Body Checked (Salt Lake Pumas #2) Page 3

  And not only that. Will knew volleyball?! Relief roared through me as I put on my best smile. “Right, it’s a volleyball term,” I confirmed. “I remember because I used to play.” I knew that made me look better in Jack’s eyes. I was a woman who knew sports. That would make it easier for me to connect to his demographic.

  It was a good opportunity for me to steer the topic away from hockey. I talked to Jack about my team, how playing volleyball had got me interested in fitness more generally. He was a little taken aback when I mentioned lifting weights. But I think he liked it.

  We took our seats right before the puck dropped. As Colin and Jack discussed their excitement for the game, I leaned over to Will. As I moved closer, I got a whiff of his scent: pine and pepper, something so masculine it made me glad I was sitting down! “Thank you,” I whispered. “It was really good of you to cover for me.”

  He gave a soft chuckle. I could almost feel the way it rumbled through him. If I put my hand on his chest, I would actually be able to feel it. I had to drag myself away from the thought of how good it’d feel to touch Will, to feel the muscles under his crisp white shirt.

  “I’m guessing you don’t know hockey at all?” he asked. I could tell from his tone that he was amused by the fact. “Well, we’re supporting the team playing in black,” he told me with a grin.

  “I did guess that,” I answered, rolling my eyes. “I may not know hockey, but I know what color pumas are.” I was burning with curiosity. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask Will! But I had to keep half of my attention on Colin and Jack, in case they moved to include me in their conversation.

  The players streamed onto the ice, the crowd roaring so loud it became difficult to ask Will anything. I wanted to invite him for a coffee, or something, to show my appreciation of how he’d saved me.

  But the match was fast and fierce. I flinched every time one of the players got slammed into the glass wall separating our seats from the ice.

  “Never sat so close, before?” Jack asked me. I shook my head, clenching my hands in my lap to keep them from flying up and covering my face. “You get used to it,” he promised. I wasn’t sure it was something I wanted to get used to.

  After just three periods, the game came to a close. Before I could catch Will by himself, he’d disappeared, taking Jack to see the rest of the players. I felt like I’d missed a step going downstairs.

  How could I have met Will Green twice and not managed to get his number? Now, I was back to wishing on my lucky star and hoping we’d cross paths again. My moms always told me that meeting someone three times meant it was fate…

  I just hoped that they were right.

  Chapter Three

  Will

  By the time I returned to the VIP section after that game, Lacey was already gone. I could hardly believe that I’d missed another chance to ask her for her number. It was disappointing, but maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

  Rather than focus on that, I went out with the guys to celebrate the team’s win. It still sucked not to be able to play, but at least I was allowed to drink again! Despite not being able to be out on the ice with them, being able to celebrate together made me feel like I was still part of the team.

  Coming home to Teddy after celebrating a win felt... pretty great, actually. He was so energetic, bouncing all over the place as he welcomed me back. I’d only had him for a short period of time but I already couldn’t imagine living without Teddy.

  The next couple of weeks, Teddy seemed to get bigger and bigger. Of course, I’d known he’d grow, but I hadn’t expected him to grow so much in two weeks! He must’ve doubled in size. Even his dog bed didn’t fit anymore. I’d had to replace his lead as well and get more dog food delivered.

  Teddy’s exceptional growth was what led me to make a vet’s appointment for him. Once I had started thinking that maybe there was something wrong, I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. A vet, I figured, would be able to reassure me that I had nothing to worry about.

  “Just sit down,” I told Teddy as we sat at the vet’s waiting room a couple of days after I’d called them. Teddy was very excited about everything. I was having a hard time even keeping him in one spot.

  When the door opened, Teddy went crazy, bouncing all over the place and doing his little yelpy bark, that by now was actually starting to sound like a pretty grown-up bark.

  “Teddy, stop,” I said tugging on his lead but he hardly listened, pulling harder towards... Vega.

