by Jacob Chance
“Since this morning?” she teases.
“Yep. As soon as you left for class, I already missed you.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet. I missed you too. I can’t believe we’re almost done with college. Just a few more finals and all this will be over.” She gestures at the buildings around us.
“We won’t be over. As long as I have you, that’s all that matters. The rest is insignificant.”
“I know. But I’m a little melancholy today. We’re on the precipice of change and it’s kind of scary for me.”
“I get scared too. I just know that you and I are in a great place and everything will work out how it’s supposed to.” I step back, taking hold of her hand. “I want to show you something inside.”
“Okay.”
Entering the lobby, I lead her up one flight of stairs and stop. “Close your eyes and don’t open them until I say to.”
“Oookay.” She giggles nervously. “Don’t let me fall over the balcony. I can barely walk with my eyes open. I don’t know how you expect me to do this with them closed.”
“Stop it. You know I’m right here to keep you safe.” Walking backward, I hold both of her hands and lead her down the walkway between the lower and upper levels of seats. When we’ve walked far enough I stop and turn Ava to face the ice.
“Can I open them?”
“Be patient, tiny dancer.” I place her hands on the metal balcony railing in front of her.
“Fine,” she huffs playfully. Wiping my damp palms on my jeans, I inhale a long, slow breath. Fuck. I’m so nervous my hands are sweating and shaking.
With my eyes locked on her face, I say, “Open your eyes.” Her lids flick open and she looks out at the ice. There’s a message waiting that I’ve spelled out in hockey equipment and hockey pucks.
I love you. Will you marry me?
Ava turns to me with her lips parted in a surprised ‘oh’ and I go down on one knee on the cement floor. Fishing her ring from my back pocket, I hold it up between us. The diamond center stone glints in the light and she covers her mouth with her hand.
“So what do you say? Will you marry me?”
“Yes.” Her answer is muffled.
“What’s that?” I question with a laugh.
She lowers her hand, laughing. “I said yes. A thousand yeses.” I stand, catching her as she throws herself into my arms. My eyes squeeze shut as I hold her close. I can’t believe she’s mine for good. What did I do to deserve so much happiness?
She draws back and looks up at me through tear drenched eyes. A smile curves her bow shaped lips. “Can I have my ring now?”
“Oh damn.” I chuckle, realizing I’m still pinching the platinum band between two of my fingers. Taking hold of her left hand, I slip the ring over the tip of her finger, sliding it all the way down. It’s a perfect fit.
She gasps with delight. “It’s beautiful.”
“Those two emeralds match your eyes exactly.” The center diamond is flanked by green stones on either side.
“Oliver, it’s gorgeous. I love you so much.”
“With graduation coming in a few weeks, I wanted you to know how serious I am about you… about us. You and me, we’re forever, tiny dancer. Wherever you go, I'll follow.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “Wherever we go, we go together.”
Enjoy ICED?
Want to find out how Clancy and Tenley found their Happy Ever After?
Read on for the first chapter of their surprise pregnancy romance: CHECKED
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PENALTY | DRIVE | COACH | TACKLE | JOCK | SCORE
They call him ‘Wilde Man’. Rumor has it he’s an animal on the ice and between the sheets.
Like the rest of the female population, I’ve been crushing on Clancy Wilde, the captain of Boston University’s hockey team, since the first time I saw him. Big, blond, and charming, he ticks all the boxes.
When we find ourselves at a wedding, drunk and flirting, I know I can finally check this tattooed, bad boy, hockey player off my wish list.
One night is all it was meant to be, until I see two pink lines on the pregnancy test.
How did the notch on my belt turn into a ball and chain?
Read on for the first chapter of CHECKED
Available on AMAZON and FREE with Kindle Unlimited
Chapter One
Tenley
August
Leaning back against the bar, I sip my wine and glance around the poolside wedding reception. My friend just married the man of her dreams and I can’t even land a date with a decent guy. Smiling faces surround me while couples dance closely and contentedly in each other’s arms. Romance fills the air and I’m standing here drowning my sorrows, contemplating my love life. Or should I say lack thereof?
I haven’t gone on a date in three months. That’s quite a dry spell for a twenty-one-year-old woman. The guy who took me out must have had a change of heart. He was completely into me for weeks, and in the span of two hours his behavior did a sudden one-eighty. He went from flirting madly to thrusting me in the friend zone so fast I got whiplash. To this day, I still wonder what happened.
Was it something I said? Or something I did?
Fuck me. My thoughts are beginning to sound like a cheesy eighties rock ballad.
Turning around, I set my wine glass down and lean my forearms on the bar while I stare out at the beautiful northern Virginia sunset. Painting the sky with vivid slashes of orange, pink, and gold, it’s breathtaking, making it difficult to feel down when there’s so much beauty surrounding me. And the gentle whisper of the evening breeze wafting over my bare shoulders feels like a reassuring caress.
Relax. Loosen up. That’s what I imagine it’s saying to me.
