I lowered the menu and narrowed my eyes at him, waiting for the punchline.
His brows rose. “What? I’m being honest.”
I sat the menu down on the table and relaxed my shoulders. “Because I really like Jess. If I just wanted someone to hang out with, then yeah, it would be easy to find a willing woman, but that’s not it.”
Jake leaned forward, “I think you’re trying a little too hard though.”
“I was just trying to be nice,” I argued. Well, at the beginning that was my only intention. I saw her around the front office and obviously was attracted to her. She’s gorgeous. All curves and sass. Her shiny chestnut hair and warm smile. Who wouldn’t want to go on a date with her?
“That would fly a year ago, but now? You’re blatantly pursuing her,” Jake pointed out.
Now I was. Sure. But only since she left the team’s organization and started working for Dani. I thought her initial disinterest had been due to potential conflicts with her job and me being a player. But that wasn’t a problem anymore. There weren’t any excuses to hide behind.
“Because I know she’s going to say yes. Eventually.” I smiled confidently, though I didn’t feel it at the moment. A man could only handle so much rejection, but I wasn’t willing to give up easily.
I wouldn’t pursue her if I wasn’t sure she was interested. I knew she was. She’d flirted with me before, then like a switch, treated me with cool indifference. Last spring, there was even this moment when we were alone, walking back to our cars after an event. She was laughing and joking with me. She wrapped her hands around my arm and leaned into me as we strolled down the sidewalk. She even kissed my cheek when we said goodnight. That had all been real. I knew she was attracted to me, then the next time I saw her, she acted like it never happened.
Neither of us ever brought it up, but I knew she remembered. Since then, there had been small snapshot moments similar to that night. Times when she seemed to forget she was supposed to be professional or pretend not to like me. I caught her watching me from afar only to run when I approached. That’s what kept me going.
The waiter approached and took our order before quickly disappearing. I took a sip of my water and let the rest of them take over the conversation and allowed myself to think more about Jessica. This thing between us wasn’t just in my head. Some of the guys, none of the ones sitting at this table, caught on too. Mikey, Brayden, and even Olli had pointed it out.
So I wasn’t just chasing after someone blindly hoping she eventually agreed. There was something there. A tiny spark. I couldn’t let it go. She was someone special. Different from the women that threw themselves at me and my teammates or the women I invited to attend events with me or meet up for last-minute dinners.
I might be interested in Jessica, but I wasn’t just sitting at home alone waiting for her to come to the realization that she wanted me too. I dated, though never seriously, and went to bars and clubs when I could. I was young and wanted to experience life. Could anyone blame me for that?
“She’s going to be around more because of the holiday party, so give her space,” Dani warned.
“I will.” I sat up, not knowing if she had said anything else to be before I noticed. I would give her space, but that didn’t mean Jess wouldn’t come to me. We seemed to gravitate toward each other. Even when I went out of my way to not engage, she found me and pretended to be annoyed. I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was just a part of our game. Of our relationship. She might tease me about being a player like the rest of the team did, but I took every opportunity to remind her I was one of the good guys. She had to believe that by now.
Despite the reputation I had on the team and with the fans, I wasn’t the party boy. I didn’t go through women like socks, and I most definitely wouldn’t treat her that way.
“Did you guys make any big decisions today?” Erik asked his sister. She joined us at the last minute when her husband demanded she stop working for the day.
“Yeah, I’m really excited about it.” She smiled at Dani, then glanced at me. “It was actually Jessica’s idea that we ended up going with.”
Pride swelled in my chest, despite the fact that I had absolutely nothing to do with it. It wasn’t like I knew much about Jessica’s professional experience, other than seeing how hard she worked at events. But praise from Chloe was not something to ignore.
“Yeah, she came up with the theme ‘A Few of Our Favorite Things’,” Dani started. “We’re going to feature something to represent each of you guys. We’ll probably have an auction or something to help raise money as well.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. We can have autographed items from each of them,” Chloe said, then the two of them dove into more planning while I zone them out.
“What are you going to say?” Reese asked Jake.
“For my favorite thing?” He asked, and Reese nodded. “I don’t know. Do they want our favorite Christmas or holiday thing or just in general?”
Erik leaned across his wife and interrupted the women, “Are we talking general or holiday-themed items?”
Madi pushed him back. “They’ll give you guys details later.”
“Anything,” Dani answered.
“Well, there’s going to be a ton of hockey stuff,” Jake said with a chuckle.
“Hey, we have other interests,” Reese argued with a smirk.
“Like what?” Jake asked.
Reese looked up at the ceiling. “Erik likes cars.”
“I’m not giving away an autographed Lambo,” Erik chided.
“Okay, there’s … food?” Reese suggested before cracking up.
“We can have gift cards to our favorite restaurants. Someone’s bound to do a video game,” I said. “And maybe gym equipment or clothing.”
Jake nodded, “Those are actually good ideas.”
I didn’t appreciate how shocked he sounded. “Gee thanks.”
