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A sigh escaped me and I turned around to face Coach Anderson. “The Wolverines. They play at Orchid City Ice Rink.”
Coach Anderson stared at me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Is that so? I think I’m familiar with that team.” A shadow of suspicion cast itself across his face.
I resisted the urge to swallow roughly. The way he was staring at me had me so fucking uncomfortable. He wasn’t a stupid man and quite frankly, he also scared the shit out of me. I knew damn well that he knew the team—and the rink. He knew that his daughter was the one who ran the youth programs.
“I don’t see why we couldn’t arrange something. Community things always look good for the franchise.”
I nodded. “Thank you, sir.”
His gaze lingered for a moment longer before he turned around to walk away from the four of us. My body finally sagged and my shoulders dropped as I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“I think you, uh, might be fucked, Sullivan,” Lincoln mused out loud from behind me.
I didn’t turn around to look at him.
I couldn’t disagree with what he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
JULIETTE
“Are you sure that won’t be a problem?” I asked my father through the phone as I looked through the peephole on my door again. Mac and I were supposed to be leaving soon to go meet his friends for the figure skating competition.
“Of course not, sweetie,” my father said with a gentleness to his tone. “It would be great for the team and I also think it would be a great bonding experience for us. I know I told you that I wanted to repair things between us, but we haven’t really spent any time together since then.”
“Well, that’s just something we need to change then,” I concurred with a smile. My father was more of a tough love kind of guy, so expressing his emotions wasn’t the easiest for him. I didn’t expect there to be an overnight change in our relationship, but already our communication has been better.
Through the peephole on my door, I saw Mac coming out of his condo. I took a step back and grabbed my purse from where it was hanging. “Hey, Dad, I hate to cut this short, but I’m actually getting ready to go out. Can I call you back tomorrow morning and we can talk more about it?”
“Where are you off to this evening?” he asked, sounding curious.
I hadn’t told him about Mac being my neighbor, and I wasn’t sure if it was time for me to admit that or not. “I’m going to this figure skating competition with some friends.”
“That should be fun,” he said with simplicity. “Why don’t we get breakfast tomorrow at Toni’s and we can talk about the team coming to your rink instead of you just calling me?”
“That sounds perfect.”
“Good. You have a great night and be safe,” he told me. “I love you, honey.”
“Love you too, Dad. See you in the morning.”
We said our goodbyes and ended the call just as Mac rang my doorbell. I ran my hands down my sweater, smoothing it out before walking over to the door. He was standing just on the other side with his hands tucked in the front pockets of his dark-washed jeans. A smile lit up his face as his eyes met mine.
“Well, hello beautiful.”
A deep blush crept across my face, the heat spreading down my neck. “Hey, handsome.”
Mac gasped and lifted a hand to his mouth. “Did you just compliment me again?”
I swatted at him as I stepped out into the hall and pulled my door shut. “Nope. Nothing to see here.”
Mac’s hands found my biceps and he spun me around to face him. “There’s everything to see here.”
His mouth collided with mine, his lips moving against my own in a gentle kiss. I moved mine with his, our mouths melting together. He ran his tongue along the seam of my lips and I parted them, letting him in as he deepened the kiss. The oxygen left my lungs in a rush and I breathed him in instead. He was slowly seeping into the cracks and filling them with his love.
My heart and mind waged a constant war against my feelings for Mac Sullivan. It was inevitable. I would be a liar if I said I wasn’t falling for him. Hell, I was a liar.
I had already fallen for him.
