Page 39 of Knocked Sideways

Jed closed his eyes and pretended like he was asleep himself, trying to ignore the flutter in his chest at the thought that Remy had sought him out that morning and wasn’t upset after all.

It was no big deal. No big deal at all.

The team had back-to-back games in New York, but that didn’t stop Remy from heading to a bar with Moreau and McBride after they won the first, extending their streak to three. Moreau and McBride each had two goals, and Remy had an assist to each of them, which was pretty damn great. Even Hal didn’t try to stop them from going out after the game. He just reminded them to be in by curfew and to take it easy.

“Yes, Cap,” they all chorused as they headed out.

“We’re going to that bar next door,” Petey added. “One drink for each goal, Cap. We’ll be back in no time.”

“You want me to go with ’em?” Bakesy asked, seeing the frown on Hal’s face. Bakesy, Hal, and Jed had grabbed a few of the big leather chairs in the hotel’s bar so they could watch the end of the Minnesota game.

“Not after that hit you took,” Hal told Bakesy. “You need to recover for tomorrow.”

“Good.” Bakesy groaned as he stretched his arms above his head. “Because I’m not sure I can actually get out of this chair. How about a beer here, then?”

“Fine.” One look from Hal brought a server hurrying over. She brought their drinks quickly—beer for Bakesy and Jed, a rare whiskey soda for Hal—and left them to the game.

Bakesy called it a night after he finished his drink, but Hal stayed and called for another soda—without the whiskey this time—so Jed did, too. Not that he was waiting for Remy, he reminded himself. He and Hal hadn’t hung out in a while.

But Hal didn’t usually stick around after a game like this, so that meant something was probably on his mind.

“What’s going on, Cap?” he asked. “Usually, you’d be up saying good night to Allie by now. If you’re waiting for the guys to get back from the bar, you don’t need to.”

“I know. I wanted to talk to you about something.” Hal paused. It wasn’t like him to beat around the bush, which gave Jed a pretty good idea of what was coming.

“You looked cozy with Lads on the plane.”

Jed waited to see if Hal would say more. Nothing had happened between him and Remy, and nothing was going to happen, so there was nothing for Hal to lecture him about.

“Did I make a mistake there?” Hal asked finally. “Is this going to become a whole different kind of problem than the one I thought we had?”

“I guess it depends on what you think is a problem.”

Hal glared at him in a What the hell? kind of way. And, fair. That had not been the right answer.

“Look, whatever you’re thinking, there’s not going to be a problem, okay? Nothing’s happening there.”

“Do you want something to happen there?”

“Why would you even ask that?” Jed snapped, which was a mistake. Hal knew exactly what was making Jed uncomfortable.

“I think you know damn well why I’m asking. Be careful, Jed, okay? I don’t care if something develops between the two of you. God knows you deserve to have a real relationship at some point in your life. But I don’t need to tell you that whatever happens, it can’t mess up what we’re doing with the team. And based on what I saw last night, I’m thinking maybe Remy is just getting out of something and doesn’t need to get involved with someone else so soon.”

“You’re right, you don’t need to tell me. And you don’t need to worry. We’re not looking at each other like that.”

“You are absolutely looking at each other like that,” Hal said, like Jed was being stupid on purpose. “I don’t know who you think you’re fooling. Well, you’re probably fooling most of the team. And Lads has had heart eyes for you from day one, so maybe everyone else is chalking it up to hero worship. You might even be fooling yourselves. But you aren’t fooling me.”

“Heart eyes?” was all Jed could think to say.

“Don’t act like you’re that much older than me. You know what heart eyes are. And if you don’t see that Lads has them for you, you’re a lot worse at reading people than I thought.”

With the sigh of someone who carried the weight of the whole team on his shoulders—which he did, and which Jed shouldn’t be adding to—Hal heaved himself out of his chair.

“All I’m saying is, let him come to you, okay? Let him make the first move, so you know he’s ready.”

“I didn’t realize you were some kind of relationship expert in your spare time.”

“I wouldn’t have to be if hockey players weren’t so emotionally stunted. Believe me, it’s not my first choice for how I’d spend my time. But you get my point, right?”