Blind Ice (Razors Ice Book 5) (24 page)

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Authors: Rachelle Vaughn

BOOK: Blind Ice (Razors Ice Book 5)

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* * *

The next morning, Julia woke up and felt Gabe’s arm draped across her waist. They had explored the big house in Pacific Hills the day before and Julia discovered there were a lot more than four steps from the bedroom to the bathroom.

Exciting events were in the works. VINCE was finally complete and glitch-free and Gabe was preparing for the upcoming launch day. MacDaddy was having a big party and everyone was going to dress up. With Kate’s full support, Julia was returning to work at the Blue Key next week. Logan had met the UNHL’s minimum vision requirement and had resumed skating as soon as he’d heard the news. If all went well, he could be cleared to play in his first game since the accident as early as next week.

Gabe had even talked Julia into playing her sonata for Kate and Logan. They liked it so much that Julia decided to have a recital to raise awareness for Gabe’s software and raise donations for people who might not be able to afford it. It would be the first time she ever played her own music in public before and she was more excited than nervous.

Gabe murmured something in his sleep and Julia listened to the soothing sound of his breathing.

There was so much love in him, this man who had chosen her to love and to move twenty-two hundred miles to be with. She wasn’t alone in this crazy life. She had Kate, Logan and Cassidy. And now Gabe. And soon there would be a new addition to their family. A Lab named Hawley who had been trained especially for her needs.

Through the darkness and the uncertainty and the grief, Julia smiled.

* * *

“Are you just about ready to go?” Kate asked as she came down the hall. She found Julia in the guestroom putting her shoes on.

“I’m ready.” Julia felt for the purse beside her on the bed and pulled it onto her lap. “Thanks for the new purse. You thought of everything, didn’t you?”

“I try.” Kate smiled, thinking of the lip gloss and gum she’d stashed inside.

“You and Logan are getting married.” Julia hadn’t properly congratulated her sister. She’d been selfish and content to hide from the world and everything that was going on in it.

“Yes. He’s being so cute about it,” Kate said happily. “He wants two weddings. One here and one in Sweden.”

“He has a nice voice. I could tell he was smiling when you told me the news. You give him something to smile about, Katie.”

“Oh, don’t get all mushy on me now.”

“I mean it. He really loves you.”

“Good. Because I really love him.” Kate paused and then added, “Logan’s family is super nice.”

“They flew all the way here from Sweden for Logan’s surgery.” There was wonder in her voice.

“You’ll get to meet them at the wedding.”

Julia nodded and fidgeted nervously with the purse strap. “I’m still not too sure about this whole new dog thing. Maybe I should just use my cane for a while and knock people out of the way with it if I have to.”

Kate sat down next to her. “Do you remember when I first taught you how to shave your legs?”

A little glimmer of laughter rumbled from Julia. “It was hell.”

“Yeah, we were in the shower together for hours.”

“I was so frustrated that I wanted to just scrap the whole idea and live as a hairy Sasquatch for the rest of my life.”

“But you didn’t give up. You figured out a way and you did it.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“Everything in our lives has been a hurdle, Julia. And we keep moving and jumping because that’s what we do. I know it probably feels too soon, but this is something you need,” Kate said about the service dog.

“So you don’t have to worry about me.”

“I worry. I always will because I love you. This will just help me to not worry quite so much.”

“Like that’s even possible,” Julia joked.

“This is how you can keep your independence. You need to be able to visit Gabe at his new job. And I need to know that you’re safe when you go to The Key.”

Julia smirked. “You’re grinding your teeth, Kate.”

“Well,” Kate said on a sigh, “you know how I feel about that place.”

“But you’ll keep your opinions to yourself because you value my independence.”

“Something like that.”

Julia stood up and swung the new purse over her shoulder. “I hope you put the top down on your car because I want to feel the sun on my face.”

“Of course. What road trip is complete without a convertible and two hot guys?”

* * *

Ready to begin their road trip, the four of them headed out to Kate’s car.

Just as they reached the driveway, Gabe stopped. “Wait. Everyone just wait a minute. I need to do this now.”

Kate and Logan wheeled around. “Do what?” Kate asked.

Logan frowned. Gabe looked a little green around the gills.

