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“Yep. It was probably made up by an athlete to protect his little sister from some creep. But not all athletes are creeps. And you know there are exceptions to every rule.”
“I know a few exceptions personally.” Luc thought about his happily married teammates. Especially Sam and Tyler. Sam was married to Tyler’s sister, and they were still very close friends and teammates. “I think the secret is respect. And proving that you’d never do anything to hurt that girl.”
Luc’s dad nodded with a smile. “Son, there’s only one thing that trumps the code.”
“Being traded?” At this very moment, Luc figured that would be the only way Kaden would be okay with this. He was joking, obviously, but with how Kaden had reacted so far, he might not be far from the truth.
His dad held his belly and chuckled a deep laugh. “No! Love. One night stands can be wiped away, but love, it can’t be chosen, and can’t be erased so easily. No code can change that.”
“It’s a little soon for love, don’t you think?” Luc had never believed in love at first sight or falling head over heels for someone. Maybe it was the fact that it was just him and his dad growing up. He never saw two loving parents doting on one another. That could also be blamed for his life as a bachelor, always on the lookout for his next thrill.
“What do you think, Luc?”
“I know that I can’t stand to be without her. And if she decided this was a bad idea, I’d understand and accept her decision, but I don’t think I would ever be the same.”
His dad grinned wide, and his voice was soft. “My boy, that’s love.”
***
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Kassie
Kassie had no idea what she was walking into today at practice. After Kaden’s lecture the other day, she didn’t expect him to be over it yet.
Since their dad passed away a few years back, Kaden had taken his role of “the man of the house” to extremes. He had moved her and their mom to Pittsburgh to be closer to him during the season. It had made sense while their mom was undergoing treatment, and Kassie was grateful for everything he had done for them. But he liked to micromanage what she did. He acted like she was still a kid. Trying to buy a house for her and their mom, lining up jobs for Kassie, and now deciding who she could and couldn’t date.
Their mom liked Pittsburgh, so they’d spent more time here than back in Canada. That worked out in Kassie’s favor, because not only did she like it here, but bonus, she had met Luc. But, Kassie was drawing the line at Kaden’s butting into her personal life.
She lived close enough that she could stop home and change out of her dress clothes and into something more comfortable. Jeans, tennis shoes and sweatshirt. She grabbed a smoothie on her way there.
Knowing she was late, she rushed into the building. There had been more traffic than she figured. The lobby was bustling with folks stopping by for lunch at the café, some sitting to watch the Renegades practice. Inside the ice rink, the fans in the bleachers included high school and college-aged girls, media reporters, and the team dads, as well as random fans.
The guys were already on the ice running drills. Kassie settled in on the top bleacher row closest to Kaden’s net. Dom was in the net at the other end of the ice, and Luc was shooting at Dom.
The bunnies were out in swarms today. A group of them wearing Marcella jerseys huddled close to the glass where he stood at the moment. They screamed and cooed, banging on the glass for his attention. One girl had a sign. Kassie couldn’t read it from up here, but it had Luc’s name on it and a heart.
They squealed every time he skated by them, and cheered each time he got a puck in the net. There was another squad of young girls that stood out, and they had on Tyler’s number.
This wasn’t her first hockey practice; she knew how it all went. The squads of girls were called bunnies. They gushed and swooned over the guys on the ice. Some of the guys fell for the over-eighteen girls. The guys got off, and the girls got a notch on their bedposts, or however they kept track of all the hockey players they’d bedded.
She had watched it happen for years with Kaden. Before Ali, he had given the bunnies the attention they craved. Kassie didn’t know how much exactly, and she didn’t really want to know. But after Ali came into his life, the bunnies tried their hardest to catch his eye with no luck. He’d fallen head over heels for his girl.
She spun her straw at an attempt to mix her smoothie, doing her best to not pay too much attention to the girls. They weren’t worth her energy. She’d already seen a few grins from Luc that the bunnies must’ve thought were for them, if the screams of joy were any indication. But that was just who he was. He had fun on the ice.
Tyler ruled the other end of the ice, shooting repeatedly at Kaden. He snuck a few through, but even he had trouble scoring on her brother. Kris and Pat joined Tyler in the shower of pucks on Kaden, as if they were determined to score on him. Calm and collected, Kaden batted every last one away, one at a time.
Coach Walker had pulled the other group aside, so nothing was happening on that end. Kassie’s eyes stayed on Kaden and his mad goalie skills, along with his loud, obnoxious chirping at the guys who missed. Until the gaggle of girls caught her attention.
They were pounding on the glass, trying to get Luc to notice them. Surely, he’d ignore them and pay attention to Coach. But the instruction must’ve been over, because Coach Walker skated to the bench to oversee practice.
Sam Morris was practicing, which was good to see. He was on the end with Luc, shooting at Dom. The guys skated around him, and most acted cautiously. Sam didn’t seem to care as much as the other guys did, not backing off from running into people.
That’s when she saw it. Luc posed for a selfie with one of the bunnies through the glass. Dominic chirped at him, and she would’ve thought that was enough to snap him out of it. But what he was doing was innocent. He was coming home with her tonight, so whatever the bunnies did made no difference to her.
He wasn’t flirting. She’d seen him flirt. This was giving the public what they wanted. He was all smiles and when one of them brought out a sign that said “PUCK-STAR” his ego was fed.
Luc didn’t know she was here yet, even though he had invited her. And try as she might, Kassie couldn’t stop the fire that ran through her as he continued to give the girls the attention they wanted, tapping the stick on the glass where they stood and flashing his amazing smile to them. Her jealousy was starting to show. Kassie, you know better than this. What was worse than the bunnies getting to her needlessly was hearing Kaden tell her “I told you so.”
