“There is a public record.”
He laughs. “Yeah, except for tracking down who owned the place for me to buy the thing. I had to call my investment guy and hire a lawyer to untangle it all.”
We take our seats and Roe gives me a quick kiss that I feel to my toes.
“Stan’s legacy would be an amazing addition to what I have in my head.”
I slide my hand up his thigh. “You can show me, you know.” Somehow that’s easier to say here than when we’re alone.
“Yeah?”
“Of course, Rory.” His hand catches mine, stilling it on his thigh.
“Any more of that and I’ll be indecent,” he warns. “You turn me the fuck on, and you know it.”
I watch the players, but I can’t help the smile on my face. It’s nice to know I can affect him too.
Liz joins us soon after, and we watch Jamie and the team collect another win, and then they all stay for me to collect my ice-sculpting award. I appreciate the cheers, although I can feel my cheeks go red at the attention when I have to walk out on the carpet they placed on the ice to collect it.
Something warm spreads in my chest, and maybe Roe and Jamie were right about this.
There’s a dinner afterward, downtown, and by the time we get home, I’m still smiling. Roe wraps me in his arms as Jamie runs up to his room to shower and hit the bed.
“Come on,” he whispers, moving me toward the bedroom. “I want to be sore from you when I play tomorrow night.”
I squeeze his tight ass over his pants. “Are you sure that’s the best idea?”
“I absolutely am. Keeps me focused.”
I laugh, because that possessive streak in me likes knowing that when people are watching him on the ice, he’ll still be feeling me.
***
The next night, as Jamie and I take our seats back at The Keep, I take the few knowing looks and nods from the locals in stride. I have on Iceguard gear, but not Monroe’s jersey.
The place is dressed up for the Iceguard, even the lighting brighter than it normally is for Jamie’s games or even a practice. And the crowd is bigger, of course.
When the team comes out for the warmup skate, a few of the guys who were out at the house give me and Jamie some waves as they come around. Benji is still playing with the Knights, but the team looks good. Roe throws us a bright smile as he skates in a smooth arc, like he was born to be right where he is. The closer the clock ticks down to game time, though, the more focused he becomes.
Roe told Jamie once that he has a very specific rotation for his warmup, a little bit of knowing what gets him loose for a game and a bit of superstition as well. We watch as he stretches and skates the ice, taking a few shots on goal too.
Then, with only a little fanfare of calling out the first line and the national anthem, the puck drops.
I’m not sure if this is better or worse than watching Jamie play. At one point, Jamie squeezes my leg when Roe goes to the boards, but he comes off with his trademark smirk and a bit of trash talk I can’t hear.
The game is too short. I only just get adjusted to seeing how Roe flows over the ice; all that grace and power is heady. It’s also too long. I want to share this with him. How amazing the game is—and he is. How he makes the team come alive with the way he intervenes with the refs, skates off a player that gets too hot at the other team or jumps in to take over when needed to get everyone in line.
This is not the hotshot Roe Monroe of the viral clips and highlights Jamie and Arch were watching at the house. This is a seasoned pro. Confident. Collected.
He plays a hell of a game. Two points, one assist among other impressive stats.
Jamie is jumping out of his skin to talk to him after the game, so I let him wait for Roe at the end of the player’s tunnel, and they keep up a steady stream of chatter about the game all the way home.
“Just a sec,” Roe says, frowning at his buzzing phone as he takes it from his pocket just as we walk into the house. I wave him off, wandering out to my workshop. I’m guessing Jamie has a few thousand other observations and questions to share once Roe’s off the phone anyway.
Plus, I can’t stop thinking about what Stan said last night, and I wonder if I’ve always been carving this miniature set for Roe. Hell, I don’t even know if it’s something he would want in a place like his bar. Somehow that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is what it represents, and looking at all the miniature pieces of the town something clicks into place.
Roe helped me fall back in love with Fox River Falls. To see it and the people with new eyes.
