
“Okay, okay.” Max laughed. “You don’t have to enjoy the memory of me busting my ass quite that much.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.”
“Only to prove a point,” Max explained with an earnestness that never failed to pull Callie closer. “We grew so much over the course of the last season. We’re not the same people we were the day we met. We’re not even close, and if we could come that far in the last six months, imagine what we can do in the next six months, and the six months after that. Even if we grow only half as much, even if we’re only half again as strong or committed every six months, there’s no limit to what we can do, both on our own and collectively.”
Callie couldn’t resist the passion in Max’s voice. It stirred her in more ways than she could fathom, and instead of growing immune to it over time she found herself more captivated with each ardent speech. She didn’t care how hot Max burned. She wanted only to draw closer to the flame.
Releasing one arm from its tight grip on the towel, Callie gently cupped Max’s cheek in her palm and pulled her closer. Running her thumb along smooth skin, she stared deeply into those intense eyes. “You really believe all that, don’t you?”
Max leaned into her touch, but never broke her gaze as she said, “How can I not, after everything? Callie, you and I are fire and ice. If we can fall in love and make it work, nothing is impossible.”
What could she say to that kind of perfection?
Nothing.
Or at least nothing she couldn’t say better with a kiss.
As she wrapped her arms around Max fully, the towel pooled on the floor at their feet.
Acknowledgments
This book is another sports romance. Like Heart of the Game, Edge of Glory, and Love All, I combined my love of love and my love of sports to hopefully give you something compelling on both fronts. Unlike those other books, though, Fire and Ice showcases a sport that is both more and less familiar, in that curling is more familiar to me than snowboarding or tennis, because I actually play it regularly, and likely less familiar to many of you, who judging by statistics probably don’t. Curling generally gets a blip of notoriety every four years during the winter Olympics, then disappears off the sports radar for most Americans. I am not most Americans. Through the initiatives of a small but enthusiastic curling community in Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls, Canada, I got hooked on the sport about five years ago. I am a proud member of a constantly evolving roster of the Lusty Shams, who play once a week all winter at the Buffalo Curling Club. The Shams are not what anyone would call good, but we have a lot of fun, and more importantly my experiences with them have taught me so much about the amazing community and culture that surround the sport of curling. I am honored to be able to share that world with all of you, dear readers.
I want to thank the curling community for all the love and welcome, support, and positive energy you all have surrounded me with. From Danielle Buchbinder, the very first curler I ever spoke to, who continues to build me up in the sport even when I play terribly, to all the curlers at the Buffalo Curling Club who offer tips, encouragement, and food after matches, I feel blessed to be part of such an affirming circle. Seriously, you all are the best. To my Shams, Dustin, Anne, Susan, Melissa, Bitty, and now Jackie, thank you for letting me be your skip. We might not win many matchups, but to me you are the best. To the professional curlers, who so willingly give their time and energy to answer questions and hold workshops, and even accept phone calls from writers they’ve never heard of, I don’t know any other sport where top-tier athletes are so willing and open with fans, despite juggling so much in their own lives. I especially want to thank John Shuster for taking some time amid a busy weekend to talk to Jackson about a few of the finer points of his slide, all of which I took copious notes on, and some of which appear in this book. And I owe an even greater debt of gratitude to Aileen Geving, wh
o took a considerable amount of time during a curling season and impending motherhood to talk with me at length, not only about the nuts and bolts of curling, but the day-to-day life and struggles of a professional curler. Your insights helped take Callie from a concept to a compelling character and gave life to a broader world I couldn’t have accessed on my own. I simply cannot thank you enough.
Then, as much as I love my team on the ice, I also love my team off of it. From my ever-awesome beta readers Barb and Toni to my kick-ass substantive editor Lynda Sandoval, every single one jumped headfirst into the world of curling and the details of these characters. My Bywater team—Salem, Marianne, Elizabeth, Nancy, and Kelly—all added their eagle eyes and their enthusiastic support to this project. I kept waiting for someone to say, “Is a romance centered around ice and brooms really the best idea?” but none of them did. Ann McMan, fabulous designer and Lammy-winning author, not only made one book cover, but two (a curling cover within a romance cover) because she is the best. Thank you to Will Banks, aka Big Papi, for my author photo and for all-around excellence. Thank you to my fellow authors, who keep me on my toes and help me continue to refine my craft and my opinions on writing, especially Jenn and Anna. Thank you also to my final line of defense, my proofreaders, who never fail to see things everyone else has missed.
And thank you, as always, to the most wonderful friends and family in the world. There are too many of you all to possibly name, and isn’t that a lovely problem to have? I am blessed to be surrounded by love, the bulk of which comes from Jackson and Susie. Jackie, I have loved watching you take to the game of curling with the same gusto and intensity you apply to everything. Sharing this game with you has been pure joy. And Susie, my vice, my partner, my first reader, and the only opinion that ever really matters, none of this would be worth doing without you. Thank you for standing by me, come what may.
Finally, thank you to the One who has given me so many things to be thankful for, Soli Deo Gloria.
About the Author
Rachel Spangler never set out to be an award-winning author. She was just so poor during her college years that she had to come up with creative ways to entertain herself, and her first novel, Learning Curve, was born out of one such attempt. She was sincerely surprised when it was accepted for publication and even more shocked when it won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Debut Author. She also won a Goldie for subsequent novels Trails Merge and Perfect Pairing. Since writing is more fun than a real job and so much cheaper than therapy, Rachel continued to type away, leading to the publication of The Long Way Home, LoveLife, Spanish Heart, Does She Love You, Timeless, Heart of the Game, Perfect Pairing, Close to Home, Edge of Glory, In Development, Love All, Full English, and Spanish Surrender. She is a four-time Lambda Literary Award Finalist, an Independent Publisher (IPPY) medalist, and the 2018 recipient of the Alice B medal. She plans to continue writing as long as anyone, anywhere, will keep reading.
Rachel and her partner, Susan, are raising their son in Western New York, where during the winter they make the most of the lake-effect snow on local ski slopes. In the summer, they love to travel and watch their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of the season, Rachel always makes time for a good romance, whether she’s reading it, writing it, or living it.
For more information, visit Rachel online at www.rachelspangler.com or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Other Titles by Rachel Spangler
Learning Curve
Trails Merge
The Long Way Home
LoveLife
Spanish Heart
Does She Love You
Timeless
Heart of the Game
Perfect Pairing
Close to Home
Edge of Glory
In Development
Love All
Full English
Spanish Surrender
Bywater Books
Copyright © 2019 Rachel Spangler
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Ebook ISBN: 978-1-61294-164-6
Bywater Books First Edition: October 2019
Cover designer: Ann McMan, TreeHouse Studio
Back cover photo credit: Walt Givens
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This novel is a work of fiction. All characters and events described by the author are fictitious. No resemblance to real persons, dead or alive, is intended.
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