Skating Towards Danger: A Mafia Hockey Romance – Dante’s Book (Mafia Hockey Series 2)

“I swear if he doesn’t win the cup after being undefeated for years, I’m going to spend the rest of my life winding him up,” Roman says as he comes and stands beside me, making me snort before I grin wide as the Jaguars skate back onto the ice for the final period of the game. The crowd goes wild as the announcer calls out the last five players with it being their last game, all five retiring after six years with the team.

“Now your goalie, playing for the final time tonight, Rhett!” the announcer shouts, and the women scream. I grin clapping as he skates out and blows a kiss to them all.

“Fucking man whore at his best,” Roman mutters before his mama smacks the back of his head and snaps, “Language Roman!”

He winces, and I bite my bottom lip as he snaps, “Mama, my kids are in the actual stands with Rocco and Tyra and won’t be back here until after the game!”

Mama, yes, I now call her Mama at her request, she points at my stomach and states, “Not all the kids are,” and my laughter comes out.

Roman rolls his eyes, then gently rubs my stomach and whispers, “Sorry, little nephew.”

“It could be a girl,” I murmur while he feels the baby move underneath his hand as I eye the crowd, landing on Emma and Damian cheering with everyone else. Luca is with Morgan and the team with little headphones on clapping along, which I find hilarious.

Apparently she’s also retiring today – something about not being able to do this any longer without Dante and Rhett.noveldrama

“And your captain for the last time, Dante Marino!” The announcer shouts and my eyes tear up, and I sniffle as he skates onto the ice with purpose.

“Ah shit, don’t cry,” Roman mutters and wraps his arm over my shoulders as Lorenzo, who stands on my other side with his arm wrapped around his wife and chuckles, “It’s just hormones, son.”

“It’s also pride,” I whisper as Dante skates around the ice. He stops where our box is and holds his stick up to me, and I grin, placing my hand on my growing stomach.

Two years and my love for him grows, though it helps he doesn’t come home covered in blood much.

He took me to the beach in the Caribbean after he won the Stanley Cup as I requested two years ago. We read our vows to each other, then spent every single day showing me how much I love being alive, always encouraging me to keep moving forward, to keep skating forward. He takes me to Colorado once a month just so I can visit my parents and brother.

I’ve won several competitions and even made it to the Olympics, coming third before I found out I was pregnant two weeks later. Three weeks after that, the money my father left me was put into a trust for underprivileged children wanting to join skating, whether figure skating or hockey. With the help of Dante’s mother, children across the country are getting the chance to become skaters, and I know my parents will be proud of me for how I’m donating the whole amount to kids that need it more and hopefully, one day, my daughter will love the ice just as much as I do.

We indeed have a girl on the way who we are naming Rose Tyra Marino after the two mothers in my heart. We have a gender reveal planned for next week, so everyone is in the dark at the moment.

“He’s going to win this next round for me,” I chuckle with a slight sob, and the men beside me chuckle, not denying my words.

At the moment, the Jaguars and the Razors are all in. Both are playing hard and want to win.

If the Jaguars win today, it’ll be their fifth win in a row, breaking history. Five of their players, including my husband, will be retiring and what a way to retire huh?

As soon as I announced I was pregnant, he decided it was time to retire and work with Roman full-time, which I am a little scared of. To be honest, he has been working hard with him anyway, but full-time just feels scary, I guess.

“I can’t wait to have him full time,” Roman mutters, and I swallow hard, which he sees and reassures me. “Not a lot will change Paige, I promise.”

I nod, “I know, I guess I’m just a little apprehensive. I still don’t understand the whole mafia world.”

He chuckles, squeezes me tightly, and admits, “Neither does Morgan, so you’re not on your own,” making me smile before we watch the players skate into the rink.

My eyes don’t leave Dante even as the ref drops the puck. I keep my eyes on my man and watch as he gets into the moment and skates over to one of the Razors team members, shoving him out of the way of Frankie, the team’s center, who then skates over to the net.