  I looked up from the dog and to her owner. “Lacey!” Teddy took advantage of my surprise at seeing her, successfully pulling the lead from my hand so he could bounce over and rub himself against Vega excitedly.

  Lacey was fast! Her arm was a blur as she reached down to catch Teddy’s lead where it trailed across the ground. As I walked closer, she blushed, her fingers brushing mine as she handed it back. “I thought he might be running for the door!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t want him to get out.”

  But Teddy had no interest in getting out. He was rubbing his head against Vega’s body. Seeing the two of them together again really highlighted Teddy’s growth. He could reach up to her shoulder now, when before he’d barely been at her stomach.

  “Oh, my gosh, he’s so big,” Lacey admired. “Have you been feeding him like an athlete?” she teased.

  “No! I just put the food down and he... eats it.” I shrugged sheepishly. Honestly, I hadn’t paid all that much attention to Teddy’s diet, other than making sure he wasn’t hungry. But he wasn’t fat, he was just... tall.

  I walked back to my seat and was glad when Lacey and Vega followed us. Teddy could hardly contain his excitement. Vega, thankfully, seemed pretty into it, nuzzling her nose against Teddy and encouraging him to play.

  “That’s why we’re here,” I admitted when Lacey took a seat. “I worry that he’s... growing too much? Is that a thing? I don’t know. Is this how people with kids feel?” I sighed, shaking my head.

  Lacey laughed. I smiled back at her. I liked knowing I could make her laugh. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never had kids,” she answered, shaking her head. “But maybe. I’ve definitely been surprised by how much babies can grow in only a month or so.”

  Reaching down, she petted the fluff between Teddy’s ears, making him pant with delight and turn over onto his back. Vega woofed, moving to stand over him like she was protecting his vulnerable belly from potential threats.

  “I was sorry that I didn’t get to talk more to you at the Pumas game,” Lacey said, almost shyly. “Why didn’t you tell me you played for the NHL?”

  Knowing that Lacey had wanted to talk to me was definitely good. “Lucky we keep running into each other then,” I teased lightly before shaking my head. “And really, how big-headed of me would it be to introduce myself with that?” Not that there hadn’t been times I’d used that as a chat-up line, but maybe in a bar, not a dog park.

  “You didn’t tell me you’re developing an ad campaign for a brewery,” I pointed out with a grin. “How did that go, by the way? Was Jack convinced by your hockey references?”

  Lacey’s cheeks got even redder. It shouldn’t have been adorable, but it really was. “I’m a graphic designer,” Lacey explained. “So I’m usually working on an ad campaign for something. It’s not always as exciting as a brewery.”

  She shifted, turning on the waiting room chair to face me. “I don’t think it would have been big-headed,” she said. “Getting to the NHL takes a huge amount of dedication. And I imagine it takes up a lot of your life.”

  She paused, tilting her head. It wasn’t a question, but she was clearly giving me the space to answer.

  “It’s been pretty much my whole life for... forever. I was drafted ten years ago. But even before then, I’ve played hockey since I was four,” I commented. Hockey was my life. And it always had been. Truthfully, this injury was the first thing that had highlighted to me that I didn’t really have anything but hockey.

  That didn’t
seem like the sort of thing to tell a mostly stranger in a vet’s waiting room. “Of course, I’m very proud to play in the NHL, but it’s still big-headed to start a conversation with that,” I argued. “Why? Would that have made a difference?” I asked teasingly.

  Shaking her head, Lacey tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Even that small moment took my breath away. She really was so beautiful. It didn’t matter that she was wearing a casual-looking t-shirt and jeans. I could only imagine how great she would look if she really made an effort.

  “No, it wouldn’t have,” she assured me. “But… it’s interesting. That was what went through my mind at the game. That I wished I’d known more about you.”

  It was flattering. I liked that Lacey had been interested in me even before she’d learned what I did for a living. “How long do you think it will be before you get to play again?” Lacey asked.

