There seemed to be a current of electricity that ran through the Ice Palace during Game 3. Madison couldn’t put into words what she was feeling, but there was an edge of excitement to it. If they won this game, the Gulls would be up three to zero in the series, which gave them a good chance of shutting out the Grizzlies quickly. And they needed this. They needed that surge of confidence because, even after moving forward in the playoffs, they were still underestimated. Their win was labeled a fluke, a combination of lucky bounces and calls that went the Gulls’ way. Madison wondered if it was still a fluke they were here, considering they dominated Vancouver, one of the top teams in the west.

Madison couldn’t help but grin at herself in the mirror as the Gulls’ Girls finished getting ready in their locker room. They wore a low-cut three-quarter sleeved shirt and their spandex boot cut pants. This was Madison’s favorite outfit because besides the cleavage, it just showed off her abs and that was better than those ugly miniskirts that didn’t look flattering on anyone.

“Hey Mads!” Amanda exclaimed, bumping her hip with Madison’s so they were both standing in front of one of the many full-length mirrors that made up the locker room. “You ready for tonight?”

Madison grinned. “Hell yeah, I am!” she exclaimed. “What about you?”

Amanda tossed her curled, red hair over her shoulder. “You know it!” she said. She glanced around before her brown eyes locked with Madison’s in the mirror. “How is everything, Mads? With you and… you know. He’s getting crucified in the news.”

Madison pressed her lips together, nodding in agreement with her friend’s assessment. “I know,” she said. “We’re okay but he’s… He’s tense, to say the least. Stressed. I know he didn’t do it, he knows he didn’t do it, but nobody else wants to believe him or even help him out. It’s like he’s waiting for trial to start just so he gets to tell his side of the story to somebody. But Seraphina has a PI on it, which is a good thing.”

“You don’t think that PI will find out about you and Alec, do you?” Amanda asked, her brown eyes wide.

Madison turned her head to Amanda. “I didn’t even think of that, to be honest,” she replied.

“Well,” she said with a shrug. “You never know. Who is the PI again?”

“Clara Daniels,” Madison said, scrunching her face. “I think? That sounds right.”

“Clara Daniels,” Amanda murmured, tapping her chin.

“You know her?”

“Not personally,” Amanda said, shaking her head. “But do you want to know some gossip?”

Madison gave her a dry look. “Don’t I always want to know some gossip?” she asked.

Amanda grinned and leaned close to Madison. “Okay, so this was, like six or seven years ago,” she whispered quickly. “But rumor has it that Clara Daniels and Dean Morgan totally dated for a summer before he had to go back to Florida.”

“What?” Madison asked, her eyes wide. “You mean that asshole defender Seraphina picked up for cheap?” Madison seemed to realize what she said and quickly backtracked. “Not asshole like the guy is an asshole, more like asshole as in everybody who isn’t a Gulls fan hates him.”

Amanda chuckled. “That’s the one,” she said. She leaned towards Madison so no one would be able to overhear their conversation. “No one is supposed to know, either. It happened years ago, when he was like thirty and she was twenty. I think she was going to school still, but I can’t be sure. But she definitely wasn’t a PI.” She wrinkled her brow. “Apparently, she was the great love of his life and ever since he let her go, he’s regretted it. I mean, the guy is freaking hot in a bad boy next door type of way, you know? Black hair, blue eyes, leather jacket. Every other word out of his mouth is a swear word, so there’s that.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I sure as hell would tap that.”

Madison snorted. “You would tap a lot, Amanda,” she pointed out, as though it was obvious. “How do you know this stuff anyway?”

Amanda’s lips curled up into a grin. “Honestly,” she said. “Dimitri is the biggest gossip ever. It’s the cutest thing. He’s such a romantic.”

“Speaking of which,” Madison said with a teasing smile. She let her voice trail off and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. She knew there were sharp ears around, ears that would pick up keywords that would cause them to listen to conversations that were none of their business.

“Oh my gosh, stop it!” Amanda said, playfully smacking her friend’s shoulder. She bit her bottom lip before looking around. “To be honest, ahem, D and I have only been getting closer. I still haven’t met his kids officially as his girlfriend but that’s because his wife is a bitch, and if she found out, you can bet your ass she’d go straight to Seraphina and get me fired. And as much as I want to get more serious with him, I can’t afford to do that. My lease is up soon and I have no idea what I’m going to do because Sam’s moving out with her girlfriend and I really don’t want to move back to Anaheim.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Madison said, blinking her eyes. “Are you telling me you guys are officially boyfriend and girlfriend? I thought the last time we talked, you guys were just friends and you wanted to take it further but he didn’t.”

“Well,” Amanda said. “A lot has happened.”

“It’s been, like, four days,” Madison pointed out, her voice flat.

Amanda shrugged, blushing. “When it’s love, Madison, what do you expect?” she asked.

“Love?” Madison pushed up her brow. “I didn’t realize things had gotten so serious between you.”

“Honestly, Madison, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” she said and Madison noticed the tone of her voice completely changed from playful to genuine. And, more than that, happiness. “It’s like we were made for each other, which sounds so stupid and contrived, but honestly, I don’t know how else to explain it.”