“It’s going to be surprising if we can all come up with something different,” Reese mentioned.
“Well, Taylor and Jessica are going to be gathering the list from all of you, so they’ll coordinate and make sure that there are no duplicates,” Chloe clarified.
“So have backups in mind just in case,” Dani added.
“Who gets priority if there are doubles?” Erik asked. “Like, whoever tells them first or seniority on the team?”
Dani looked at him as if she were questioning his intelligence. “Does it matter?”
His head shot back. “Of course. How else would it be fair?”
Chloe closed her eyes and inhaled. “Erik, come up with something unique, and it won’t matter.”
He glared at his sister but didn’t say anything else. It was because of moments like this that I lived far away from my family. There were too many complicated relationships in and around the team that kept things nice and full of drama. It was entertaining from the outside, but I never wanted to deal with it personally.
“Fine,” he grumbled.
Our waiter appeared with a loaded tray and began handing out our entrees. I looked down at the roasted chicken and veggies and tried to suppress my groan. I was working on leaning out, which meant eating clean. I noticed I was slowing down at practice and I didn’t want it affecting us during games, so it was necessary, but that didn’t mean I enjoyed it.
Especially not when I looked across the table to Jake shoveling forkfuls of pasta in his mouth. He had the opposite problem. He couldn’t put on weight if his life depended on it. He was always drinking protein shakes and putting in extra time in the gym trying to put on muscle. But his body type was just lean, making him fast and hard to block on the ice.
We all had our strengths and weaknesses, but it sucked watching him pound food when I had to limit myself. This was our job though. Our literal career and responsibility. During the season, I had to be careful and precise with what I put in my body. It was the cost of playing at the professional level. My complaining seemed pathetic when I rem
inded myself how lucky I was to be playing for the Fury. It wasn’t like I was starving. I was just eating healthy.
Poor me. I shook my head and took another bite.
“Don’t forget we have doubles tomorrow,” Reese said as we finished eating.
Erik groaned. “Why did you have to remind us?”
“It doesn’t change that you have to go,” Madi said with a laugh.
“But I didn’t have to think about it right now,” he said with a frown.
“It’s the only way we can have some time off around the holidays,” Reese reminded him.
Doubles meant we had long practice plus training and weight lifting. It would be a grueling day, for sure, but it wasn’t something that we weren’t used to. It wasn’t like this was a once a year thing that only happened in December. It was more like every other week. The game schedules dictated that, not coach. When we had long gaps between games, we increased our workouts to stay sharp, physically and mentally.
Erik was being a baby.
“Get over it,” Chloe scolded him. “You get four days off this year.”
Exactly. I almost said the word aloud. We had four days without practice or games, giving us the opportunity to go visit family if we wanted. That didn’t happen every year.
Not that I was taking advantage of this time. My relationship with my parents was … complicated. I planned on sticking in town and hanging out with the others that weren’t leaving. Coach usually hosted a dinner and game night on Christmas Eve for those of us that stayed, so at least I wouldn’t be totally alone.
Plus, these guys were my family. Despite the teasing, they were the people I was closest to in the world. I’d rather be here for the holidays than anywhere else.
Three
Jessica
“So we’re just going to not talk about it?” Dani said unexpectedly as we organized the centerpieces into separate totes so setting up would go smoothly and quickly.
“Talk about what?” I counted the candles in the tote in front of me before moving to the next one.
“You rejected Lance again.”
I straightened and fought the urge to roll my eyes. Dani might be my friend, but she was also my boss. “It wasn’t like he was asking me on a date. He was inviting me to dinner with all of you, and I didn’t lie. I had work to do.”
“Work that could have easily been done today,” she countered.
I ignored her and went back to my task. Sure, I could have divided up the team between me and Taylor this morning, but I already got three of the players’ responses. That was progress that wouldn’t have happened if I procrastinated.
“I don’t get why you won’t give him a chance.”
“Dani, you told me he tried to hit on you in Mexico.” How did she not see why I wasn’t interested?
“But nothing happened.”
“Jake has warned me Lance is a player. So has half the team and most of the front office. I worked there for a year, and I heard the stories, okay? He was with a new girl each week and didn’t take anything seriously. He’s just another playboy.”
Dani put down her box of glass globes that would hold floating candles. “I don’t think you should judge him based on what you’ve heard.”
I stopped and faced her. “Why? That’s the complete opposite of what you’ve said before.”
She shrugged one shoulder. “It’s just that I’ve heard stories about plenty of the guys on the team that were once notorious womanizers and partiers, but they changed. They met their wives and settled down.”
I narrowed my eyes. “And you think that’s going to happen with Lance? He’s only twenty-eight. I doubt he’s ready to give up his lifestyle yet.”
“I just don’t want to contribute to the narrative that he’s a bad guy. I’ve gotten to know him a lot better over the past few months. He’s one of Jake’s best friends, and I don’t think he’s as bad as people say.”
