Page 54 of The Big Puck

They invite me out after the game with them, but I decline because I don’t want to keep the sitter late.

“I’ll come home with you then,” Sabien says, throwing an arm over my shoulder. “Forget about these guys.” He dismisses his buddies with a wave of his hand. Jason rolls his eyes.

I laugh. “Not tonight.”

“That’s right. Coach has his girlfriend for a sleepover tonight, doesn’t he? You’re going to need to wear earplugs, Lainey, so you don’t overhear them. Shonda looks like a screamer.”

“Okay, I wish I had earplugs in for that comment,” I say.

“Don’t be disrespectful to Coach, Dumas,” Jason says to him. “What did he ever do to you besides help you improve your stick handling?”

“You mean besides cockblocking me with Lainey?”

Jason snorts. “Don’t take that so seriously. If he didn’t, I would have.”

“Hello?” I say. “I’m right here, and if anyone’s going to cockblock on my behalf, it’s going to be me.”

Sabien looks me over. “Spunky. I love that. Bet you’re a tiger in—”

“Don’t even think of finishing that sentence,” Jason says, standing straighter.

“On that note, I’m going home,” I say. I’m so not ready for flirting, especially not with my overly protective brother’s teammates.

Jason gives me a hug and tells me to drive carefully.

On the way home, I can’t help thinking that maybe earplugs are a good idea because the last thing I want to hear is Spence making love to Shonda—or any woman.

Of course not. It would probably give me nightmares. Or another sexy dream. Either way, it would be very unsettling.

And not because I’m jealous. I swear on a stack of bibles.

Chapter 20

SPENCER

“What a scene. That was fun, babe,” Shonda says as she holds onto my arm while we step outside the arena. I grunt, not sure what she thought was fun. The game? Maybe. But I know for a fact Shonda is not a true hockey fan. She doesn’t watch sports willingly.

“You rocked the post-game interviews. And all those people—you’re a legit celebrity in this town.”

Now, I get it. “Don’t get too impressed. We’re a small market. Not a lot of people give us more than a fifty-fifty shot of making the franchise work.”

“What do you care? You’re only here for a year anyway.”

I stop walking, and not because we’ve reached the restaurant. “Why do you think I took this job?”

“It’s a step up from college coaching, right? I didn’t see that you had any other choices.”

Swiping a hand through my hair, I grunt again, not bothering to try and explain where her understanding falls short. Far, far short.

Because, what do I care? I’m only going to be with her for one more night.

Cold, but true. I continue walking. My mind is made up. Tonight, I end this sham of a relationship between us. I’m not even going to bother having sex with her because even though it was always hot between us, that would be wrong. Not even for old times’ sake. Because there’s nothing there between us as two people, and suddenly, I can’t think of anything more depressing than empty sex.

My dick doesn’t even put up a fight.

We eat dinner in a quiet corner after I pose for pictures with a few of the fans who recognize me at the restaurant. I manage a half smile for the unsuspecting fans because this is part of the job I signed on for—the hard part, but no less important. And I’m nothing if not all in with this job.

Despite whatever personal crap I’m carrying around, and there’s a shit ton of that. So, I’m looking forward to offloading the lingering pseudo relationship with Shonda, though I force myself to keep two things in mind. First, I invited her here this weekend, so I need to not be an asshole tonight and try and show her some respect, give her my best.