Heated Rivalry (Game Changers, #2)

by Rachel Reid

But now...my father is sick.” “Sick? Like...cancer?” Ilya shook his head. “No. Alzheimer’s.” “Oh. Shit. I’m sorry.” Ilya nodded. There. Now someone knew.

crying.

“and on top of everything, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you and I don’t know what to do about it.”

dør i love him

“Should you really be alone right now?” Shane asked. “I am not alone,” Ilya said. “You are here now, yes?”

omfg i love them so much

Shane laughed, and his nose crinkled. The freckles got all bunched up under his glasses, and Ilya nearly died.

“No. He just wasn’t...” Ilya needed to hear it. “Wasn’t what?” Shane clenched his eyes shut and said, “You. He wasn’t you.” Ilya damn near lost it. Shane was going to ruin him, saying things like that.

“I’m fucked,” he murmured in Russian. “I am so fucking in love and it’s horrible.”

Shane kissed the tips of two fingers and reached out and touched them to the screen. And Ilya’s heart fucking stopped.

“Mine.” Ilya’s breath tickled Shane’s skin when he spoke the single word. “Yours,” Shane said dreamily. “All of this. For two weeks. Is mine.” Forever, Shane wanted to say. Forever if you ask.

“I love you.” Shane froze. And then Ilya froze. “Holy shit,” Shane whispered. It wasn’t how he had meant to respond. “I...” Ilya’s eyes were so wide and so scared. “I love you too,” Shane said.

“Irina.” Ilya hadn’t said her name in so long, it felt strange in his mouth. “Why?” “I was just thinking.” He propped himself up on an elbow. “The charity we start, I think we should start a hockey school. Like, we could have summer hockey camps in Ottawa and Montreal.” “And we give the money away?” “Yeah. I think we should give the money to mental health organizations. Maybe...suicide prevention?”

crying

“Ya lyublyu tebya.”

“I have been with lots of women. That was not...fake. But...” He looked at Shane, and Shane held his breath. “I have only been in love with one person.”

“And when I retire,” Ilya said, “after I have won twelve Stanley Cups and thirteen MVP awards—” “The hell you will.” “And you have been retired for, like, eight years already because you got very bad at hockey...” Shane laughed. “Okay.” “Then I will bring you to that dock out there. I will have hundreds of candles all over it...” “That sounds like a fire hazard.” “Is on the water, Hollander. Fucking relax. Will be beautiful, you will love it. The candles. The lake. The full moon.” “Oh, is it a clear night?” “Yes. Of course. And I will get on one knee—” “Ilya—”

OMG

“I want to have a life with you. I know it will be awkward, and will still involve a lot of sneaking around for a while, but I’m playing the long game here. So, yeah. Whatever it takes, I’m in.”

Baby steps, Ilya reminded himself.

listening to baby steps by olivia dean

Shane’s face got stern and adorable. “Behave,” he warned. In response, Ilya kissed his forehead. “Always, moy lyubovnik.”