I check with Suzanne in the kitchen.
She gives me two thumbs up. “I’d be glad to!”
“Thank you!”
When I step out of the kitchen, Jackson lifts his eyebrows. “Well?”
“Fine,” I say as I toss my apron on the counter. “But only because you need me out there.”
“I wouldn’t really sayneed…”
I flick his arm, and he yelps.
“Okay, okay, I need you out there. Comeon,” he says, rubbing his arm.
Once we’re outside, I hurry to the house and get a better coat, and we head to the rink the Whitmans built earlier this winter.
When we arrive, everyone’s already on the ice. Everyone’s so loud that I think maybe I heard their laughter from my house, and it’s not just our crew. People from town are on the sidelines, and Tully is out there trying to convince more people to play. It’s gotten dark early, but floodlights cast long shadows across the snowbanks. The cold air bites my cheeks. Goldie and Erin rush over, hugging me. Ava’s not far behind, and we all hug her as well.
“I’m so glad Jackson talked you into leaving early,” Goldie says excitedly. “We didn’t want you to miss a minute out here.”
Just then, Jackson waves for me to hurry up.
“He’s already in full coach mode,” I gripe. “Is it too late to join the Whitman team?”
Erin snorts. “Fat chance. Jackson has big plans for us.” She winks. “That’s right, baby. I’m on your team this time.”
My eyes find Camden. He glides his feet across the ice, broom in hand, a confident smirk on his face. My stomach somersaults. He notices me right away, and his grin sharpens.
“About time, Fair,” he calls, his voice carrying across the rink. “I was starting to think you were scared to face me again.”
I roll my eyes, trying to sound nonchalant as I step onto the ice. “In your dreams, Whitman. I can’t pass up a chance of whipping your ass.”
His eyes widen and he slides my way, close enough that his shoulder brushes against mine. He dips his head, his breath fogging in the freezing air, and murmurs low enough for only me to hear, “I’d like to see you try.”
The shiver that runs through me has nothing to do with the cold, and his grin tells me that he knows it.
Between Jackson and Tully, we don’t waste any time. Jackson barks out what he thinks our strategy should be, and I nod, bumping his fist. Erin and her dad, Jason, are on our team, and my eyes widen when my dad hurries out on the ice.
“Dad? I didn’t know you were coming into town!” I rush over to hug him really quick.
“I couldn’t miss broomball!”
Once we’re all in place, the gameofficiallystarts.
The moment the ball hits the ice, Camden is there, moving with ease, that grin never leaving his face. He swipes the ball away from Noah, cuts right past me, and then slows down—on purpose.
“You gonna stop me, Fair?” His voice is a low taunt, warm even in the sharp night air.
I dart in, steal the ball, and whoop in triumph as I skid across the ice. “Already did, Whitman.”
He laughs as he chases after me, but I lose my footing on a patch of ice and stumble. Before I can hit the ground, his hand shoots out, steadying me. For a second, we’re too close, my breath catching, the world narrowing to the heat of his hand on my arm.
Then Jackson yells from across the rink, “Juju, over here!”
I move away from Camden, cheeks burning, and bolt toward the goal like I meant to all along.
We go head-to-head the rest of the night. Every time I snag the ball, Camden’s there, cutting me off. Every time he gets an opening, I swoop in to steal it back. Our little duels on the ice turn into a game within the game.
