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Cory brought his brother. I played with Cory in a minor league team at the start of my career, and as much as he can piss me off, it’s still nice to have a familiar face on the team.
I need all the friends I can get. It takes a lot of chemistry on the ice to make a good team. And having some of that muscle memory with Cory already has really worked in my favor.
Transitioning from the minor leagues has been easier than I would have imagined. Maybe it’s because of the guys. The coaches certainly help. A part of me worried that this would be too good to be true. It’s hard to imagine everything working out the way you plan, but my life seems to be doing just that.
“Hey,” I hear Connor say.
I look over to see him and Tanner walking this way.
“What’s up, man,” I say, shaking Tanner’s hand and then pulling him in for a hug. “They let you off work?”
Tanner snorts. “No. And it’ll cost me five billable hours, but who’s counting?” His smile is brittle.
Connor rolls his eyes.
Tanner is a bigshot corporate attorney. Connor really married up, and I make sure to remind him of that fact every chance that I get. I like Tanner a lot, mostly because he hates being around people as much as I do. But also because he doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit.
“God, I wish they’d hurry up with dinner. I’m starving,” Connor says.
I smell the food before I see it. The waitstaff walks around to serve appetizers and are nearly tackled to the ground as several large men rush to the food. Jesus. I shake my head.
I find a wide-eyed waiter with trembling hands coming out of a doorway and I snatch a handful of some kind of pastry puff, popping one in my mouth immediately.
It’s delicious. I pop in another one before Cory can steal the rest. And he does, shoving one after the other in his mouth before even swallowing.
“Charming,” I scold him.
“Yeah, well. I’m just trying to make you look better so that girl over there will stop staring and pick you.
I glance to the right to see what he’s talking about, and I spot Astrid. My body’s reaction is immediate. My heart thuds. My pulse quickens. It is like the adrenaline I get when I step on the ice, except slightly more terrifying.
“She is hot,” Cory whistles. The way he says it tells me all I need to know. He’s trying to goad me.
And it’s fucking working. I fist a hand in my pocket. He’s just trying to get me to react. He’ll get bored if I don’t.
“Want me to go over there and introduce myself?—”
“No.” I cross the space to Astrid in five steps, positioning my body to block hers from Cory as I hear him laugh behind me.
“Hi,” I say when I realize I’m staring at her again.
“H-hi,” Astrid says, her voice soft and breathy. She tilts her head back to be able to see me and the light catches her face.
To say Astrid is beautiful would be an insult. She’s stunning. A goddess. Astrid is the reason people believed in sun gods. Her golden hair and bright smile drawing people towards her like a gravitational pull. She’s kind and funny and just so… alive.
I shift uncomfortably. We still haven’t talked about the kiss. I absentmindedly run my thumb over my lips.
“Dad,” Violet comes running over to me and wraps her arms around my leg. Jake and Tanner are right behind her as I hoist her up into my arms.
“What’d you think? Did Dad play well?” I ask.
She wrinkles her little nose and looks up at me. “No.” She breaks into a wide grin.
That gets a laugh from my chest. I kiss her head and set her down again so that she can go back to playing with Jake.
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” Astrid says, not waiting for anyone to acknowledge her before she walks away.
“Uh, yeah, um, Tanner,” I say, craning my neck to see where she went. “Could you watch Violet for a second. I’ll be right back.”