Sensing his tension, Julia reached up and cupped Gabe’s face with her hands. “Is everything okay?”

“I love you, Julia.”

“I love you, too, Gabe,” Julia said. A nervous laugh bubbled up inside her chest. Hadn’t they already established that?

Gabe sucked in a deep breath and took her hands in his. “I have something I need to ask you.” He knelt down on the pavement. “I’m down on one knee, Julia. I don’t ever want to live thousands of miles away from you. I want a life with you. I don’t want to be apart from you now or ever again. I want to go to sleep with you at night and wake up with you in the morning. And not just over the phone,” he added with a laugh. “I want to share the rest of our lives together.”

Delighted, Julia giggled as he rambled on about their future life together.

Logan put his arm around Kate and they watched as Gabe knelt in front of Julia with love in his eyes.

It didn’t take long before Gabe was out of breath. “So?” he panted. “Will you say yes? Will you marry me, Julia?”

“Yes!” She clapped her hands together.

He picked her up and twirled her around the same way he did when they first “met.”

After sharing a noisy kiss, he set her down and placed the ring in her hand. “I’ve been carrying this ring around for weeks,” he confessed. “I picked it out by touch. Feel how smooth it is. There aren’t any sharp edges, so it won’t snag on anything. It’s called a floating diamond.”

Julia took the ring from him and ran her fingers around the band. The gold was smooth and…wait, it said something. The raised dots spelled out letters.
L…O…

Love
.

“I had it engraved in braille.”

She reached for him, framed his face with her hands and pulled him close for a kiss. “Yes,” she said as she peppered kisses over his face. “Yes, yes,
yes
.”

Julia turned to Kate. “Kate, did you hear that? Gabe and I are getting married!”

“Yes,” Kate laughed and pulled her sister in for a hug.

Julia thrust her hand out. “Is it shiny?” she asked.

“It’s gorgeous. And very shiny.”

“Good,” Julia smirked. “Because I’m gonna flash this puppy everywhere I go.”

* * *

Kate, Logan, Julia and Gabe piled into Kate’s BMW, ready and eager for the road trip to Sacramento. A Labrador named Hawley was waiting to meet them and they couldn’t wait to meet all seventy pounds of her.

With the top down, the warm California sun beat down on their shoulders.

Kate sat in the driver’s seat, with Logan next to her in the passenger seat. And in the backseat next to Julia, with his hand clasping hers, sat Gabe. Julia gave his hand a squeeze and he squeezed back, the shiny new ring pinching against her fingers.

Although Hawley already had a name, the guys argued over suitable dog names and Kate couldn’t help but smile.

“I think we should call her Gretzky,” Logan suggested.

“Gretzky? Huh.” To humor him, Julia pretended to think about it and agreed that it sounded like a perfectly good name. For any dog besides hers.

“I guess we’ll have to get our own dog then,” Logan decided. “And a kitten for Kate, too.”

Kate laughed and merged onto the freeway.

Gabe leaned over and kissed Julia, the taste of spicy cinnamon transferring and lingering on her lips. She might only be able to see darkness, but there was light all around her in the form of the people she loved.

Meanwhile, in the front seat, Kate glanced over at Logan. He was sprawled out in the passenger seat, arm resting comfortably on the windowsill, wind blowing in his hair, a grin on his handsome face.

He looked over at her and mouthed “I love you.”

She winked at him and looked back at Julia and Gabe in the rearview mirror. They were holding hands, as always, and Kate thought they were the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.

The Kapowski sisters definitely had room in their hearts for another addition to the family.

* * * * *

Read more about the Blue Key in the steamy short story,
Tease Me
, featuring sexy hockey player Lucas Leighton.

Looking for more hockey adventures? Check out
Hockey Gods

Inspired by
Game of Thrones
.

Written for hockey fans.

About the Author

Rachelle Vaughn
is the international bestselling author of the Razors Ice books, a series of hockey-themed romance novels. She lives in California with her husband and their sassy calico cat. When she isn’t writing, Rachelle enjoys watching action movies, cruising Pinterest for inspiration and cheering for her favorite hockey players.

Visit her website at
rachellevaughn.com
.

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