Frankie passes the puck to Dante, who barely has it in his grasp before he smacks it into the net, and the light shines.

“Yes!” I scream, lifting my hands up in the air and yes I pee a little before he holds his stick towards me. His smile widens, and pride fills me.

“Okay, you need to calm down before you send yourself into early labor,” Morgan chuckles as she hands Luca over to Rhett, who came in five minutes ago after celebrating in the locker room with the team. Yet Dante is still nowhere to be found.

“I just, Rhett’s here,” I state, and the man himself chuckles and reminds me, “He’s got to hand his captaincy over to Frankie, who didn’t see it coming.”

I sigh but nod and mumble, “Fine,” making him chuckle.

The longer I’m with Dante, the harder it is to be apart from him. He’s become my world just like I feared he would, yet I wouldn’t change it, Mafia and all.

“Uncle Dante!” Emma screams as my husband finally enters his family box five minutes later.

Dante chuckles, picks the five-year-old up, kisses her head, and mutters, ‘Hey, squirt,” as she holds him tight. Yeah, I’m a woman enough to admit I am jealous of a child.

“I’m so proud of you, son,” Lorenzo says as he gives him a hug, and I smile as Dante hugs him back.

Their relationship has come a long way, and I’m proud of Dante for choosing to forgive his father for his past. I know this has more to do with the fact that I would give anything to have my father with me, even with the lies about what he did for a living but their relationship is blossoming.

Dante’s eyes come my way, and I grin wide, my tears filling yet again. He chuckles before kissing Emma’s head, passing her over to her father, and then comes my way.

Instantly, I lift my arms when he’s close, and his arms wrap around my waist before his lips meet mine and I grip his shirt tightly.

“I am so proud of you,” I rasp against his lips, and he smiles and mutters, “Thank you, little fairy….”

“How does it feel to retire on a win?” I ask as I lean back a little, and he chuckles, “Amazing baby, absolutely amazing, but knowing you were here waiting for me just made it even more memorable.”

“You’re such a smooth talker, player,” I mutter, and he chuckles, “It’s just the truth, baby.”

“Why do you call him player?” a little voice asks, and I look down, locking eyes with Emma’s and my mouth parts.

Oh crap…

I look at Dante for help, who just raises a brow with a grin and I narrow my eyes at him before looking down at my niece, very much aware of everyone waiting to hear my explanation. I stutter, “Because he uh, he’s the best player on the team.”

Dante snorts, and I pinch his chest, making him chuckle and keep eye contact with Emma until suddenly, she squeals, “I love that. Uncle Dante is going to be Uncle Player from now on,” and I wince as I notice Morgan and Roman both trying to hold in their laughter.

“Sorry,” I mouth to Morgan, whose laughter comes out and I drop my head as Dante moves around me and wraps his arms around my waist from behind me while Emma skips around the room singling, “Uncle Play.”

Dante places his big palms over my growing stomach, gently rubbing it as his daughter moves underneath his touch and I can’t help but smile.

“Still want to call me a player?” he asks in my ear, and I turn and look at him with a raised brow and remind him, “Dude, your college days make my high school days look meek, so yeah, I’m still calling you that, and let’s not forget your hockey glory days before you jumped into my life.”

He playfully scowls then tickles my side making me giggle as our family talks around us before he presses his face into my neck, muttering, “I fucking love you.”

I smile and eye our family, all smiling and happy, making my heart flourish, especially with the happiness Uncle Rocco and Aunt Tyra radiate as they shower Damian with attention and I whisper, “Thank you for saving me, player, for making me want to fight and live.”

I look at him over my shoulder, and his eyes shine as he replies, “Any fucking time, little fairy…,” before he presses his lips against mine, and I melt.

This man bulldozed into my life, and every day, I will be forever grateful, especially with the many years ahead of us that will be full of love, laughter, and a lot of little feet.

What more could any girl healing from a traumatic past want?