Chapter 1
Wesley Murphy, aka Wheels
“Who the hell has a company party on a Wednesday night?” Busy attaching my prosthetic foot, the dark eyes in the bathroom mirror narrow.
Grumbling, I put weight on my bum side and break out in a grin. Holy shit. The new prototype skate fits like a glove. Smiling, my reflection almost seems approachable.
Hell yeah, bring on the ice, baby.My heart racing, I button up my navy pea coat which hides the caroling rats on my ugly sweater. It may not win the contest, but the Dean Martin rodent cracks me up.
With a final deep breath, I steady my nerves. I’ve faced down insurgents with two-to-one odds. I can do this.
Damn it. Put your head in the game, soldier.When the firm chin, covered in dark stubble nods back, I give him an atta-boy.Then, stashing my regular leg in a locker, I clump out of the restroom and stroll to the ice as if I’d been doing it my whole life.
Like many of my coworkers, I take a few tentative glides to get my ankles used to the pressure. Enthused, I bend my knees, race around the circle, and spin to a stop, breathing heavy.
Oh my God, this is fucking awesome.Over my head, the Rockefeller tree twinkles with thousands of colored lights. Under it, the bronze Prometheus falls with his hands outstretched. Like parachuting out of a plane, my heart thumps with pure adrenaline as I skate across the ice.
I owe the para-athlete I met in Wisconsin. If I hadn’t seen his YouTube video, I’d be sitting this night out at the bar, feeling sorry for myself.
That was the old me. After my last surgery, I promised to be a better man, and well, here I am.
Smug in my abilities, I glide over to Suds and slap him on the back. Without a doubt, my southern bro has never put blade to ice.
Struggling to remain upright, he grabs the rail, and once he steadies, his eyes go wide as he stares at my left foot. “What the hell? Wheels, you sneaky bastard, did you grow a limb?”
“This prosthetic is incredible. I might even join a hockey league… Whoa there pal.” I grab his arm before he falls on his ass.
“Am I interrupting?” His gorgeous wife chuckles, retrieves her phone from a pocket, and glances my way. “Rose just arrived. Do you have her ticket?”
Oh shit. I almost forgot I promised my plus-one to her cousin. “Yeah. Tell her I’ll be right over. Wait. What does she look like?”
Suds dark eyes widen. “She’s your date and you didn’t check her out?”
Hell no, she’s not my anything.My mouth drops open and not wanting to be rude, say nothing.
Thankfully, his partner Sam, comes to my rescue. “Babe, remember? Rose begged Mia to find her an unused ticket. Wesley here, was gracious enough to share his.”
The pretty private detective pats my arm, leans in, and brushes her cool lips over my cheek. “You are very sweet.”
“No kissing my damn wife.” Suds pulls her away, topples back, and as he falls, I laugh so hard, I wobble and almost join him.
Seeing an opportunity, he kicks my blade, but I grew up on ice and easily back out of his reach.
“Boys, boys. Stop.” Sam points to a curvy woman with shoulder-length dark hair, a striking contrast to her bright crimson jacket.
“There she is now. Be good, you two. Wheels, I’ll let her know you’re here.”
Once she glides away, I stretch out my hand and help my friend stand. As I do, a long-forgotten warmth hits my chest. I can’t quite define the pull on my heart strings. I guess I never believed I’d ever again be physically on par with a brother SEAL. I’d forgotten what it was like.
“Be right back.” Leaving my pal clinging to a pole, I twist backwards and show off. A couple circles around the rink later, I skate to Sam, talking with the woman in red. When her cousin turns, I’m so damn surprised, my toe misses the ice and I hit the fence.
Huge brown eyes taser me with laser precision. Long lashes widen under perfectly sculpted brows. Lush lips made for kissing smile and the tops of her cheeks blush.
“Is that him?” The question is directed to Sam, but her gaze locks on mine.
I nod, afraid my voice will squeak which is fucking ridiculous because my balls dropped over twenty years ago. Eventually, a few synapses fire and I open my jacket to grab her ticket out of my inner pocket.
As my sweater bursts into a chorus of Jingle Rats, her snicker comes out more of a snort. “Oh my God. Those are awesome.”
