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She sipped at her smoothie and watched the guys take one-timers at Kaden. He was a great goalie; there was no doubt about that. Tyler had been able to slip a few in, though. But, after all, he was the great Tyler Kidd.
A puck flipped under the net and into the stands. Looking to see where it came from, Kassie saw it was from Luc. She’d seen him give pucks to the fans before, but not as much as Kris and Sam did. A girl with his number on caught it, screamed, and kissed the puck. A great smile crossed his face at her reaction.
But that smile wasn’t the same as the way he grinned or smirked at Kassie, so she kept her jealousy at bay.
Then there was yelling on the ice. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Kaden charged at Luc, who was busy posing for another photo. In the process of standing up to get a better look, Kassie clumsily knocked over her smoothie, which slowly spilled out onto the bleacher seat and floor.
She wanted to find something to clean it up, but she also wanted to see what was going on down on the ice. First, she’d see what was going on, and then she’d clean it up. Tossing a few tissues on the mess, she moved down the steps, closer to the glass for a better view.
She couldn’t hear what was being said through the thick plexiglass, but it was obvious that Kaden was mad. And his anger was being directed fully at Luc. Her brother had his goalie mask propped up on his head, and he was in Luc’s face, yelling.
His behavior was like a repeat of the other day at her apartment. She’d had a bad feeling this would all come to a head on the ice, and she was right. But there was nothing she could do, as much as she wanted to jump in and help. She ran out to the café to grab a few napkins for her mess, and kept one eye on the guys through the glass. Kaden was still yelling at Luc. Practice had stopped, and everyone was standing around watching as well.
When Dom rushed from his end of the ice to where Kaden and Luc were, Kassie grabbed a handful of napkins and rushed inside. Something was going down, and it wasn’t good. And it was all because of her.
Kassie ran into the rink, right along the glass. She had to push by the Marcella fan club just to get to where the ruckus was. This isn’t playtime anymore, kids. Get out of my way! Dom was holding Kaden back, and Luc was straightening his jersey and messed-up pads, and putting his helmet back on.
Luc turned towards the glass, their eyes meeting. A smile pulled at one side of his mouth as he acknowledged her. He tapped the butt end of his stick on the glass at her. They were close enough to the glass that she could hear bits and pieces of what was being said.
“Nice move, O’Conner. Right in front of your sister.” Luc’s smirk was sexy and a bad move on his part. Her brother would take any opportunity to wipe it right off his face.
“You’re going to condemn me for that shit? You were flirting with those girls right in front of me! I told you not to pull this shit with my sister! I also told you if you hurt Kassie, I’d kill you!” Kaden lunged at Luc again, but was being restrained.
“I wasn’t doing anything, and Kassie knows that. You seem to be the only one with a problem!” Luc retorted.
Coach Walker wildly blew his whistle, interrupting the fight. He quickly instructed Luc to go to the locker room and Kaden to go to the bench. As Luc stormed off the ice, he slammed his stick down at the benches, breaking it in half. Coach Walker told the team to get back to practice or they’d all be doing laps.
Her brother was overreacting, as usual. Not being able to get to either of them was frustrating. Her hands were tied. And now Luc was out of sight, so she kept her eye on Kaden instead. He stood at the bench, drinking water. Kaden’s helmet was propped up on top of his head, and he squirted a drink into his mouth. His eyes caught hers. There was no doubt that he was angry. Kaden nodded towards the Marcella-bunny fan club, then back at her. His face was stern and hard.
That was his way of saying, “I told you so.”
She shook her head and looked away. She’d deal with her brother later. It wasn’t like she and Luc were married, or had even been seeing each other for that long. Luc didn’t owe her anything. Besides, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Luc was just being Luc. He had fans, and at least he wasn’t being a jerk to them.
So what if he flashed a few smiles? Took a few selfies? As long as he was going home with her, what did it matter?
Just then, her phone buzzed in her purse.
Luc: Kass. Sorry about that. I understand if you don’t want to go grab dinner after that mess, but I hope you still do.
Luc: Coach told me to go home. Give me about fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you outside?
Kassie: What about your dad?
Luc: He’s going out to dinner with some of the other dads. Tonight, it’s just us. Still up for it?
Kassie: I’ll see you in fifteen.
She wasn’t angry at Luc for the scuffle. Kaden had started it and got in Luc’s face. Her biggest issue was trying to control the jealousy she felt when he was smiling at the fans. It was probably normal, but feeling that way wasn’t okay in her mind.
After leaving the rink, she paused at the café counter, because her conscience wouldn’t let her leave a mess behind. “Hi. I accidently spilled a smoothie on one of the bleachers in there. Up top.” She pointed to the rink area where she’d been sitting. “I tried to clean it up, but did a pretty poor job, and I really need to leave. I-I’m sorry.”
The lady behind the counter waved her off, with little concern. “No problem, I’ll get it. Thanks for letting me know.”
She’d get things with Luc all straightened out with a simple conversation. She knew he was just doing what he always did, but her stomach wrenched with uncertainty the more she thought about it. Her anxiety was less about what Luc had done and more about Kaden’s outburst. If her brother reacted that way to Luc’s playing up to his fans, what would he do if she and Luc had a disagreement?
She drove her car to the gate where the players always came out. There were a group of people already waiting there for autographs. She parked in a space and waited until Luc’s white Porsche appeared. He waved at her, and she followed him down the highway to a shopping center.
They chose an Italian restaurant and sat in the back. When Luc pulled off his jacket, she couldn’t help but laugh at his t-shirt.
