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I wasn’t officially working tonight. We weren’t dating. No, I stood somewhere in the awful in-between where I didn’t know which door to use or where I belonged. The hoodie felt like a neon sign. Everyone could see. They’d guess if they didn’t already know.

I took a breath and got out of my car.

Every step toward the entrance amplified the voice in my head telling me this was a mistake. Wearing his number was too obvious. By the time I reached the main corridor, my face flamed and my palms were sweating.

“Well, well, well.” Patty appeared from the break room, a coffee cup in hand. She did a double-take that would’ve been comical if I wasn’t dying inside. “Whose hoodie is that?”

My face went nuclear. “It’s team issue.”

“Uh-huh.” Her grin turned dangerous. “That’s what they all say.”

Before I could defend myself, though I had no idea what defense I could offer, Haley joined me and linked our arms together like we’d been friends for years instead of only a few weeks.

“There you are.” She steered me down the corridor before I could protest. “Come on, you’re sitting with us.”

“I was going to sit with the coaches.”

“Are you working?”

“No. Not tonight.”

“Then there’s no harm in sitting with the wives and girlfriends tonight. Even I am. I’ve got a night off!”

“I’m not—We’re not⁠—”

“It’ll be fun. Trust me. And before you argue, I already told everyone you were coming.”

“Everyone?”

“Simone, a few others. They’re excited to meet you.”

My stomach flipped.

There was no taking this back.

Haley led me through the arena. We passed the staff section where I usually sat and part of the general seating with its crush of purple-clad fans already settling in. She led me to a section above the penalty box with a perfect view of both nets.

Six women were already seated, laughing and talking. They turned when Haley and I stopped beside them.

Simone spotted my clothing first. “Oh my god, you’re wearing his hoodie.”

I wanted to die. Or disappear. Or both, in that exact order.

“It’s complicated,” I managed to say.

Trina, Revast’s girlfriend, a stunning blonde who made me want to simultaneously befriend her and hide, nodded. “It’s always complicated. Right up until it isn’t.”

They’d saved a seat for me and pulled me into the group like I’d always belonged there. Kira, Neva’s wife, passed me a cup of hot chocolate. “You look like you need this.”

I took it, grateful for something to do with my hands that wasn’t pulling at the hoodie ties.

Simone leaned in, her voice pitched low enough that only I could hear. “He looks at you like Fedor looks at chocolate cake. And that orc loves chocolate.”

Someone asked how we’d met. Another woman wanted to know if he was treating me right. Trina asked if he was as intense off the ice as on.

I deflected, but they were persistent in the kindest possible way. They weren’t being nosy. They were pulling me into their circle because I was wearing his hoodie and that must mean everything in this world.

The lights dimmed. The crowd’s roar hit hard enough I felt it in my teeth. The teams would skate out any second.