I stood in the middle of the rink grinning as the eight remaining True Love contestants made their way onto the ice. Most of the girls were wobbling and clinging to one another as they edged their way across the rink. Evan seemed relatively comfortable, and Madi looked right at home on the ice as she skated toward me with ease. She was the only one who’d chosen to wear ice hockey skates instead of figure skates, and she used them to good effect as she slid to a stop before me, grinning just as widely as I was.

“Why do I feel like I have an unfair advantage on tonight’s date?” she asked.

“Because you do,” I replied, lowering my voice to a mock whisper.

I’d pretty much had to beg Angus for skating to be the next group date. Madi had always been just as good on the ice as her brother, and Lucas was on his way to becoming a pro. The three of us had played ice hockey together for a couple of seasons when we were younger, but while Madi could skate, she seemed completely unable to handle the contact of the sport. She gave up once it became clear she was never going to be able to give as good as she got. Her mom had begged her to change to figure skating, but Madi didn’t take to the idea.

I wasn’t bad at hockey, but I didn’t love the ice like the Matthews kids did. I hung up my skates once I found football instead.

Angus and the film crew were standing on the ice in sneakers. They all looked distinctly uncomfortable, especially the boys who were manning the cameras. They were gripping the equipment tightly and moving with awkwardly slow slide-steps. They looked terrified that they might slip and break their precious electronics. It was probably a valid concern, to be honest.

Angus stood next to me, and he cleared his throat as the rest of the contestants joined us.

“Welcome to tonight’s group date,” he announced, smiling broadly at the group before him as the cameras scanned the scene. “As you can see, you will be skating tonight, which begs the question: will you glide gracefully into true love or will you slip and fall off Cole’s radar?”

I lifted an eyebrow. Where was Angus coming up with this stuff?

“We’ll have a few fun competitions a bit later,” he continued. “But, for now, why don’t you all get comfortable on the ice.”

Brooke and Laurie both looked horrified at the idea, and I swear Brett was grinning as he focused his camera on the two girls. It was like he couldn’t wait to see which one of them would fall first. The rest of the group were all chatting excitedly, and from the eager way the other contestants were eyeing the ice, it looked like they were ready to give skating a try. Music came on over the loudspeakers, and a few of the more confident contestants in the group started to slowly skate around the edge of the rink.

Madi was one of the first to skate away, and I found myself watching her as she glided across the ice. She was sticking close to Evan and holding Teagan’s hand to keep the girl steady. I wanted to try and catch up with them, but I hesitated. Should I really be chasing her down when she’d skated off without a backward glance?

“Hey Cole, I’ve never actually skated before. Do you mind giving me a hand?” I turned to find Zoe standing at my side, looking up at me with hopeful eyes. We’d only just begun but her glasses were already slightly skewed.

I could see Laurie shooting a deadly look her way, but Zoe didn’t notice. Zoe was one of those people who never seemed to care what others thought about her.

“Sure,” I said. I took her hand and slowly started to help her skate, keeping close to the wall surrounding the rink. Zoe hadn’t been kidding when she said she’d never been on the ice before. She nearly stacked it several times as we made our way around, and she couldn’t stop staring at her feet. It was lucky I was holding her hand or she would have landed on her ass already.

“How are you enjoying the competition?” Zoe asked once we had an uneasy rhythm going.

“Is this contestant Zoe or reporter Zoe asking?” I replied.

Zoe laughed. It was a deep rumbling sound that echoed from her chest and completely at odds with the small girl next to me. “Can it be both?” she asked.

“Nope. No comment then.”

Her laugh rang out through the air again. I didn’t know Zoe well, but she had always seemed so serious. Right now though she seemed quite relaxed, despite her skating struggles, and she appeared to be enjoying herself.

“How about I ask you a question,” I said.

“Shoot,” she replied.

“Are you in this competition for a story or because you’re looking for true love?”

She slowly let out a sigh. “Both, always both.”

Her response confused me, and as she looked up at me she must have seen the questioning look in my gaze because she continued.

“I can never seem to ignore the journalist in me,” she explained. “I live and breathe the stuff. So, even though I might have other intentions, there’s always a part of me that’s internally taking notes in case it might make a good article.”

“Sounds exhausting,” I said.

She shook her head. “Nah, I love it.”

“So, if I bared my soul to you right now, would it make this week’s school paper?” I asked.

“Of course," she replied. "I would probably be able to get that story in the Lincoln Gazette."