I don’t want to be a killjoy on this happy occasion. It’s not that I’m jealous when people find their happily ever after, like my friend Jane did. She and her new husband are perfect for each other. The two of them belong together and I want her to have nothing but the best. I just wish I had some viable dating options on the horizon, so I could feel better about my own romantic future. I’d even be satisfied if something would happen to give me hope that I won’t be alone forever.
Send me a sign, universe. I’m ready.
A tan, masculine forearm lands on the bar next to mine.
Damn that was quick. Is this my sign?
My eyes wander along the muscular, veined length, stopping when they reach the neatly rolled up shirtsleeves. Turning my head, my gaze continues the trek up his crisp, white, fitted shirt. Snug around his flexed bicep, I wonder if he has any tattoos under that material?
A broad shoulder caps it off so nicely, I’m afraid to look any higher. Whoever this is standing next to me, there’s no way his face can possibly measure up to the rest of him. Why ruin perfection?
Curiosity wins out, though.
Oh well, here goes nothing.
His thick neck is tanned a golden brown and his sculpted lips are twisted into a derisive smirk telling me he’s aware of my thorough perusal. The higher my eyes climb, the faster my heart gallops.
Oh shit.
I know those lips.
I recognize that sexy smirk.
Please be wrong.
Sweeping my gaze up, I connect with roguish hazel orbs. Fuck me. Of all times for me to be right.
Clancy Wilde, my best friend’s cousin, is next to me in the flesh… in his very sexy, two percent body fat flesh.
I let out a gasp before I can hold the sound in.
He chuckles deeply, making my stomach toss turbulently, like rough water on the high seas.
“Something wrong, Tenley?” he questions knowingly. Fuck me. Unfortunately, he’s aware I’ve always harbored a huge crush on him.
Licking my dry lips, I pray my voice still works. “Not a thing.” I aim a tight, close-lipped smile his way and pluck my wine
glass from the bar. Tipping it back, I drink down the remainder in one long gulp. One hand raises signaling for the bartender before the other can place the empty glass down.
He sniggers, as if he knows the reason for my discomfort, and my need for more wine. But is it really a secret? He makes me feel off balance and flushed, unlike my usual confident self.
What girl wouldn’t be uncomfortable in this situation?
It feels so grade school that he knows I think he’s ridiculously hot. But I’m pretty sure every girl in the free world feels that way about him.
“Wine?” he arches a dark blond brow and tips his head toward my glass.
“What about it?”
“I just never imagined you as a wine drinker.”
Turning to face him, I lean my arm on the bar and prop my chin on my palm. “What have you imagined me drinking then?” I can’t wait to hear this one.
“Something with a little more kick, a little more fire. It needs to have a hint of sour and plenty of sweet. Something that mimics your personality.”
He thinks I’m fiery and sweet?
“I’m your cousin’s best friend. You live in Boston and I’m in Washington D.C. We’ve probably seen each other a total of ten times over the years. How strange is it that you think of me at all?”
“Ten times? You’ve been counting, Tenley?”
Fucker.
“You wish,” I sass back. I take another sip of my wine, cooling down the heat that being in his company always brings.
Clancy Wilde is my most-embarrassing secret. A frequent topic in my high school journal, I recorded all the cringe worthy facts about him with my favorite purple pen in looping handwriting and i’s dotted with hearts.
Thank God he’s never read the entries or knows of their existence. I’ve no doubt he’d love to see his name at the top of my ‘wish list’ of guys I’d like to be with. It’s a short list, but he’s still in the top spot.
“Say I’m going to go along with your theory about my drink, what would you suggest?” Gripping the stem, I hold out my empty glass.
His fingers close around the rim, sliding it across the bar while his eyes study me carefully. Raking his teeth over his bottom lip, the action calls my attention to their full shape. He probably did that on purpose.
Returning my focus upward, I catch his amused expression. Yep. He did. The bastard.
“Devil’s Advocate.”
“Is that the name of the drink, or are you playing one?”
He smiles. “That’s the name of the drink. Although, that’s also one of my favorite parts to play.”
Okay, I’ll go along with your game. “What’s in it?”
“Fireball whiskey, spiced rum, apple schnapps, and lemon-lime soda.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That sounds horrible.”
“I figured you wouldn’t try it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.” He shrugs. “It’s just that this drink is probably too much for you to handle.”
I rise to my full height and narrow my eyes at him. “I can handle more than you could imagine, buddy.”
He grins and looks at me appraisingly. “Can you now? I’d like to see exactly how much you can handle.”
Wait a minute.
Is he still talking about this drink? Or is he flirting with me?
My stomach tumbles madly at the thought of him being interested in me.
Turning, I raise my hand signaling the bartender once more. He ambles over, but before I can order, Clancy beats me to it.
“Can I get a Devil’s Advocate for her and a Jameson neat for me?”
“Sure thing,” he replies, before moving toward the clean glasses.
“Have you ever tried this drink?” I ask, crossing my arms over my chest.
“I have, actually. One of my cousins went to bartending school and I helped him out by trying all the drinks he made.”
