Breakdancing.
In the middle of a medical fundraising event.
Levi’s jaw drops, and then he’s wheeling toward them, arms flailing and losing his mind. The mascots surround him and hype him up, and the music shifts up a notch.
Chase Walton yells “MASCOT-OFF!” at the top of his lungs, and a dance battle begins.
I laugh before I can stop myself, hands pressed to my mouth as the room explodes. Levi laughs so hard he has to grab the edge of his wheelchair to stay upright.
The mascots take turns with coordinated spins and ridiculous wiggles, the Miners’ mascot twerking so hard his helmet falls off. A phone flashes to my left, and I realize it’s Chase again, filming, and a second later, he’s waving his phone in the air.
“Zo Face! You need to post this on socialsright now,” he shouts into his phone speaker, clearly filming this dance-off live for someone to see.
People crowd in, snapping photos and videos. Someone starts chanting, and someone else climbs onto a chair. The mascots ham it up, spinning, moonwalking, mock-arguing over who’s cooler.
“Holy shit,” Heidi mutters as she walks up beside me, looking down at her phone. “This is going viral.”
I can’t speak, my eyes darting to Reid’s across the crowd.
He remembered. Not just that Levi liked hockey, but that he loves mascots. That he knows their names and all their quirks, and their stupid little dances between periods.
Reid didn’t just bring athletes, he built something special forLevi.
I watch him across the room, leaning casually against a high table, his arms folded as he watches Levi with a small, satisfiedcurve to his mouth. He’s not soaking up any of the attention, he’s just watching the kid have the time of his life.
I make my way over, threading through the crowd.
“You didn’t,” I murmur when I reach him, standing to his side to watch the continued chaos.
“Didn’t what?”
“Coordinate a multi-sport mascot ambush.”
He takes a sip of champagne. “Can’t take all the credit. Dynamite’s mascot owes Jake a favor, and the Miners’ guy plays poker with Walton in the off-season.”
I stare at him. “You made a four-team mascot dance-off happen. Do you even hear yourself?”
Reid shrugs, unbothered. It takes all my effort not to let the sound that slips from my mouth turn into something dangerous.
“You’re unreal,” I say quietly.
He turns slowly, his eyes meeting mine.
“So are you.”
My breath catches, and I’m not quite sure how to reply, but before I can even begin to figure it out, Jake appears and drags Reid toward a bidding table. I step back as they disappear into the crowd, and I find myself standing alone, heart skittering in my chest.
The auction starts on a high I don’t think anyone could’ve manufactured if they tried.
Items that should’ve gone for a few thousand skyrocket within seconds, catching the bids of athletes who aren’t even here but saw the viral mascot video online, and are now tuning in to bid remotely.
A signed Storm stick becomes a competitive blood sport between Chase Walton and his rival Jordan Boucher, both throwing money around like lunatics as they drive the bid higher and higher just to outdo each other.
A “dinner with the Miners” package turns into chaos when one of their forwards throws in box seats and a locker room tour on a dare. Someone bids twenty grand on a custom jersey just because Viktor Karlsson muttered, “That is embarrassing,” but then refused to be outdone.
The room feeds on itself. Every cheer gets louder, every bid pushes higher.
I stand near the edge of it all, watching numbers climb on the screen until—