  My face fell. There was still no set date for when I could return. “I don’t know yet,” I told Lacey truthfully. The team PR would probably advise me not to say anything, but I really didn’t think Lacey was about to rush off to tell the media that Pumas’s D-man didn’t know when he could return to the ice.

  “I fucked up my shoulder last season,” I explained. “Had to have two surgeries over summer so the recovery is... slow.” At least I didn’t have to wear a brace anymore. It didn’t hurt anymore either, which the doctor assured me was good. “It’s hard, not being able to play,” I told Lacey honestly.

  Lacey’s eyes looked so sympathetic, like she really understood what I was going through. And yet, I didn’t get a sense that she pitied me. She paused, then laid a hand gently on my forearm. “It must be tough, not having an end date,” she said. And it was. I knew I would play again, but patience was hard when I had no way of counting down to when that might be.

  “But you have Teddy,” she reminded me. And Teddy seemed to recognize his name, because he barked another grown-up sounding bark. “Have you got other hobbies you do to take your mind off it?” Lacey asked. “I assume that even if you can’t play hockey, you still have to get more exercise than dog-walking.”

  The hand on my arm didn’t move. I found it hard to focus on actually answering Lacey. I couldn’t remember the last time a woman had distracted me as much as Lacey did. And I hardly knew her!

  “I don’t,” I answered, shaking my head like it would loosen the thoughts about how good Lacey’s hand felt against my arm. “It’s not great, I get that, but it wasn’t really a problem until I couldn’t play anymore.” Some hockey players had hobbies. And if not, they had relationships.

  I had Teddy.

  Lacey smiled up at me, pulling her hand back so she could tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. Instantly, I missed the contact. “Is there anything that you’ve wanted to do, but didn’t have time for?” she asked.

  “I mean, I like my job, but even I sometimes look out the window on warm days and think how much more fun it would be to be outside, learning a new skill.” I couldn’t immediately think of anything. But I did sort of recognize what Lacey was talking about. “If I had all the time in the world, I’d learn to paraglide,” she added.

  “That’s pretty specific,” I said. “Are you a fan of heights then?” Heights? I was asking her about heights. I didn’t even know Lacey’s surname but I was going to find out about whether she liked heights. Cool.

  Something about her was just... messing with my mind. It was, I was certain, linked to how lovely her smile looked. If only Lacey smiled less attractively! “I did bungee jumping a few years back, that was... I don’t know if I’d want to repeat it, really.”

  She sucked her lower lip, making me swallow hard. I’d met plenty of attractive women before. I couldn’t remember ever feeling this stunned by one. Not since I got out of high school.

  “It’s more the view,” Lacey answered. “I like seeing the world from up high. The landscape looks so different. I used to pour over my mom’s topographical maps. I even made up my own countries and drew what they would look like from a plane.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it, picturing a tiny Lacey bending over old maps was such a striking image! “But I wouldn’t want to bungee jump,” she added. “I think I’d feel sick trying to look at it when my perspective was changing so fast. That’s why I like the idea of gliding.”

  She glanced at me, shaking her head slightly. “But that’s not a helpful suggestion. If you can’t skate, I don’t imagine you can paraglide. What about… live music?”

  “Oh, are you trying to come up with a hobby for me?” I asked realizing that that must be what she was doing. “I definitely can’t paraglide,” I confirmed. My shoulder was a lot better but it wasn’t well enough to do that.

  I had to admit, though, the reasoning that Lacey gave sounded... nice.

  God, what the fuck was wrong with me. Since when did I think about topography as nice. Since when did I think about topography at all?

  Right, right, she’d asked me a question. “Um, live music. Yeah. I mean, I honestly don’t really go out of my way to listen to any. I listen to music when I work out, sure, but concerts seem like more effort than they’re worth.”

  “Well, I disagree with you there,” Lacey said, wrinkling her nose. It was much more adorable than it had any right to be. “But I won’t argue. What about comedy?” she pressed. “They say that laughter is the best medicine, don’t they?”

  It would never have occurred to me to go to a comedy show alone. That honestly sounded more depressing than a concert. But before I could say so, I watched Lacey’s gaze drift away from me.

