Page 25 of Risking the Pucking Defense

“You didn’t need to stop it. I’ve seen it so many times I could act it out.”

Hailee thinks for a moment. “Might have to take you up on that one day. Can you sing?”

“Not a fucking note,” I confess.

“I’ll make sure to bring some earplugs. I’ll just have to enjoy the dancing.”

“I’m shit at that as well,” I mutter, although I must confess, the thought of her watching me wiggle my hips does make my temperature spike a little.

“I doubt it. I’ve seen the way you move on the ice.”

“You watch me skate?” I blurt before I can stop myself.

“I watch all of you,” she says, and I deflate. Of course, she’s not watching me specifically.

Don’t be so stupid, Hayden.

“It’s my job. Kinda,” she adds.

When I don’t respond, she lifts the remote and hits play, letting the movie restart.

But while I might be looking at the screen, I don’t really see any of it.

“Have you always been a hockey fan?” I ask.

It’s a simple question—or at least, I think it is. But the way Hailee tenses up makes me reconsider.

“I’ve mostly been learning on the job,” she finally explains.

“Fair enough. It’s a pretty fucking awesome sport to have to learn.”

Our conversation ends there. I might have a million questions spinning around my head, but her reaction to the last one stops any more from spilling free.

Time slips away as one song bleeds into another, and then the credits begin rolling.

“Shall we start the…next one?” My voice gets softer the second I glance over and find Hailee fast asleep beside me.

I freeze—so much so, I’m pretty sure I even stop breathing.

She looks so peaceful with her dark lashes resting on her slightly flushed cheeks. Her full lips are slightly parted, her breathing soft and shallow.

Deep down, I know that I should probably wake her, give her a chance to go back to her room and slip into her own bed. But…I can’t.

The thought of her walking out of this room and leaving me alone again…I just can’t do it. Not tonight. So instead, I turn the TV off and then reach over to do the same to the side lights, and then I sink deeper under the sheets, content that she’s right there with me.

That, for the first time since Rylee left me, I’m not completely alone.

8

HAILEE

Iwake with a start, my eyes flying open as I try to figure out where the hell I am. With all the travelling I do with the team, it’s not all that unusual. Nor is the sight of another run-of-the-mill hotel room. What makes my heart beat at a crazy pace is the weight of someone’s arm wrapped around me, and the feeling of another person pressed against my back.

My eyes fall closed as memories of the night before come back to me.

Why on Earth did I think drinking and then coming to a player’s room in the middle of the night was a good idea?

It was the worst possible idea I could have had.