And I am. Mostly.
Except for one tiny, infuriating, six-foot-four problem.
Colin spins his chair toward the man on my mind, cookie crumbs in his stubble. "Speaking of momentum… Declan. How's the team shaping up? What are the vibes in the old locker room?"
Declan clears his throat.
And side-eyes me.
It's quick. A flick of those deep blue eyes, there and gone, but it lands like a hook under my ribs.Yep. Something's off. Something'swrong.I just don't know what.
Because the last time I saw this man, he was pulling me against his bare chest, pressing his car keys into my palm while kissing me slow and stupid in his bedroom after we just got caught by his brother.
The last time I saw him, he wassmiling.
Now?
He's looking around the room like everyone here personally wronged him.
"Vibes are fine," he says.
Fine.My stomach drops.
"Guys are working hard. Putting in the reps." He shrugs, all loose and breezy, like he's discussing the weather and not a franchise on life support. "It'll come together."
It'll come together.
That's it. No fire. No fight.
Just the grumpy, coasting hockey dude I'd spent weeks dragging into the light.
Darcy takes the floor next, sliding her tablet across the table. Coach Pearson straightens, his amusement fading into something more serious as our head of analytics has her say on proceedings.
"The players are doing well," Darcy begins, pulling up a new set of data on the screen. "Our analytics show significant improvement across the board. Declan, your faceoff percentage is up twelve points. Campbell's shot accuracy has improved. Sawyer's save percentage in the last two games is the best it's been all season."
"Good," Coach rumbles. "That's good."
"Itis." Darcy pauses. "But we're keeping our eyes on a few underperformers."
I notice the way her gaze flicks across the room. And for just a second, it lands on me.
That's odd.
"Underperformers?" Declan pushes forward on his seat, suddenly more interested than he has been since he walked in.
"Nothing to be alarmed about yet," she continues smoothly. "Standard roster evaluation. Every team does it mid-season. But there are a couple of players whose numbers don't match their salary cap hit, and if we're looking at long-term sustainability..."
"They're trade bait," Colin finishes.
"I didn't say that. But if certain players don't start pulling their weight..." She trails off, letting the implication hang.
Colin nods, drumming his fingers on the table. "Alright. Keep me posted. I don't want any surprises."
"You won't get any."
He pushes back from the table, stretching his arms over his head.
"Alright. Good meeting everyone. Great meeting. Best meeting we've had since I took this job, and I'm including the one where they gave me the keys to the surf storage."