Her change of attitude was throwing me. Why was she suddenly Pro-Lance?
“I’m pretty sure he’s only interested because I’ve turned him down. He’s just in it for the chase.”
She picked up the box and got back to sorting. “Just don’t write him off. Consider giving him a chance.”
“Has he dated anyone recently?” If anyone knew, it was her. As she said, Jake and Lance were best friends. They bonded in Mexico and became bros—their words not mine.
“Not that I know of,” she answered with a small smile.
“And by dating, I include random hookups,” I added.
She nodded. “I know. From what I’ve seen and heard, he’s slowed down.”
But why?
“I think he’s really interested in you.” She spoke as if she read my mind.
That couldn’t be it. He didn’t actually know me. Sure, he stopped by the office with Jake a lot. If they brought lunch or dinner, we ate together, but it was never romantic. We were acquaintances. Only brought together by mutual friends. I doubted he thought of me when I wasn’t in the same room with him. Men like him didn’t waste their time on a woman that constantly rejected them. It had to be a game for him. He wanted what he couldn’t have. The second I agreed to dinner or a date, he would move on.
Maybe that was what I should do. Get it over and done with so he could find a new target. Then Dani would leave me alone as well. I’d get to say I told her so, that was a plus.
“But I also don’t want to force you to do something you don’t want to,” she said, interrupting my planning.
“It’s not that.” I meant to be dismissive, but her brows shot up.
“What do you mean?” Her smile morphed into a curious grin that had me rethinking opening my mouth.
“I just mean that you wouldn’t be forcing me to do anything.”
She eyed me up and down. “It’s not anything more?”
“Like what?” I turned and picked up a box of fake greenery to sort into the totes.
“You wouldn’t be interested in him by chance?”
I shook my head. “No, he’s not my type.”
“Oh, you’re not into attractive, accomplished, talented, charitable, kind men?”
I blew out a breath. “Of course I am, but that’s not all Lance is.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s also a professional hockey player. He has women throwing themselves at him constantly.”
“Jess.” Her tone made me pause. I turned to see her watching me with sad eyes. “Is that really why? You won’t give him a chance because of his fame?”
“No, I’m used to that. I’ve been around them long enough that it doesn’t bother me.”
“So it’s the women?” she prodded.
There was no point in lying. She knew me well enough to call me on it. “Yeah.”
“What about it bothers you?”
I knew she wouldn’t like my answer, but she was the one pushing for information. “I just think he would get bored. Once I say yes, he’ll move on to the next available woman because he can.”
“He might not.” She waved a hand in front of her. “Jake and the other guys were in the same situation, but they found women they loved, and that was all they wanted.”
I knew most of the guys on the team were in committed relationships. I was friends with several of the women in the Pride. It was possible, but Lance? I didn’t see him changing his ways anytime soon. He didn’t seem interested in family life.
“You’ve thought about this.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t reply. “You’ve thought about him. What would happen if you did give in?”
Of course, I had. The first time he asked me out, I almost shouted yes. Until I stopped to really think about what would happen. Luckily, I was quick enough to realize how things would most likely end. Me liking him and him finding a different flavor of the week without so much as a backward glance at me.
“You like him,” she accused, taking a step toward me.
I held up the box in front of me, using it
as a buffer. “I never said that.”
She looked like a cat on the hunt. She sniffed out and found her prey and wouldn’t give up until she caught it. Me. “You didn’t need to. Uh! I’m such an idiot. I should have seen it sooner.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t like Lance.”
“I think you do.” Her eyes held a glint I didn’t trust.
“No, you want me to like him,” I argued and took a careful step away, but she matched me.
“I really don’t.”
“Oh no. You don't want to like him. That’s different.” Cue the evil grin on her lips. “This changes so much.”
“Nope. It doesn’t.” I set the box down on the table and went to my desk, pretending I was looking for something. Well, I was. But I doubted an escape was there.
“Jess! Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I shouldn’t have warned you about him, or let Jake say anything.”
“I knew about his reputation long before I worked here.” I stopped her from spiraling. “His interest in me has just been since I moved over.”
“Yeah, because you don’t work for the team anymore. You’re not off-limits.”
“I don’t think that was stopping him.” I could count three couples that completely ignored any fraternization rules off the top of my head. Chloe being the number one. If Lance ever wanted to ask me out before this summer, he would have.
Which made me wonder what had changed. He’d known who I was for over a year. Why now? There had to be some game behind it all.
“Admit it, you like him a little. Just a little.” She held up her pointer finger and thumb, leaving less than an inch between them.
I stepped forward and brought them together. “No.”
It was a lie. An outright, blatant lie. He was one of the first guys I noticed when I first started working at the front office. His smile could light up a room. As cliche as that was, it was true. He smiled with his whole face and body. Relaxed and open. And those two blasted dimples. It was rude, really, when I stopped to think about how attractive he was. It wasn’t fair.
Snowflakes and Ice Skates: A Holiday Romance Anthology (Utah Fury Hockey) Page 12