"The local paper? Really?"

"Yeah," Zoe continued. "I'm doing an internship there, and I've heard a few of the reporters talking about the show this week. The charity, the drama, the romance—people are taking notice."

I laughed nervously. I couldn't believe the show was spreading so far beyond the school.

“I'm not sure if I want my secrets printed in the local paper," I said. "Remind me to keep all conversations with you as bland as possible.”

“Careful,” she replied. “If they’re too bland, I’ll be reporting that our bachelor is boring.”

I shook my head at her. “There’s no winning with you is there?”

She grinned, appearing to take that as a compliment.

A loud bout of laughter pulled my attention and I looked over to see Madi, Teagan and Evan all piled on the ice together. Their arms and legs were all intertwined, and they were laughing with such carefree ease as they attempted to right themselves that I felt a twinge of jealousy.

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of Angus signaling me from where he was standing behind one of the cameras. He was making a strange, winding motion with his hands and I got the impression he was annoyed I’d spent so long with Zoe. When he saw he had my attention, he pointed at Zoe and made a cutting motion against his throat. Subtle.

“I should probably see how everyone else is getting on,” I said, easing Zoe’s hand from my grasp.

She nodded, looking toward Madi and her friends. Zoe’s eyes were calculating as she watched them, and I wondered what she was thinking. If I’d gleaned anything from Zoe during our chat, she was probably thinking about a story.

“I’ll be watching,” Zoe said, focusing on me once more.

I got the feeling she was only partially joking, but still she made me smile. “Let me know if journo Zoe ever goes on holiday. I think I could like the Zoe she left behind.”

“And I think we both know that even if journo Zoe went on holiday, there would still be a certain girl consuming your attention,” she replied, her eyes moving pointedly in Madi’s direction.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, skating backward as I started to part ways with her.

She lifted one eyebrow at me and smiled. “I think you do, Cole Kingston,” she called after me. I shrugged playfully and turned to keep skating. Zoe was far more perceptive than I’d thought, and the last thing I wanted to do was admit she was right.

Madi was up on her feet once more and helping her friends to stand as I started skating toward them. She was smiling brightly and seemed so happy to be out on the ice. It warmed me inside to know I’d helped put that smile on her face.

I had almost reached Madi when a body slammed into me. I fell backward, landing hard on the ice with Laurie tumbling on top of me. The air rushed from my lungs and I groaned as I started to feel the impact of the fall pounding in my chest.

Laurie was looking down at me, her eyes big and filled with worry. “I’m so sorry, Cole, I was completely out of control,” she said, lifting a hand and running it down my cheek. “Are you okay?”

I eased her off me so I could breathe. Pain ripped through my chest and back, and I wanted to let out a series of curses, but I knew the cameras were watching us. “‘I’ll be fine. Are you hurt?”

Even though Laurie was no longer pressed down on my chest, she still leaned over my face, fluttering her eyelashes at me. “I think I’m okay,” she said. “But I’m more worried about you. Can I do anything to make you feel better?” Her voice was thick with innuendo, and it made me feel very awkward considering I could see a camera hovering nearby.

“Just give me a moment to catch my breath,” I said. “You go on ahead and get up. Make sure you’re not hurt.”

She huffed out an irritated breath but did as I asked. I’d clearly messed up somehow, but I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong. Perhaps she’d wanted more time together lying on the ice. It wasn’t exactly romantic when I was in so much pain.

My whole body ached as I pushed myself up. Pretty much everyone on the rink was looking at me with concern in their eyes. Everyone but Madi it seemed.

She was standing not far from me, grinning from ear to ear as she watched me struggle to stand. Did she really derive so much satisfaction from seeing me hurt? I found it hard to believe. Once I was up on my feet again, she skated toward me.

“I thought you could skate, Kingston,” she said, still grinning as she glided across the ice in a circle around me.

Laurie had already skated off and I was glad for a few seconds alone with Madi.

I shrugged at her comment. “I was taken by surprise.”

“You were just sacked by a girl who’s half your body weight,” she replied. “What will all the boys on your football team think of that?”

“That Laurie’s far stronger than she looks,” I replied.

Madi laughed. “Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what they’ll think.” She started skating backward as we talked. Her movements were so smooth and fluid. I’d forgotten what a beautiful skater Madi was.

“Well, Laurie may have taken you down, but it looks like you’ll live,” she said, before she turned and skated off without me.