“I’m sure that was a real hardship for you.” I roll my eyes. What young guy wouldn’t jump at the opportunity for free booze?
“You can’t imagine.” He shakes his head. “But that’s the kind of guy I am. I’ll jump right in there and take the bull by the horns when no one else wants to.” His tone is teasing, but he probably thinks he’s all that.
And he is.
Tall and thick-chested with shoulder length blond hair, he can get any girl he wants and probably has had most of them.
He’s captain of the hockey team at Boston University and, from what I’ve heard, an animal on the ice. And if I had to guess, I’d say between the sheets too.
They don’t call him ‘Wilde Man’ for nothing.
I’ve heard too much about his love ‘em and leave ‘em ways from Sophie. I know she wanted me informed so I would keep my distance.
What she doesn’t understand is being aware of his hook ups doesn’t turn me off like you’d think it would. It makes me assume he must be really good between the sheets from all that practice.
Clancy is the worst kind of player there is because he’s also a nice guy. And it would be all too easy to fall for him without meaning to.
He leaves a trail of broken hearts behind him wherever he goes. Even I’m susceptible to his handsome face and charming personality.
And let’s not forget that hard body.
The bartender returns, placing my drink on a napkin in front of me. Eyeing the beverage skeptically, I can’t help but wonder what it will taste like.
Golden in color, it looks harmless enough, but Clancy rattled off the liquor content, so I know it’s going to pack a punch.
His Jameson gets set on the bar and he immediately raises the glass to his lips for a sip. “Come on. Don’t make me drink alone.” He tips his chin toward my drink. “Try it. I’m interested in hearing what you think.”
Uncrossing my arms, I hesitantly close my fingers around the tumbler. It’s cold against my skin.
“Go on. It’s not going to bite you. At least not right away.” He laughs.
It’s his amusement at my expense that goads me into raising the glass to my lips and knocking it back in one continuous gulp. I don’t stop until every drop is gone. Raising my head, my empty hand lands on my tingling lips.
I try not to cringe from the sweet aftertaste in my mouth, followed by a fiery burn down my esophagus and into my stomach. It feels like I swallowed a tiny fire breathing dragon.
The ice in the empty glass clinks together as I place the tumbler on the bar. A weary warmth envelops my limbs, instantly relaxing me.
Clancy watches for a reaction. “So? What did you think?”
Hmm. What do I think?
“It was better than I thought it would be. It’s definitely sweet, almost too much so. And it feels a little like I swallowed fire.” Licking my lips, I taste a bit of the lemon-lime mixed with the apple, or maybe I’m just imagining it. Either way, it’s not as unpleasant as I expected.
“The second one will taste even better,” he states.
“Second one? I don’t think my stomach can take another. It might already be flaming.”
“Trust me. I know what I’m talking about.” He winks and gestures to the bartender for two more drinks.
“Okay, but this is the last one. I don’t want to get drunk and feel like crap tomorrow morning. I plan on making the most of this weekend.”
“You mentioned before that you can handle a lot, so I think you’ll be fine.”
He’s so annoying for throwing my own words back at me. I’m going to have this one last drink and after that, if Clancy doesn’t find somewhere else to be, I will.
I’m not going to let him weasel his way past my defenses, or into my panties, like so many girls do.
I’m smarter than they are.
But do I want to be?
Our drinks get pushed along the shiny bar top toward us. Clancy tucks two twenty dollar bills down into the tip cup and hands my glass to me. He picks up his own and holds it up in the air.
; “I think a toast is in order.”
“Why?”
“Because this is a happy occasion and it’s the first time we’ve had a chance to talk in a long time.” He leans closer.
“I’m not sure what you mean. We’ve never really talked much.”
“Well, maybe we should rectify that.” His voice lowers becoming impossibly deep.
I angle my torso toward him. “Okay. Whatever floats your boat, dude.” My words contradict my body language.
“Don’t sound so happy at the prospect. Look, I’ll even make the toast, all you have to do is say cheers. You can handle that, right?” I shake my hand like I’m holding a pom pom and he grins. “To friendship… close friendship.”
I mutter, “Cheers.” And ignore his innuendo.
There.
My duty is done.
Now to finish this drink and get away from all this suffocating machismo before I collapse under the weight of it. I don’t want to be one of those girls who give in easily. He should have to put in some effort for a change. I drink down this Devil’s Advocate slightly slower than the first one, but when all is said and done, it’s still pretty fast. I want to get away from Clancy ASAP.
No. I need to.
He’s looking a little too attractive and he smells amazing. I’ve been breathing shallowly for the past ten minutes trying to convince myself I was imagining it, but I’m not.
Trying to resist him after wanting him for so long is taking more restraint than I have. How do I ignore this opportunity when I may never get the chance to be with him again?
Setting the empty glass down, I lean toward him and sniff. He smells like sex in the woods. Okay, he looks like sex. But he smells like a combination of pine and wood, very manly.
“Did you just smell me?”
“No. My allergies have been bothering me and I was just making sure my nasal passages are clear.”