Madison grinned. “I have some kind of idea how you’re feeling, you know,” she said.

“Obviously, you do,” Amanda said, shaking her head and grinning.

“Dude, you’re smiling like an asshole right now,” Madison pointed out.

“Honestly, I don’t even care,” Amanda said. “I’m just extremely happy.”

Madison smiled, happy for her friend. She paused a moment, tilting her head. “Aren’t you worried about the future?” she asked. “I mean, once you guys get serious and you meet the kids and their mom finds out about you, aren’t you worried what’s going to happen? What she’s going to do to you?”

“There’s no way that lady is going to fight me,” Amanda said, her voice flat.

Madison gave her friend a droll stare. “You know that wasn’t what I meant,” she said.

“Obviously,” Amanda said. She reached up to cup the back of her neck, looking away. A couple of their teammates walked by and they paused their conversation naturally so no one would overhear. When they were alone again, Amanda turned back to Madison. “Honestly, I haven’t really thought about it. Dimitri doesn’t talk about her and I sure as hell am not going to bring it up. From the few times he does talk about her, she seems like all she really cares about is getting half of everything Dimitri has.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “This makes no sense,” she muttered. “I mean, granted, I don’t know them personally, but I thought they looked happy.”

“I did too,” Amanda said. “I mean, I like being with Dimitri, but it still sucks that a family is breaking up over her infidelity. I think as long as he gets proof of the cheating, he won’t have to pay her anything.”

“Even without a pre-nup?” Madison asked.

Amanda snorted. “Who knows,” she muttered. “What I’m more concerned about is that once she finds out about me and Dimitri, she’s going to go after the kids. Maybe get full custody. And that would break Dimitri because those kids are his entire world. And I wouldn’t want to be the reason his kids are taken away, you know?”

“I don’t think Dimitri would blame you,” Madison murmured. “I mean, I don’t know him the way you do. He just doesn’t seem to be like that type of person.”

“He isn’t,” Amanda agreed. “He wouldn’t. I think he’s protecting me from her. I don’t know why. I didn’t cause them to break up. But I’ve never heard of any woman in the history of forever ever being okay with their ex dating someone half his age and then claiming to be in love. Especially one where children are involved. I mean, I’m barely in my mid-twenties. I haven’t even thought of having kids, let alone potentially being a step-parent to two kids. And not just toddlers or babies, but kids who have memories of their family being together and happy.”

Madison paused, crossing her arms over her chest. Katella stepped in the locker room and gave them a final call before they were ready to go out and either start lacing up skates or to socialize with the Gulls fans in the stands and throughout the arena.

“Are you sure you want to deal with that, Amanda?” she asked sincerely. “I mean, you’re only twenty-five. You still have so much life to live. Is being with Dimitri really worth the stress and the hassle of a potential crazy psycho ex and the way the kids might treat you because they’ll see you as the reason their parents aren’t together. It won’t matter that their mother cheated on their dad; they’ll see you consistently in his life. Do you get what I’m saying?”

Amanda was silent for a moment before nodding her head. “I understand, Mads, and I appreciate your concern,” she said, “but I’m going to stick this out with Dimitri. I know it’s crazy and I know this is still new but I genuinely believe he’s worth it.”

“Then I support you,” Madison said, placing her hand on Amanda’s shoulder.

Amanda let out a breath. “Good,” she said. “Good. Because Dimitri and I are thinking of moving in together.”

Madison pushed her brows up so they were hidden by her bangs. She couldn’t control the surprised reaction if she tried. “I, I’m sorry?” she asked. “I literally found out about you guys, like, a few days ago.”

“Honestly, Mads, this has been going on for a few months,” Amanda said, playing with her fingers. Genuine regret filled her eyes and she couldn’t bring herself to look at her friend just yet. She started picking at her fingernails, biting her bottom lip, before she forced herself to look up at Madison, right in the eye. “And we aren’t going to live together-together. When Dimitri has his kids, he’ll be at his house. When his kids are with his ex, he’ll be with me in our apartment.”

“So, wait,” Madison said, closing her eyes. “It’s like he’s hiding you away, isn’t it?”

“No, actually,” Amanda said, shaking her head. “It’s more like my living space is temporary. Over the summer, he plans to introduce me to his kids. This season is going to be my last season with the Gulls. I’m not sure what I’m going to do in terms of, like, a job, but I definitely want to get one and have my own money. I refuse to be a gold digger, even though that’s what people are going to think of me. And I refuse to give up my life outside of him.”

“Well,” Madison said, cocking her head to the side. “I’m here for you, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Maddy,” Amanda said. “I really appreciate it.”

“All right, women!” Katella said, from the entrance. “It’s time to go! Those of you, in the stands, come with me. Those on-ice duty tonight, go lace up your skates and line up. You know the drill!”

Madison cocked her lips into a grin. It was nice to see that some things didn’t change.

“Hold up, Montgomery,” Katelaa said, coming to stand next to Madison. “Seraphina wants you see you in her office right now. Before you ask, I don’t know why.”