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“Yes. Those damn food trucks.” She grimaced. “But anyway, that game was actually part of an annual tradition the Blades are trying to create. Every pre-season, they’ll play against a rival team, and the winner gets to donate the ticket proceeds to a charity of their choice.”
“Okay. I can definitely write about that.”
“I’ll send you the login details for the blog section, and you can contact the Blades’ social media rep for info about the game,” Karyn went on. “I’ll need to look over your post first, but once I give you the go-ahead, you can stick it right up there.”
“How many words should it be?”
She waved a hand again. “Just something short, because it’s only for the blog. Four hundred words, or thereabouts.”
“All right. I can go and get started on that right now, if you want.”
“Great. I’ll introduce you to the others, and then I’ll take you to your desk in the bullpen.” Karyn smiled and stood. She glanced at her screen again, and her brows rose. “Oh, actually, there’s one other thing. We scheduled a pre-season interview with one of the crowd favorites for the afternoon of the 27th. That’s a Tuesday, so that should work perfectly with your schedule, right?”
My stomach lurched again. Please don’t be Paxton.
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “That should be fine. Who is it?”
“One of the defensemen,” Karyn replied. “Hold on, I have his name here somewhere.”
My shoulders sagged with relief as she leaned down to click her mouse. Paxton wasn’t a defenseman; I knew that much. Thank god.
“Ah, here it is.” Karyn stood up straight again. “His name is Justin Lamar.”
Sienna
A knot of tension tightened in my stomach as I stepped past the locker room in the Worthington Arena. One of the assistant coaches had greeted me at the entrance, and now he was leading me to a small office where my Observer interview with Justin would be conducted.
I hadn’t seen Justin for a very long time, so I wasn’t sure what he’d been up to over the last few years beyond the hockey stuff. I knew he was good friends with Paxton, though. He was also one of his only supporters in the furor after the lake house massacre, so I wasn’t expecting a positive reaction from him when he saw me walking through the door.
“He’s in there.” The assistant coach grinned at me and tipped his head toward the door. “Good luck.”
I forced a smile and thanked him. Then, with my heart in my mouth, I opened the office door and stepped inside.
Justin had always been intimidating with his bulky six-feet-four frame and rugged appearance. Seeing him now was even more daunting. It seemed as if he’d grown an extra inch and packed on twenty pounds of pure muscle. He’d also grown a long, thick beard which made him look like a Viking warrior.
He lifted his head and slipped his phone into his pocket when he heard the door open. “Hey, I’m Justin,” he said, striding over to me with one hand extended. Recognition suddenly flashed in his eyes as he stared down at me. “Holy shit. Sienna Holland!”
“Um… yeah. It’s me,” I said in a tentative tone, waiting for the diatribe that would no doubt follow his acknowledgement of my presence.
“Holy shit! C’mere!” He wrapped his massive arms around me in a bear hug. “How’ve you been? You really dropped off the face of the Earth for a while, didn’t you?”
Surprise and confusion ricocheted through my system. This was not the response I was expecting from Justin at all. He actually seemed happy to see me.
“I was in New Zealand for the last year and a bit,” I said, giving him a small smile as he pulled away from the hug. “Working on a farm.”
“That sounds awesome.” He slowly shook his head. “I honestly can’t believe it. Sienna Holland is my interviewer. Small world, hey?”
“I actually go by Sienna McConville now,” I explained.
He raised a bushy brow. “Oh, you’re married?”
“No, it was my mom’s maiden name. I started using it because of… well, you know. All the attention.”
Justin’s face took on a somber expression. “I get it,” he said. “And hey, while we’re on the subject, I want to get this out of the way right now, so you don’t feel awkward or anything. I want you to know I don’t hold anything against you at all. You were basically just a kid when that shit happened. We were all kids, really. You were drunk and misheard some stuff. Saw some stuff that wasn’t there. I’ve never blamed you, and I’ve always hoped you were okay. It’s really, really good to see you.”
I swallowed the hard lump in my throat. “You mean that? You don’t hate me?”
“Of course I don’t hate you! I know you probably wondered what I thought of you, seeing as I’m friends with Paxton, but I swear… I’ve never held anything against you.”
