I’m thinking about the way she looked at me when I said inevitable.
And how badly I want to be right.
Chapter nine
Natalie
“You look nervous.”
“I don't.”
“You’re twisting your ring.”
I immediately stop twisting my ring.
Across from me, one of the WAGS grins like she has caught me doing something scandalous instead of sitting in the same family section I have sat in since Mason was drafted.
“I’m fine,” I say. “It’s just another game.”
It's not just another game.
The arena smells the same. Popcorn. Ice. That sharp, metallic chill that lives in hockey rinks. The music is loud. The lights sweep across the stands. Kids lean over the glass with signs.
I've been here a hundred times.
But tonight I'm not just Mason’s sister.
Tonight I'm Gabriel Shelly’s wife.
The word sits differently in this building.
Warm ups begin. The team pours onto the ice. Mason skates a tight circle near the blue line, loose and focused. I watch him automatically. Habit.
Then my eyes drift.
Gabriel finishes a hard stride along the boards, stops on a dime, sprays ice. He looks exactly like he always does before a game. Calm. Controlled. Contained.
He glances toward the family section.
Just for a second.
Our eyes meet.
It's quick. Almost nothing.
But it feels like everything.
"Okay, hold on," Mia says, turning toward me with a bright grin. Mia is married to Eli, our starting goalie, and she has fully embraced her role as social director of the WAG section. Eli took Mason under his wing when Mason first joined the Outlaws, which is how Mia and I ended up becoming friends in the first place. "We haven't properly congratulated you yet."
I blink. "You texted me congratulations."
"That was a text," she says. "This is in person. Totally different category."
Harper smiles warmly. Harper is Coach Hale's wife and somehow manages to be both calm and quietly intimidating at the same time. "She's right. Congratulations, Natalie."
"Thank you," I say, feeling a little shy under the attention.
Mia leans her elbows on the railing. "So how is married life? It's been what… a few days?"
