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She didn’t need to do anything to impress me. I loved her exactly the way she was. There wasn’t a single thing I would have changed about her, even with her cynical attitude at times and how goddamn stubborn she could be. She got under my damn skin but that was where I wanted her.
“Okay, you weren’t lying,” she admitted after swallowing a mouthful of salmon and washing it down with the wine. “You can cook for me any day you want to. I promise I will never object.”
Laughter spilled from my lips as I turned in my seat to look at her. “For you, darling, I would quit playing hockey just to be your personal chef and make sure you’re actually eating real food for every meal.”
Her laugh was like silk against my eardrums. “I would never ask you to give up hockey or anything for me. I can settle for you cooking on the nights you don’t have games.”
I held out my hand to her and she slid her palm against mine. We both shook on it. “Deal.”
“I meant to ask you,” she started as she continued to hold my hand. I slowly slid mine until my fingertips were in her palm and I began to trace invisible circles on her flesh. “Could I take Thor to the rink with me tomorrow?”
“Absolutely,” I told her with a smile as I glanced at my dog lying on the floor… by Juliette, not me. “I’m pretty sure he might like being with you more than me anyway.”
“That’s not true,” she chuckled as she brushed the tips of her fingers against my palm, mirroring my movements. “He just likes to go along to play with the kids.” She paused, her gaze soft as she stared back at me. “Thanks again for skating with the kids the other day. It really meant a lot to them. They’re still talking about it.”
“It was my pleasure, Juliette,” I assured her as I dropped her hand and reached for the opposite one to lace our fingers together. “Anytime you want me to, I’ll come do it again.”
Her face lit up at the possibility. “Could you imagine if we could get more of the team to come? I doubt my father would ever agree to it, but it would be amazing for the kids.”
I studied her facial features, memorizing them and cataloging every freckle and dimple in my brain. “You haven’t asked him?”
She shook her head. “I thought about it, but I don’t know if I will.”
“If there’s anyone who can convince someone to do something, it’s most definitely you. You have a way of charming people when you want to.”
Juliette laughed. “My father is unfortunately resistant to my ways, but maybe I’ll try.”
Dropping her hand, I reached beneath her seat and pulled it closer to my own. My eyes were glued to hers as I lifted my hands to cup the sides of her face. “Let me ask some of the guys and see what they say. Maybe if we can get everyone else on board first, your father won’t be able to say no.”
She stared at me for a moment, her expression unreadable. “You would do that for me?”
“I would do anything for you, Juliette.”
Juliette was still in my bed when I left for practice in the morning. I didn’t bring it up to the guys until we were all back in the locker room, slipping out of our gear. Wes, Nico, and Lincoln were all sitting in front of me as I went and stood by them.
“You know how Wes convinced you guys to all do something? I need to pull the same kind of favor.”
Lincoln’s scowled, Nico cocked his head to the side, and Wes smiled. “What’s the favor?” Nico asked.
“Juliette wanted to ask Coach Anderson if we can get the team to go to the rink she works at to skate with the kids. I told her I would ask you guys to see if you would all be on board before she brought it up with him.”
“That would be fun as shit,” Lincoln said with a smile.
Nico nodded. “I don’t know the last time we did something like that.”
“I love kids,” Wes added.
I clapped my hands together with a smile of satisfaction. “Sweet. If Anderson says no and we can’t get the whole team to go work with the kids, maybe we can just get a couple of us to go.”
“What kids?”
The air left my lungs in a rush. My eyes widened as I stared at the guys and my body fell rigid. Wes pursed his lips, Lincoln ducked his head, and Nico looked past me at our coach.
“One of the local rinks,” Nico explained to him. “We were just talking about going to skate with some of the kids in their youth programs.”
“What team is that?” Coach Anderson asked him, although I could feel his eyes on the back of my head.
Nico’s lips parted, but nothing came out as he gave me an apologetic look. He didn’t know the name and even though he had tried to make it seem like it was his idea originally, that cover was blown.
