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Indecision wars with desire on her gorgeous face. She wants to say yes. She always wants to say yes.
But, like usual, she shoots me down.
"No, Kris," she says, her resolve firming. "I told you; I don't date coworkers or hockey players."
"I won't be either of those things much longer."
"You're really retiring?"
I nod, which makes her scowl at me.
"Then you're an idiot, Kristján Jónsson. Every team in the league would kill to add you to their roster, but you're just walking away. That's insane," she growls, throwing her hands up. "You're insane."
"Maybe, but I know what I want, and it's not hockey."
She sighs, shaking her head. She seems tired, and worn down. More and more recently, she's seemed worn thin, as if she's working too hard. It's been a tough season for her. She needs a break. It fucking kills me that I'm not there to take care of her the way she deserves to be cared for. All I can do is what she allows me to do while we're here, which isn't much.
She's too stubborn.
"You haven't been sleeping, have you, princess?"
"I sleep fine," she lies, avoiding my gaze.
"Liar." I reach toward her, skimming a hand down the side of her cheek. "What are you hiding from me, hmm? What is it that you're so afraid I'll find out if you let yourself fall for me?"
She rolls her eyes, taking a step away from me. "There is no big secret, Kris. Like I've told you a million times, I just don't want to date you."
"One day, you're going to let me in," I murmur, striding away from the locker room. "You're going to admit that you want the same damn thing I do."
She doesn't say anything.
I sigh, heading for the arena doors.
Chapter Three
Kelsey
Kris is on fireon the ice. No one can touch him as the clock runs down on the first game. The other team is skating like their life depends on it, but they can't keep up. They've already pulled their goalie to send in an extra skater. It's not helping. Kris, Theo, Gray, Jonas, and Wes work too well together. They're a well-oiled machine, reacting instinctively.
This is their house, and they refuse to lose in it.
Kris passes the puck to Theo, who immediately shoots it back to Wes.
Wes sends it sailing across the ice to Gray.
The Wilds momentarily lose track of it as Gray sends it wheeling back to Kris.
Their teammates on the bench scream, pointing toward Kris. He's got the puck on his stick, preparing to line up the shot. Their players charge toward him. He sees them coming and makes a split-second decision.
He whips the puck to Theo.
Theo doesn't miss a beat. He immediately sends it zinging toward the open net.
The goal horn blares through the arena as the entire crowd jumps up, screaming. I jump up too, screaming at the top of my lungs with Theo's wife, Charlotte.
"They won!" Laney shouts, doing a happy dance on my other side. "Oh my gosh. I'm so happy they won."
Kris skates up to Theo and claps him on the shoulder on the ice as the final seconds on the clock run down. His crystalline eyes scan the crowd behind the bench, locking on mine. My mouth goes dry. My heart stalls in my chest.