I half considered chasing after her, but I noticed Angus waving me down again. He was behind a different camera now, and as soon as he caught my eye he started pointing over at Maria and Willow, gesturing for me to skate with them. The two girls were struggling almost as much as Zoe had. I wanted to go after Madi, but I knew I needed to follow Angus’ directions.

Still, I couldn’t stop myself from glancing after Madi as I went to join the girls. I knew I couldn’t pay her more attention than the others while the cameras were watching, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.

After a few more laps, Angus called us all into the middle of the rink.

“So, tonight you will all be racing for some one-on-one time with Cole,” Angus said. “If you feel like your relationship with him is skating on thin ice, this is your chance to solidify your bond. So, do not underestimate how important this challenge is.”

I tried not to cringe at his commentary. I swore it was getting worse as the night wore on. Some of the girls were lapping it up though and looked eager to compete.

“For the first race, you will be skating from one end of the rink to the other,” Angus continued. “The first four to cross the finish line will be through to round two. The last four will be eliminated for the night.”

I watched the contestants as they reacted to the news. Several were glancing uneasily at Madi, while Laurie had her arms crossed over her chest and was shooting Angus a death glare. Everyone knew Madi was the best skater by a long way.

Madi also looked uncomfortable at the thought. Her eyes were nervously flickering between the other competitors and her lower lip was gripped firmly between her teeth.

I quickly decided I needed to say something before anyone voiced their concerns out loud. “We’ll make the first round a pairs race,” I stammered, pausing for a brief second as I tried to figure out how I could make it work. I suddenly remembered they kept small plastic sleds in the shop out front, and I had an idea. “Each pair has to take one turn pulling a sled with their partner on it around the rink before they swap. The first two pairs to complete two laps around the rink win.”

Angus flicked an annoyed look at me, but I shrugged. I knew if I didn’t make the race fairer there was every chance Madi wouldn’t compete at all.

“I’ll go with Madi!” Laurie yelled, clumsily staggering her way over to Madi and linking arms with her. Madi gave only the barest hint of a frown in response but didn’t object to being Laurie’s partner.

“Yes, everyone pair up,” Angus said. “We’ll start the race in a few minutes.” He turned and told one of the film guys to go find some sleds.

I stood back and watched as they arranged the competition. Laurie hadn’t let go of Madi’s arm since the moment she’d announced they were partners and was ready to tell anyone who asked that they were about to blitz the field. An air of excitement and anticipation filled the rink as the bright red plastic sleds were carried onto the ice.

“Good suggestion on the sleds,” Angus said, patting my shoulder as he came to stand at my side. “They add an element of danger the race didn’t have. Should make for some excellent viewing.”

He walked off to join the contestants before I could respond. I felt deflated as I watched him leave. Putting the contestants in danger was the last thing I wanted, but considering some of them struggled to skate on their own I could see how adding a sled and a partner to the mix was asking for trouble. I knew there was no putting Angus off the idea now though.

“All right, contestants, one of you needs to be on the sled, while the other will be pulling it," Angus called out. "Once you have completed one lap, you will swap places. I want you all lined up and ready to go on my whistle.”

Madi looked distinctly uncertain as she followed Angus' directions and sat on her sled while Laurie took the reins. Her eyes were wary, and she couldn’t seem to tear them away from Laurie as she teetered uneasily on her skates. Laurie had already knocked me over tonight; I guessed that Madi thought she was going to be next. I really hoped she wouldn’t be.

“Remember, contestants, this might be your last chance with Cole. Skate like your relationship depends on it!” Angus’ voice boomed across the ice. “Now, on your marks…get set…go!”

Shouts and screams echoed across the rink as partners started yelling directions at each other. The slap and scrape of skates clashed against the ice as everyone took off.

Evan was pulling Teagan, while Maria was pulling Zoe, and the two pairs shot out in front of the other teams quickly. Laurie barely made it a meter before she stumbled to her knees, and Brooke wasn’t doing much better as she attempted to pull Willow along.

There was a look of determination in Laurie’s eyes though. Even though she kept falling down, she continued to pick herself back up and push herself harder as she attempted to catch the two pairs ahead of her. Evan fell into a comfortable rhythm as he drew ahead of everyone else. Teagan was clapping him and cheering brightly as he crossed the halfway mark in the lead.

Brooke didn’t seem to share the same resolve as her sister and had pretty much given up after a series of falls. It didn’t matter that Willow was sweetly encouraging her. Brooke simply sat on the ice, refusing to continue.

