Page 27 of Broken As Puck

“That’s what I’d like to know.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything about the documentary since last week. Since our first game is coming up, surely some sort of organization should be happening.”

I nodded. He had a point. I’d expected to have heard from either Chelsey or Kim by now. “I’ll ask Chelsey before I leave.”

His chin dipped in acknowledgment. “I’d appreciate that. We don’t want to be caught off guard when the time comes. Better to be prepared for these things.”

We skated off the ice together, and I went to the changing rooms, undressed, and showered. All the while, my mind was whirling. Hopefully, the delay in hearing from the doc team was just because they were busy sorting the details out on their end. I’d hate to think that Chelsey was dragging her feet because she was reluctant to deal with me.

I packed my gear, zipped my bag, and left it on a bench to return to later, then I strode out of the changing rooms and almost had a three-way collision.

Chelsey had been coming down the stairs, looking at her phone, while Delacrue was rushing past for God only knew what reason. I stopped abruptly, halting just short of Chelsey, and Delacrue slammed into me, knocking me off balance. I grabbed him to steady myself.

“What the fuck?” He stepped back, blinking in surprise. His gaze darted from me to Chelsey and narrowed. “Someone let that reporter bitch in the front door,” he snapped. “Was it you? Are you trying to get us booted from the NHL?”

She reeled back, and it was clear from her expression that she had no idea what he was talking about.

Thinking quickly, I clapped him on the shoulder. “Why don’t you warn the guys who haven’t left yet? Suggest they go out the side door?”

He nodded. “Good thinking.”

As he disappeared into the changing rooms, Chelsey turned her nose up at me. “Not going to say anything about him calling a reporter a bitch?”

“There were more important things.” As it was, we were lucky Delacrue hadn’t confronted her. If I’d made a fuss when he was already in a bad mood, we might have gotten into the exact kind of PR scrape we were trying to avoid—especially if Rebecca Jansen was somewhere in the building and caught wind of the fight and what had caused it.

The corners of Chelsey’s mouth turned down, and I hated how disappointed she looked. “Same old Matt. I thought you might have changed, but you haven’t.”

I wanted to argue, but I could already tell that it wouldn’t get me anywhere. I’d be better off trying to get this situation back onto professional grounds.

“Coach wants to know what’s going on with the documentary crew. Will they be coming to Washington with us on Monday?”

Her lips parted in a sexy ‘O’, and I got the impression I’d taken her by surprise. “No, unfortunately, they have a conflicting appointment for that game.”

“Okay, I’ll let Coach know.”

“Thanks.” She illuminated her phone screen and glanced down at it. I followed her gaze, my eyes catching on the image of a waterfall on her screensaver. It was beautiful, and I couldn’t help wondering if she’d taken the photo and, if so, who’d gone with her. Was there another man accompanying her on her rambling hikes, like I used to?

My blood heated, and I drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm myself. I had no right to be upset if she was dating. We’d been broken up for years, and I’d been the one to blow it. She was allowed to move on.

I gestured toward the phone screen. “Is that one of yours?”

Her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed. She probably wanted to tell me to get lost. But instead, she nodded.

“It could be on a postcard.” That wasn’t an exaggeration. Chelsey was seriously talented. “Do you still do much landscape photography?”

She was silent for so long that I thought she might not answer, but eventually, she did. “Yeah, but unfortunately, my camera and lenses are better suited to portraits and sports photography rather than landscapes. Those are what I need for my work, so I have to prioritize them.”

I flinched at the unspoken admission that she couldn’t afford the lenses or the camera that would allow her the most freedom to pursue her passion for the outdoors. “I’d think a camera for portrait and sports photography would be a work expense, not a personal cost to you.”

She grimaced. “The team does have cameras, but I prefer to work with my own. I know it better, so I take better photos with it.”

“That makes sense.” I understood, but it was a shame that she wasn’t able to have the best of the best in all regards. She deserved top-of-the-line landscape photography gear. I’d rarely seen her more content than when she was photographing waterfalls or mountain ranges. She shouldn’t have to settle for less.

“Have you been on any tours recently?” She’d always dreamed of signing up for one of those multi-day tours of far-flung regions led by experienced landscape photographers. When we were together, that had been out of our budget, but I hoped she’d managed to do at least one or two since then.

She raised her eyebrows. “I think we’ve veered off-topic enough for one day.”