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Zachary and Lennox shifted closer. They hemmed me in, their bodies generating enough heat to make me sweat. And I didn’t want to back away. There was nowhere to go. With the exam table behind me and them in front of me, I was well and truly trapped. Only it didn’t feel that way. It felt like coming home, that strange but wonderful feeling of being where you belonged. Safe. Secure. What the hell did that mean?
“I…” I trailed off as I stared into his eyes.Can’twas supposed to be the next word out of my mouth, but it stuck in the back of my throat.
He leaned in closer. He should smell disgusting after practice, but he brought a hint of mint and sage with him. “All I’m asking for is a chance. Give me a chance to prove that we can do this. You can have it all, Lucy.”
“Stop saying my name,” I breathed out in a whisper.
“Lucy,” he whispered back.
My knees weakened and I planted my ass on the exam table to keep from sliding into him or falling at his feet and telling him I wanted to try too. This was all too new, too crazy. I had a brand new job that I depended on to pay my rent. I couldn’t put that at risk, especially not with Abigail relying on me. It didn’t make sense to risk all that for a romp in the sack with Justin. Yes, he was amazing in bed.
That didn’t justify it. The question was, was I strong enough to balance it all? Could I have the career, manage my obligations at the advocacy center, raise Abigail, and keep a relationship a secret from everyone I loved? I thrived on complicated. If anyone could do this, I could. Would it be worth it?
Justin made me want to think so. His thumb stroked my cheek.
“This is a bad idea,” Lennox spoke up from over Justin’s left shoulder.
Zachary nodded, though a muscle leaped in his jaw when I looked over at him. “There are a lot of factors to consider. It’s not just about you, Justin. You made sure of that when you brought us in on your little tryst. Now we’re keeping secrets too.”
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” Justin ignored his friends, his teammates, and focused solely on me. His thumb moved back and forth over my cheek in slow, steady strokes.
I knew what he was capable of, the heights he could take me to in bed. But he could also bring me down. If we did this and things ended badly, we’d both be ruined and he’d drag Lennox and Zachary down with him.
“Excuse me? I’m looking for Lucy Ashley?” A male voice spoke up from behind Lennox.
He whirled, as did Zachary, the two of them bracing like a couple of bodyguards primed to fend off an attack.
A tall, slim man with brown hair and a press badge lanyard around his neck lifted his eyebrows. “Can you tell me where she is? Coach Ashley said she’d be here, in her office.”
“Who are you?” Lennox asked in a low growl.
The man blanched a little but squared his shoulders and stuck out his hand. “I’m Brad. I’m with theBranson Tribune,and I’m here to do an interview with Miss Ashley.”
Holy shit. The interview. I’d forgotten all about it. I checked the time on the clock hanging behind me. Five minutes till noon. He was right on time. I could smack myself for forgetting and letting him walk in on me like this.
I stepped around Justin and took his offered hand. “I’m Lucy Ashley. Thank you for coming down. I was just checking over the team for injuries after their practice today.” I stopped myself there, before my rambling and need to explain got me intotrouble. This man did not need an explanation for why I was in my office with three hockey players.
That was none of his business. Though the contemplative look he gave the guys said he didn’t quite believe me. We’d been standing far too close for comfort. Too close for me to have been giving them a check-up. There was nothing I could do about that now. Onward and upward, as Dad liked to say.
Zachary, Lennox, and Justin walked around Brad, each of them giving me questioning looks like they wanted to ask if they should stick around. A rush of affection for their concern made me grin and wave them off. “I’ll see you tomorrow after practice. Justin, keep up the treatment on that leg.”
He winked at me from behind Brad’s back. “Sure thing, Doc.”
I turned away from them, and from Brad, before the rush of heat could give me away. “Would you like to step into my office?” I hurried across the room and opened the door that led to my inner office, a small space that held a narrow desk and two chairs. The door didn’t lock, and I noticed belatedly that Justin had left my main door open as well. He lingered out in the hallway, mimingcall mewhen Brad entered my office.
I shook my head at him and turned my focus to the interview. Screwing this up would be the end of my advocacy for women’s rights in hockey.
Brad reached into his pocket and took out his phone. “Do you mind if I record the interview?”
“Not at all.” I scooted behind my desk and set my hands in my lap. My thoughts chased each other in a steady loop. How much had Brad seen and heard before he made his presence known? We were not doing anything wrong, per se, but Justin’s hand on my cheek was purely sexual. Anyone looking would realize that in a heartbeat.
10
ZACHARY
Practice was hell. I managed to keep my cool through the hours of skating and guarding the net, but every time I looked at Justin, I knew I had to talk to Lucy. Justin floated like a damned fairy over the ice. The bastard never stopped grinning. Every time he skated past me, he’d grin wider. Lennox and I had tried talking to him again after leaving Lucy’s office yesterday, but he didn’t want to hear it. He kept saying that everything would be fine.
No matter what I told myself, how many times I mentally berated myself for this asinine plan, I waited for Lucy after practice the next day. I made it subtle, saying goodbye to Lennox and Justin the same way I always did and going out to my car. I even drove out of the parking lot and headed toward home, stopping at a coffee shop to grab a latte before circling back around. I cruised through the lot to make sure both Lennox and Justin’s vehicles were gone and that Lucy’s was there before I parked and hustled into the building.
