Page 174 of Offside Angle

I drag in a breath, then another, and Viktor’s smirk comes back a little softer this time.

“Better?”

“Define better.”

His hands tighten around mine, warm and familiar and exactly where I need them to be.

Somehow, that helps enough that I manage another breath.

Sort of.

I glance past Viktor toward the rows of chairs and finally let myself take everyone in properly. The entire team is here, every single one of them, scattered among family and friends with the mountains rising behind them. My eyes land on Mats near the front, where he’s holding Santi’s hand like he’s been doing it his whole life and looking straight back at me.

Then the bastard winks.

Before I can react, he lifts Santi’s hand and kisses his knuckles.

I mouth disgusting at him.

Mats mouths back jealous.

A grin breaks through before I can stop it, and when I look back toward Damian, he’s watching the exchange with the long-suffering expression of a man who has coached all of us through considerably worse behavior.

Fine.

I’m ready.

Or at least as ready as I’m ever going to be.

Damian clears his throat, and the last quiet conversations among the guests fade until there’s only the wind moving around us and the faint sound of water below the terrace.

“We’re not doing the long version,” he begins, dry as ever. “You all know why we’re here. These two somehow decided the rest of their lives needed paperwork and an audience, and I’m not going to stand here pretending the road here was smooth, because it wasn’t.”

A few smiles appear around the chairs.

“But they chose each other anyway,” Damian continues. “Repeatedly. Loudly. And with an alarming amount of property damage along the way.”

That gets an actual laugh, and Viktor’s mouth twitches while my eyes immediately start burning again.

Damian notices, because of course he does, and presses on before I can become a public incident.

“So we’re keeping this simple, because if I give either of you too much time to talk, one of you is going to cry and the other is going to say something inappropriate in front of the mountains.”

I make an offended noise, and Viktor squeezes my hands.

Damian looks between us.

“Cole. Viktor. You’re sure.”

It isn’t really a question.

I nod hard enough that my hair probably moves, while Viktor’s answer comes quieter beside me. “Yes.”

Damian almost smiles. “Good. Then let’s finish this before someone falls in the lake.” He turns toward me first. “Cole. You’re up.”

Excellent.

I open my mouth, close it, then try again while becoming painfully aware that my palms are probably sweating all over Viktor’s hands.