“So, are you breaking up with him?”
Eventually.That was the plan, though it was weird how she was already having trouble picturing herself day-to-day without him. He hadn’t been in her life very long, but he seemed to fill it up somehow, and she knew it was going to feel very empty when he left.
“No, I just…the hockey’s a problem for me.” After taking a sip of the fresh cocktail the server set in front of her, Kristen met Annie’s gaze. “He’s playing tonight. Right now. He mentioned it because it’s his first game since his injury, and I was afraid he was going to ask me outright to go, so I changed the subject.”
“Ouch.” Annie winced. “You know I’m totally Team Kristen, but that had to get under his skin a bit. It would probably mean a lot to have his girlfriend cheering him on at his game, you know?”
There was no way to push back against the girlfriend designation without telling more than she should, so Kristen shrugged. “He knows about my family. He knows how I feel about the game.”
“Maybe he thought you’d care more about him than you do about not liking hockey.”
Ouch. That hurt a little. “Have I ever told you martinis make you mean?”
“No, but I’ve been told they make me honest,” Annie said, winking at Kristen over the rim of her martini glass.
“I shouldn’t be here,” Kristen admitted. “I should have gone to the stupid game.”
“If we leave right now, can you still make it? Do the ride-share apps let you pick the fastest driver?”
“No, they don’t. But if you’re okay with it, I’m going to go. Even if I miss the end of the game, I’ll get there before he leaves the locker room. I can at least be there when it’s over.”
“Call for a car, and I’ll get the bill,” Annie said. “You can totally make it.”
Once she was in the backseat of an Uber, she realized how ridiculous she was going to look walking into a hockey arena. Little black dress. Black heels. A long black coat that wasn’t really warm enough for the weather but looked good on her. She would definitely stand out in the crowd.
She’d just dodge the camera people and hope her face didn’t show up on the big screen.
* * *
Will wasthe last guy left in the locker room, and he soaked in the blessed silence. He liked being alone after the chaos and noise of a game, to the point it was not only something of a post-game ritual, but also pretty widely known, so the other guys didn’t linger. Between being called back out on the ice so often to be honored as a highlight player and then the press questions, by the time Will went in the locker room, a lot of others were already on their way out.
He sat on the bench, working up the energy to take a shower. The aches and pains were already making themselves known, though he was gratified they were just the normal twinges and sore spots that came with the sport. His shoulder seemed solid, and as long as he kept following the instructions he’d been given for taking a little extra care with it, he felt pretty confident it wouldn’t be an issue in the future.
Of course, one of the instructions was to stop dropping gloves with Erik Burke, and he wasn’t sure how that one was going to go. Especially the first time they met on the ice after he returned to Baltimore and Kristen wasn’t between them to calm them down.
The locker room door swung open, but he didn’t bother looking up. Probably one of the guys forgot something in a locker, or it was somebody from the equipment crew. But the sharp staccato sound of high heels on a tile floor got his attention, and he looked up to see Kristen walking toward him in a sleeveless black dress that hugged her curves so sweetly, his mouth watered. A long black coat was slung over her arm, and he really hoped she’d been wearing that wherever she was before here.
“Hey,” she said, walking so close to him, she ended up straddling one leg, a heel on either side of the skate he hadn’t bothered taking off yet.
He put his hands on her legs, getting turned on again by the way his fingertips made dents in her thighs, before he looked up at her face. Well, at how fantastic her breasts looked in the deep V-neck dress andthenat her face. “How did you get in here?”
“I’m Erik Burke’s sister. Usually it’s a giant pain in the ass, but it has perks in the hockey world.” She shrugged. “I was just hanging around, waiting for you to come out, but the last guy that came out recognized me and said you were alone in here and that nobody would bother us. He winked, so there’s a good chance within ten minutes, everybody involved with the Skimmers who has a phone will think we’re having sex in the locker room.”
He chuckled. “It all adds to the legend.”
“Yeah, well we can stay in here for whatever amount of time protects the great Cross Lecroix legacy, but we’re notactuallyhaving sex in here. My vagina wants nothing to do with being exposed in a hockey locker room.”
“Good call, though it’s still a shame. You look amazing.” He twisted his torso, hoping his back wouldn’t stiffen too much. “Do me a favor, though, and keep your expectations for tonight low. The guys seem to get younger and faster every year, and I’m beat.”
“Pretty sure I saw you knock one of those young kids on his ass.”
He grinned. “There’s something to be said for experience.”
“How did your shoulder hold up?”
“It’s good.” It was ready for a strong stream of very hot water, but it was good. He rolled his head slowly, to stretch his neck, and his gaze caught on the way her feet looked so small and sexy compared to his big skates. “So, can you skate? You’ve never said if you learned to skate when your brother did.”
“Of course I can skate. Who do you think was between the pipes while my dad was teaching Erik to take a hit?” She laughed as she glanced down at herself. “But I’m not going to prove it tonight, since I’m not exactly dressed for skating.”
