Page 1 of Slapshot Baby

1

AVA

The First Lie

My drink is halfway to my mouth when I forget how to swallow.

It's not the chandelier I spent days fighting an electrician over, finally hanging straight above the VIP lounge I redesigned from the studs up.

Tonight is technically work for me.

My company handled the redesign of the lounge ahead of the LA Ice Foundation's annual charity gala, which means I'm here to make sure nothing catches fire, nobody discovers a last-minute disaster, and hopefully shake hands with enough wealthy people to turn tonight into a few future clients.

So far, I've accomplished two out of three.

It's not even the hockey players scattered around the room in tuxedos, all broad shoulders and expensive suits stretched over bodies that definitely weren't designed with formalwear in mind.

Though that's distracting enough.

No, it's the man standing at the bar.

Dark suit. Broad shoulders. One hand wrapped around a glass as he listens to the guy beside him with an expression that suggests he'd rather be almost anywhere else.

Kai Donovan.

Captain of LA Ice.

And apparently capable of making standing still look like a threat.

"Ava."

I tear my attention away to find Riley making her way toward me with Easton Blake beside her.

"Hi." I smile. "You made it."

I met Riley a few weeks ago when she and her friend Quinn stopped by to see the space during the redesign. They were only supposed to take a quick peek, but somehow they ended up staying for almost an hour while I argued with a contractor about lighting. The next time Riley came by, she brought me coffee.

We aren't exactly friends. Not yet, anyway.

But I like her a lot.

She's easy to talk to, and despite being married to one of the most famous hockey players in the country, she's surprisingly down-to-earth. She's one of those people who somehow makes you feel like you've known her much longer than you have.

"Barely." Riley exhales dramatically. "This is one of the few times we've both left Molly for more than an hour, and Easton's checked his phone approximately four hundred times."

She and Easton are both dressed for the gala, but there's something adorably exhausted about them that all the expensive clothes in the world can't hide.

"How is the baby?"

"Perfect," Riley says immediately.

"Sleeping," Easton adds, already looking at his phone again.

I grin into my drink.

New parents. Completely hopeless.

Then Riley glances toward the bar, and something lights in her expression.