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Ethan slides his chair out from the table, his legs spread wide, and my mind drifts to dirty places. He gives me a sexy-as-fuck look, the corner of his mouth turning up into one of his signature smirks. My heart beats faster, adrenaline shooting through my veins from the intoxicating effect Ethan has over my body.
I want him even though I shouldn’t step within ten feet of him. He probably has diseases from all the puck bunnies he’s hooked up with over the years. Yeah, I’ll go with that excuse. Lying to myself is easier than admitting my feelings for the man I loathe or at least try to hate.
With his eyes fixed on me, Ethan drags his hand up his thigh and pats it, telling me to sit. Asshole.
“Baby sis,” Will says, cutting through the group of muscular hockey players to get to me. He pulls me into a hug and taps me hard on the back. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
I cough as he releases me, stepping out of his rib-breaking bear hug. “I wasn’t supposed to tag along, but Clarke asked me to help her out.”
“Clarke,” he says with disdain in his tone, peeking over my shoulder at Clarke, who’s talking to the general manager. “The Inquirer couldn’t send someone else with you?”
“This is Clarke’s interview.” I lean closer and keep my voice to a whisper. “Would you please be nice to Clarke? She’s my only real friend. The two of you are always at each other’s throats every time you’re in the same room.”
He snorts. “I’m not at her throat. She’s just a pain in my ass.”
“Why? Because she calls you out on your shit?”
Will crosses his arms over his thick chest and sighs. “She’s annoying is all.”
“There’s more to it than that,” I spit back. “Look, I’d much rather work on more important stories, so please be nice and don’t waste our time.”
He snorts, moving his hands to the pockets of his track pants. “Making the playoffs is kind of a big deal.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just not the kind of headlines I want to make as a reporter. Anyways, I’m here to help speed up the process. So behave yourself.”
Will laughs. “I’m sure Clarke can use all the help she can get. These guys are a handful.”
“Speak for yourself, Romeo,” Tyler Kane says, coming up from behind my brother.
In person, Tyler is even more attractive with his surfer tan, piercing blue eyes, and spiky blond hair that sticks out in different directions. He’s tall and lean with muscles bulging in all the right places. The last I’d heard, he married a local sports reporter. Lucky girl.
Tyler extends his hand to me. His skin is rough and calloused from years of playing hockey. “Hey, Mia. It’s been a while. Your brother talks about you all the time.”
“All good things I hope.”
Tyler smiles in response.
He’s the captain of the team, the obvious leader of this band of cocky athletes. When Tyler speaks, people listen. He captivates the entire room when he’s in it, and on the ice, he’s a force to be reckoned with. My brother was a fan of his before he joined the Flyers, and now, I can see from the look in Will’s eyes that he’s keeping his inner fanboy tucked away.
“Nice to see you again. Congrats on the win.” I give his hand a good shake. “So, who wants to go first?” I point my finger at Tyler. “How about you, captain? I want to know all of your secrets.”
He tenses at the mention of secrets, his body rigid from what was my attempt at a joke. Interesting. I wonder if there’s more to Tyler Kane than what meets the eye.
Clarke nudges me in the arm with her elbow. “I’ll take him. You can deal with your brother,” she says under her breath.
For whatever reason, Clarke and Will have never gotten along. They seem to hate each for no apparent reason, which makes me wonder if they both like each other. Guys are dumb. When Will had a crush on a girl in high school, he kept saying stupid shit to catch her attention instead of laying it all out on the table. I’m not sure if that’s what he’s doing with Clarke, but I hate the tension between them whenever they’re in the same room together.
Since this is Clarke’s gig, she takes the lead and begins by interviewing Tyler, leaving me to deal with my brother. Alex Parker strolls up next to Tyler with Carter Donovan on his right. He gives me a quick wave and so does Carter. They’ve been on the team the longest. Most of the players have only been with the Flyers for a few years or less, some of them still new to the league. It was a shock they were able to make it into the playoffs with a young team, which is part of the story we’re supposed to tell for the paper.
Will leads me by the hand to the other side of the conference table. “You already know everything there is to know about me but ask away.”
We sit in two open chairs, and before I can ask Will a question, Ethan rolls his chair from the head of the table and stops in front of us. Fuck my life.
“I like tag teams,” Ethan says with a crooked grin. “Mind if I join?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m sure you do, you dirtball.”
“I was talking about the interview,” he challenges. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Mia.”