  I turned, spotting an older couple taking their seats behind me. They each had a dog, looking almost as grey and grizzled as their owners. “Aww, aren’t they cute?” Lacey asked. “Look at how they’re holding hands, and then their dogs have got their paws all tangled up, too.”

  I glanced over with a small frown. Truthfully, I didn’t really know what was so cute about it. The way Lacey looked at them made it seem like they were the nicest thing she’d seen all day.

  It’s romantic, a voice whispered in my head and I had to shake it out. Of course, romantic.

  Why people were so obsessed with the concept always seemed beyond me. Romance was just a lie to make people think that things were better than they actually were. Flowers didn’t fix broken relationships, so why bother?

  “If you say so,” I shrugged.

  Lacey’s gaze fixed on me, a frown wrinkling her brow. “You don’t think so?” she asked. “I think it’s sweet that they still want to hold hands at their age. Like just being close to one another is comforting.”

  I didn’t want to stare too obviously so I turned my attention back to Lacey. “And they say that people’s pets take after them, if they’ve had them long enough. So maybe their dogs have learned by watching their owners.”

  It seemed... pretty ridiculous. “I don’t really get it,” I shrugged. “Or well, I suppose I get them holding hands. The humans, not the dogs, that’s...” I didn’t say ‘stupid’ but I did kind of imply it. Lacey was stunning, but her attractiveness wasn’t going to overshadow the fact that she thought dogs held hands.

  “I just don’t get why that’s ‘cute’ or whatever,” I said waving my hand somewhat dismissively. Women seemed to love this sort of shit and I never got it. Sure, couples held hands and that was nice for them, but why was that cute for anyone else?

  Lacey pressed her teeth into her lower lip, like she was holding back a flood of words. I’d heard women gush about this kind of thing before. If she was holding off, I could at least appreciate that she didn’t immediately try to talk me round to her point of view.

  “Because it’s what I hope I’ll have, when I’m their age,” Lacey answered. “I want somebody who’ll come to the vet with me, and hold my hand, even when we’ve been together for twenty years. Or more!”

  She frowned again. “Isn’t that what everybody wants?”

  I almost missed her last question becau
se I was thinking about how I wanted to hold her hand. Right now. I could so easily reach out and hold it. But... what the fuck? I didn’t even know Lacey and now I was going to hold her hand? Whatever it was that she was doing to me was a bit crazy.

  “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I think spending twenty years together needs more content than just holding hands,” I shrugged. Obviously, I knew that some couples stayed together for that long if not longer but it seemed... in a way almost unimaginable.

  Twenty years was a long time to be able to put up with someone.

  She laughed. “You talk about it like it’s a YouTube channel,” she teased. “I don’t think that something exciting has to happen every week for a relationship to be a good one.” I raised my eyebrows at that.

  “Why can’t a relationship just be… living life together?” she asked. “Someone to have by your side for whatever life happens to throw at you?” It wasn’t a description that applied to any relationship I’d ever had.

  Shaking her head, Lacey continued. “I’m sure they have plenty of memories together, if we could ask them without it being weird.”

  “Yeah, let’s not.” I shook my head. I did think a bit about what she’d said, about having someone by your side no matter what. But really, that mostly sounded like a description of having a dog. Teddy was by my side no matter what happened, yet we weren’t holding hands at the vet’s.

  I shrugged my good shoulder. Lacey’s perception of stuff was clearly tinted pink with romance. That was nice for her, even if it would definitely end up burning her sooner or later. “I’m just not... romantic.” That wasn’t a lie. I just also wasn’t into relationships or the pretend niceness people lied to themselves about.

  Lacey’s brown eyes met mine. I still didn’t see pity in them, but I did see sadness. It looked genuine - but how sad could she really be that I didn’t do romance? She barely even knew me. “I think that’s a pity,” she said. “I can’t imagine not being romantic. I mean, there’s a reason people write books about it, and songs, and poetry.”