Page 1 of Heartless As Puck

ONE

AUSTIN

I’d barely stepped onto the stairs overlooking the ice when Drew McKinley slammed into me, as if I were on an opposing team and had made a run at the goal.

I turned, instinctively pulling my assistant, Jane, close to absorb the impact with my body. I fought the need to wrap my arms around her and breathe in her delicate floral scent.

She works for you, jackass. Don’t make her uncomfortable.

“Watch it,” Drew barked, stomping off like he hadn’t just tried to knock me down the stairs.

I ignored him. He might be looking for a fight like always, but I had bigger things on my mind.

“You all right?” I asked Jane as I reluctantly drew back and scanned her face for any indication of distress.

“Fine.” She tucked a lock of chocolate-colored hair behind her ear and offered me a shy smile. “Drew doesn’t bother me.”

I hesitated but decided to take her at her word. After all, very little seemed to ruffle her composure. It made me wonder where she’d learned to remain so level-headed.

I started walking and Jane kept pace. Long-simmering frustration heated my gut. Drew was an asshole, but he was only a symptom of a greater problem. The team’s leadership was toxic. I liked to think that I could improve the situation if I were made captain, but unless the coaching staff and management changed, that was probably nothing more than baseless optimism.

Ahead of us, the men’s bathroom door opened, and Nick Kelly stepped out. He glanced our way, and eyes the same shade of blue as the ice in the rink crinkled at the corners.

We drew level with him, and he clapped me on the shoulder. “Good to see you, man. It’s been too long.” He fell into step with us. “What do you think this big meeting is about?”

I shrugged. “No idea, but I’m curious.”

“Perhaps it’s supposed to be a pep talk?” Nick suggested, grabbing the meeting room door and holding it open.

I snorted. “Has Coach ever given a pep talk in his life?”

Nick glanced around, checking who was present before he replied. “Only if shouting ‘get your head in the fucking game’ counts as a pep talk.”

My gaze skimmed over the others in the room, and tension eased from my neck when I realized that neither the captain nor alternate captain had arrived. A few of the younger players were hovering over a snack table against one wall.

I gestured toward a sofa on the opposite side of the room. “Over there?”

Nick grimaced. “Probably for the best.”

We were both getting older and followed strict diets. We shouldn’t tempt ourselves by sitting too near the snacks. As we crossed the room, one of my teammates from last year raised his hand in greeting, and I nodded in return.

I flopped onto the sofa and Nick lowered himself down beside me, then bumped my knee with his and jerked his head toward the far wall. “Have you met that guy yet?”

“What guy?”

He gestured toward the food table, where a rookie player was towering over Jane—who apparently hadn’t followed us—getting closer to her than was appropriate. She’d ducked her head, and her body language made it perfectly clear she didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

Anger sizzled through me.

“No,” I muttered, pushing myself upright. “I don’t think Jane knows him either.”

Even if she did, she obviously didn’t like him. I stalked over to them, my glare burning a hole in the rookie’s back. Not that he seemed to notice.

I edged around him and put myself between him and Jane. Up close, I could see what a baby face he had. I doubted he was even over twenty. He must have balls of steel to hit on Jane with me right there.

I met his gaze. “Back off.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Is she your girlfriend? I thought this meeting was for players only.”