Page 73 of Risky Play

“Maddie,” Dinah said with an edge to her voice. “I know all about overprotective brothers, okay?”

Fi nodded in agreement.

Dinah lovingly called her brothers the meatheads, and they kinda were. I loved them all, but yes, overprotective and scary, they certainly were. They tried to scare Noah off with their protectiveness, but Dinah told them to fuck right off with that bullshit. She didn’t let anyone intimidate her. I wished I could stand up to my brother like she did to hers, but I wasn’t as blunt as her.

If I told her about me and Matt, I was afraid of what my brother would do. She didn’t know what it was like to be constantly compared to your more talented and famous brother. That was par for the course with women’s hockey. We couldn’t have the media talk about us without bringing up our famous brothers or dads or cousins. Like our own merits didn’t matter unless they were tied to a man. Matt and I were still so new that I wanted us to enjoy this happy little bubble before all hell broke loose. Before he realized what a mistake I had been.

“Maddie,” Dinah said again.

“I told you. We’re just friends,” I lied again.

Dinah didn’t look convinced. She put a hand over mine. “Tell me if that changes. I have pull with that brother of yours, okay? If you want to date Cally, go for it. Don’t let your meddlesome brother control that. He loves you and wants the best for you. He’ll deal.”

“It’s your life,” Fi agreed. “Cally’s a cutie. So if you want to date him, it’s none of Noah’s business.”

Their words were heartfelt, but I still didn’t feel like I could tell them the truth. Matt breaking the code was a big no-no, and I wasn’t sure how my brother would handle it. Definitely not well. Noah Kennedy was a force to be reckoned with on the ice and when it came to guys wanting to date me.

I shook off the feeling of dread and guilt and watched the team fight hard in the first twenty minutes of play. And then I watched with a giddy grin on my face when my secret boyfriend scored a second goal of the game.

I sat back and enjoyed what I knew was going to be a superb game while trying to forget my worries.

Chapter Twenty

MATT

“CALLY! CALLY! CALLY!”

I walked into the locker room with a shit-eating grin and the glorious sounds of cheering from my teammates. That was probably my best game of the season. I set it up early, sinking two goals in the back of New Jersey’s net in the first period and then getting an assist on Benny’s game-winning goal.

The energy in the room was on fire, all of us in high spirits after a much-needed win. I was buzzing with excitement at the fact Maddie saw me play tonight. I couldn’t wait to see her later and celebrate.

I stripped off my jersey and undid my pads, leaving me in my undershirt, when Riley came over and handed me the silver bucket. I’d never received that before.

“Good job,” Riley told me, and I knew he meant it.

My teammates got riled up, cheering me on, and I shook my head at their antics before putting the helmet on my head.

“Alright, boys,” I said. “We played a good game. Let’s make sure we do it again!”

“LET’S GET FUCKING LIT!” TJ yelled out into the locker room, screaming like a hyena.

I kept the helmet on long enough for our PR team to take photos. TJ’s fiancée, Max, worked for the social media team, and she shook her head at him while she snapped photos. Max was so quiet and mild-mannered, I didn’t understand how they worked.

“Your husband’s out of control,” I teased.

She laughed. “Not my husband yet. I still have time to give him back.”

“Nuh uh, baby girl. You’re not giving me back!” TJ protested.

“Behave,” she told him, and he gave her that lopsided grin like he would do nothing of the sort.

I took the helmet off once PR let me, and I went to get a shower. I had to do the post-game presser since I had the most goals in the game. I was nervous, but I had media training so I didn’t say the wrong thing. There was a reason hockey players were so conservative in their answers to media questions.

I sat down at the press table in the media room and waited for the reporters to hammer me with questions.

“LaVoie has been shuffling your line this season. What’s it like playing next to Bennett and Halls the past couple of games?” the first reporter asked.

“Benny and Hallsy are great. I’m trying to learn from them. Pick up any little thing that they do to make us a better team. Fix little mistakes. Trying to do my best every night,” I rattled off.