by Toni Aleo
The teasing he did earlier in the bar were not false allegations. He did look amazing with his shirt off. Her glance moved back to his chest. Her body hummed with memories of running her lips over those transcendent abs. He wasn’t wrong. The man was built like a God.
Every inch of her body wanted to stay. She could only imagine the additional fun this night could hold.
Kyler’s eyes slowly closed, then opened again. “Let me just say, as much as I don’t want you to go, it’s not a bad view watching you leave.”
Wow, that line sucked, and yet it worked. She was melting at his words and again considering staying. Instead she smiled and waved as she closed the door behind her. She didn’t need a new man in her life when she wasn’t over the last one yet.
In the Uber home, she could hear the yells and horns from the various gatherings. She looked at the clock on her phone, it was midnight, and folks were ushering in the new year. She was alone, in an Uber, after a one-night stand. Not exactly her best look.
Chapter Two
Kyler
(Almost a year later…)
Kyler Wilson scoffed at the large lighted Christmas tree in town as he drove by, on the way to morning practice. Kyler despised Christmas. He was more a gore and ghouls kind of guy. The gorier the better. Dark fit his personality better these days. Unfortunately, he was in the minority when it came to hating Christmas. The more decorations he passed, the more he anticipated getting back home to the safety of his loft. He longed for the serenity of his “Christmas-Free-Zone”.
He didn’t own a Christmas tree, or a single decoration. His parents were long-gone, and he was an only child, for all intents and purposes he was an orphan.
He endured a lot of ribbing from the guys about his lack of fondness for the holiday. But most of those guys had families, and that made the holiday special for them. Kyler understood that. That was a big part as to why he wasn’t a fan. When he was younger, his mom made the holidays magical. He waited impatiently all year for Christmastime. But those days were long gone, along with his holiday spirit.
As an adult, his holidays consisted of whatever bunny wanted to spend the day in his bed, drinking hard liquor, eating pizza, and watching Netflix.
Kyler was thrifty, since he’d been on his own for so long. He’d been saving every penny since he started getting a decent paycheck for playing the game that he loved. His one splurge was his vehicle. Once he got to Pittsburgh and saw what kind of ice and snow they had in the winter, he knew he needed a tank-type-vehicle to keep him safe in his travels back and forth to the arena. Growing up in California, he wasn’t used to the cold winters of the Steel City.
He needed a vehicle that was comfortable. He was a big guy, all muscle, earned from hard work and dedication. He opted for a G-Wagon. As soon as he took it for a test drive, he knew this was one tough mother of a vehicle. Exactly what he was looking for.
His radio blared hard rock and alternative music, but somehow a Christmas tune still snuck through. Kyler quickly switched the station to sports talk radio.
Last Christmas was the worst. Instead of sticking to the bunnies, Kyler had gotten pretty serious about a woman, little did he know she didn’t return those feelings. It wasn’t until Thanksgiving last year that she started getting testy that he wouldn’t buy her extravagant things that he realized she was in love with his bank account, not him. By Christmas he was on his own again.
Kyler shook away the thoughts and focused on the road ahead of him. He admittedly drank too much last New Year’s Eve, hoping the new year would be better. That’s when he ran into Anna. At first, he thought she was just what he needed to get out of his funk. A hot one-night stand, and an awesome hangover the next day seemed to slap him back to being himself. Until he couldn’t get that girl out of his head. There was something about her… but he had no phone number, not even a last name to go by.
All the social media searches he did were useless. Anna was nowhere to be found. She was obviously just a drunken fling, or simply didn’t want to be found. And he was Kyler Wilson, Renegades hockey player. She obviously knew that and wouldn’t have much trouble finding him if she so desired. The words made sense but getting her out of his head was another thing completely.
Kyler parked in the garage at the Three Rivers Practice facility. He hurried to the locker room area, locked his valuables in the changing room, and put on his Under Armor. The changing room was separate from the locker room, where the guys locked up their valuables, and hung their suits to keep them pristine. It was empty, he was either really late or early. Kyler was betting on late. He was rarely early for anything. As soon as he walked into the noisy locker room, the area where the guys put on their smelly pads, the many faces that stared back at him told him that he was late. He kept his head down and quickly put on his gear, hoping to avoid the razzing.
“Wilson! Glad you could join us.” Tyler Kidd, the team captain called, his voice full of jest.
“Yeah,” Kyler answered with snark. “I considered my options. Practice seemed like more fun than being out in the world with all the Christmas nuts.” He made a face that would rival the green mug of Mr. Yuck.
“Wilson, what’s your problem with Christmas anyway?” Sam Morris questioned, his brow ruffled as if he heard fighting words.
He’d only been in Pittsburgh for a few seasons, since being picked up from Arizona, it was still a new city to him. But he had figured out the pecking order on the team. The older guys were mostly the family men, and they did their best to mentor the younger ones. Which was cool. But Kyler wasn’t interested in getting that close to anyone. That’s just who he was.
His trade here took him by surprise. Arizona only took a future draft pick in return, so right off the bat he felt underappreciated. Add in the odd, constantly changing weather, and not being ready to start over, and this move was a disaster waiting to happen. Then he found puck bunnies, and the transition became a bit smoother.
“I didn’t mean any offense by it. But, dude, you have two kids, of course you’re completely into the whole Christmas vibe. It’s almost your job as a Dad. Do you dress up as Santa Claus too?” Kyler jeered.
“Uh, no. Sure I’m a dad and I get to see the joy and magic through my kid’s eyes at Christmastime, but I’ve always loved the holidays. Just ask Tri. I spoiled her hopelessly when it was just us. The kids just make it even more special. Someday, you’ll see.”
Kyler wasn’t stupid, he knew what made the holidays special for people like Sam. And Tyler drove that point home with he spoke up.
“It’s just me and Paige, and we love the holidays. Add in that we both work a lot, and travel, and we still make time to do holiday stuff. Paige always has something fun planned on our days off. Tree shopping and spending the day at The Shoppes at Market Square just to name a couple. Add in all the cookie baking and decorating she does. Plus, going to see Christmas lights and hot cocoa, and don’t forget, the mistletoe. My girl might be a Christmas fanatic, but I love her.”
There was one thing all these guys had that he didn’t – a significant other. Some had wives and kids, some just had wives or girlfriends. But they all had people to share the holiday season with. Kyler didn’t have a girl, or a family. And this time of the year reminded him of that more than he’d like.
Maybe that’s why he preferred Halloween. It was dark and a bit evil, and not cute and sweet. People didn’t generally pair-off into couples. It wasn’t romantic or full of wonder. Halloween was scary, dirty, dark, and pure fun.
“Yeah,” Kyler nodded his head as he tied his skates. “Paige is pretty great. You sure lucked out, Ty.” Paige worked for the team as one of the PR folks. Her boss, Melanie, was like the team’s Mother Hen.
Keeping his eyes on his skates, guys started to walk by him, to get on the ice for practice. One set of legs stopped directly in front of him.
It was Tyler. He clapped his hand down on Kyler’s shoulder. “Chin up, buddy. I’m sure there’s an anti-Christmas girl ou
t there for you, somewhere. But for now, let’s hit the ice.”
“Meet you out there, cap.” Kyler called after Ty as he exited the locker room.
Kyler put on his helmet, grabbed his gloves and his stick and headed out to the ice.
“Lights, you’re with me.” Coach Walker pointed to his end of the ice. