Hands Off The Ice King novel Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Hope’s POV

“Are you acquainted with Liam Moretti?”

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Beth nudged my shoulder lightly as she whispered the question beside me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. I frowned and shook my head immediately.

“No.”

“Oh.” She tilted her head slightly. “Well, he’s looking at you. I thought maybe you met through Levi.”

There it was again. That teasing little smirk.

I groaned quietly.

“Beth,” I muttered tiredly. “Not you too.”

“What?” she asked innocently.

“You’re doing that thing everyone’s doing.”

“What thing?”

“The teasing-me-with-Levi thing.”

Her grin widened while I let out a shallow sigh.

“Anyway,” I continued, lowering my voice, “why would Levi even introduce me to Liam Moretti?”

Beth didn’t even think twice before answering.

“Because they’re cousins.”

After saying those words, Beth’s eyes widened before she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Oh no,” she muttered. “I forgot that information isn’t public yet. Just pretend I didn’t say anything.”

Despite the multitude of questions running through my head, I decided to drop the topic. However, part of me was still curious. Liam Moretti came from one of the richest and most influential families in New York. And now Beth was telling me Levi Reeve belonged to that family too?

Suddenly, certain things made sense. But at the same time, Levi never struck me as someone who would flaunt his privilege. If anything, he acted like he hated attention unless it involved hockey.

My brows furrowed as my gaze drifted back toward the Gotham bench, my frown deepening when I saw that Liam Moretti was still looking this way.

I shifted awkwardly in my seat. Surely I was imagining things.

Just then, movement caught my attention behind me. Delaney suddenly lifted her hand and waved brightly toward the opposite bench, smiling sweetly.

Relief instantly settled in my chest.

Obviously Liam was looking at Delaney, That made infinitely more sense.

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Chapter 19

I faced forward again, forgetting everything related to Liam Moretti.

Beside me, Beth’s phone suddenly rang. She glanced at the screen and groaned loudly.

“Busy?” I asked.

“Sponsors,” she sighed, already standing. “Everything gets insane before the Winter’s Crown.”

I nodded knowingly.

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The Winter’s Crown was the biggest fournament of the season outside championships. Sponsors threw money everywhere, media coverage doubled, and, as I could guess, everyone became ten times more stressed.

Beth squeezed my shoulder.

“I’ll be back.”

Then she hurried off toward the tunnel, phone already pressed to her ear.

Meanwhile, I settled deeper into my seat and focused on the ice.

Honestly, I was really excited.

Back then, whenever I watched hockey, it revolved entirely around Connor. I only paid attention to his stats and safety. If Connor played badly, my mood soured. If Connor won, I celebrated. I never truly watched the game itself.

However, I’ve always enjoyed hockey. So now, I just wanted to watch it peacefully while rooting for the entire team-the Glaciers.

Unfortunately, peace never lasted long around me.

Liam wasn’t looking at you, by the way.”

I turned slowly. Delaney was looking at me with her arms crossed over her chest, expression perfectly composed.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“I heard you and Beth talking.” She smiled sweetly. “It might’ve looked like Liam was staring at you, but he was actually looking at me. We’re friends.”

I stared at her for a full second. What an oddly specific thing to say.

“I didn’t actually say anything,” I replied calmly.

Her smile twitched slightly.

“Beth was insinuating it.”

“Okay,” I said with a shrug. “And?”

“I also don’t particularly care whether Liam Moretti looks at me or not,” I continued. “It doesn’t affect my life.”

The irritation flashing across her face was almost satisfying. She looked like she wanted to keep arguing, but before she could, the arena lights suddenly dimmed slightly.

The game was finally starting.

Every muscle in my body tightened with anticipation as the referees skated onto center ice. Their black-and-white uniforms contrasted sharply against the bright rink while the overhead screens flashed team logos across the arena.

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Chapter 19

Players hopped over the boards one by one as the starting lineup took the ice.

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The Glaciers’ first line consisted of Forest, the Sullivan Twins, Tyler, another one of their teammates, and of course, Levi. Desmond was in the goal, smacking his stick playfully against the ice while grinning through his helmet.

Levi skated toward center ice with effortless confidence, his jersey shifting against broad shoulders.

Across from him stood Liarn Moretti. Even with his helmet on, I could make out the cocky smirk playing on his lips.

I glanced briefly toward the bench and noticed Connor sitting farther down the lineup, bouncing his leg restlessly. I recognized the habit immediately. Connor only did that when frustrated. Back in university, he’d been the team’s star center. He was good enough to dominate college leagues.

However, this wasn’t university anymore. This was professional hockey.

Connor wasn’t the centerpiece, at least not while Levi existed.

A scoff sounded beside me. I turned and found Delaney glaring suspiciously in my direction.

Right, she noticed me looking at Connor.

Fantastic. But it wasn’t like that.

Connor had always been horrible at handling frustration. When benched or rotated out too long, he got moody and reckless. Back then, I used to calm him down constantly. Now, with distance and clarity, I realized how immature most of it had been.

The sharp sound of skates cutting across ice snapped me out of my thoughts.

The referee dropped the puck, and with the sound of the whistle, the game finally started.

The clash of sticks cracked through the arena as Levi and Liam collided at center ice, fighting for possession.

The speed shocked me immediately. On television, professional hockey looked fast. However, in person, it felt like insanity. The players moved like bullets across the rink, blades slicing hard into ice while bodies slammed against the boards with brutal force.

The puck flew toward the Sullivan twins, and Spencer immediately carried it into the neutral zone before getting pressured by Gotham’s defense. A clean stick check knocked the puck loose. But Tyler recovered instantly, sending a sharp pass backward toward Levi.

Everything happened so fast I almost couldn’t keep up.

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