By the time Evan finished his lap and went to swap with Teagan, he had extended his lead even further. Teagan wasn’t a great skater, but I knew she’d have to really mess things up not to win at this point. She was almost halfway around the rink by the time Maria swapped with Zoe, and three-quarters of the way around by the time Laurie finally passed the starting point and swapped with Madi.

My heart skipped a beat as Madi took the reins of the sled. The others had a huge head start on her, but Madi could move like lightning on the ice when she wanted to. She took off like a horse out of the gates, skating down the rink with so much speed it was like she wasn’t pulling anything behind her. I held my breath as I watched her move.

She overtook Zoe quickly and her eyes narrowed as she saw Teagan up ahead. When it came to skating, Madi was competitive as hell and I grinned as I saw her racing after Teagan.

“Go Teags, she’s catching up!” Evan called.

“You’ve got her, Madi!” Laurie shouted with glee.

Teagan glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widening when she saw Madi streaking toward her. She was close to the finish line but Madi was too fast. Teagan tried to skate quicker, but Madi overtook her in a blur of motion and cruised through the finish line with a massive smile on her face.

I jumped up and briefly punched the air before quickly pulling back my hand in case anyone noticed. Laurie clapped excitedly, pushing up from her sled to give Madi a high five. Teagan pulled Evan across the finish line shortly after them. They may have come second, but they were both smiling broadly. Madi raced over to give them hugs, crashing into the two of them and nearly pulling them to the ground.

“You guys did so well!” she exclaimed as she pulled back from hugging them.

“Us?” Teagan asked. “What about you?”

“Damn girl, you are fast,” Evan added.

“You would be too if you grew up being chased around the ice by your demon brother,” she replied.

Evan took hold of Madi’s shoulder and eyed her seriously. “If your brother’s a demon then sign me up for hell. He is one hot boy.”

She shook her head at him, her nose crinkled in a cringe. “Evan, please don’t say how hot my brother is. His ego is already way too big from hockey, we don’t need to add good looks into the equation.”

Evan laughed and gave a shrug. “I cannot help but speak the truth.”

“And here I thought you only had eyes for me,” I said, grinning at Evan as I joined them.

“Give me the final piece of your heart and maybe I’ll consider limiting my scope of vision to you,” Evan replied with a coy smile.

The guy was good at flirting, I had to give him that.

“So we have our four finalists,” Angus said, waving a hand at Evan, Madi, Teagan and Laurie. “For our final round we’ll be playing a little game I like to call Catch-a-Bach. Our bachelor, Cole, will have this handkerchief tucked loosely into the back of his pants. The first contestant to capture it gets a date alone with Cole.”

“I guess we should just give the date to Madi,” Laurie said, her lip curling in annoyance.

Madi glanced over at her with wide and concerned eyes. She was chewing on her lower lip, and again I found myself worried she was going to back out. Her gaze flickered to Angus though as he countered Laurie’s comment.

“You forget, Laurie, our bachelor will have his skates on too. This is as much a game of strategy as it is speed.”

That seemed to quieten Laurie and Angus gave the group a satisfied smile.

“Remember contestants, our bachelor isn’t easy to get. If you want to catch him, you’re going to have to be up for the chase.”

I felt a smile creep onto my lips, actually enjoying one of Angus’ lines for once. I certainly hoped Madi was listening.

Angus passed me a large handkerchief and I went about tucking it in the back of my pants so it hung down my backside, long enough that it would be easy for the contestants to yank out.

Angus leaned in close. “Make 'em work for it,” he murmured before he turned back to the contestants, a broad fake smile plastered on his lips once more. “Okay everyone, to your places.”

The contestants followed Angus toward a starting line at the other end of the rink.

“I hope you’re faster than you look, Kingston,” Madi said as she skated past me. There was a wicked glint in her eye, and I got the feeling she was looking forward to chasing me down.

“You saying you want to catch me, Matthews?” I asked.

“I’m saying I want to win. You can take that to mean what you like." She gave me a wink before skating off.

I stared after her, my heart thudding a whole lot faster than it had been a moment before.

“You ready, Cole?” Skye asked as she approached me.

I glanced at her but didn't respond. All I could think about was Madi’s cheeky response and her wink.

Was I ready for Madi to catch me?

“Cole?” Skye repeated.

“Yeah,” I said, coughing to clear my suddenly dry throat. “Let’s get this started. I’m ready to be caught.”