Page 51 of Rookie Rules

Rowan started the car.

He knew the address of Luca's temporary apartment because the team had put it on the player contact sheet. Because he was captain. Because knowing where a rookie lived was ordinary information.

He did not turn toward home.

Tonight he would speak to Luca directly.

What happened after that would be his choice.

Chapter 9: Rowan Comes Back

At the foundation reception, Rowan did not speak to Luca once.

This was impressive only because he spent most of the night arranging not to.

Luca saw it in the paths Rowan chose through the ballroom. A donor stepped away from the captain, leaving a clear line between them, and Rowan turned to Nolan. Claire called for the leadership-group photograph, and Rowan positioned himself two bodies away. When the photographer asked them to close the gaps, Rowan allowed Luca's sleeve to brush his wrist and looked straight ahead as if contact had not traveled through both jackets.

Luca smiled for the camera.

Public work was easier when the role had good lighting.

"One more," the photographer called.

The Wolves crest filled the wall behind them. Luca angled his shoulders, gave the organization the bright, accessible future Claire had requested, and kept his hands loose at his sides.

The flash went off.

Rowan's attention touched him without Rowan's eyes moving.

Not looking was still a form of looking.

After the group broke apart, Claire guided Luca toward the foundation's youth-hockey display. A boy named Micah showed him a video of a goal scored on an outdoor rink, the camera shaking so badly Luca had to watch twice.

"Top shelf," Micah said.

"Absolutely vicious," Luca agreed.

"The goalie is my cousin."

"Then I regret taking sides."

Micah grinned. His mother asked for a photograph. Luca crouched beside him and held up the foundation puck they had been given.

Across the room, Rowan stood beside Evelyn Grant and listened to a sponsor. His expression never changed. He still watched Luca straighten when Micah's mother mentioned the boy had started playing after a difficult year at school.

Luca returned the puck to Micah. "Keep scoring on your cousin. Builds character."

Claire waited until the family left. "That was good."

"I am occasionally delightful."

"You listened. People remember that longer."

The compliment should have landed cleanly. Instead Luca looked past her and found Rowan already turned away.

He had spent four days telling himself the kiss had given him useful information. Rowan wanted him. Rowan had stopped. Both facts could exist. Luca had survived worse discoveries than being wanted by an emotionally barricaded captain.

What he had not expected was how quickly professional distance could make a person feel imaginary.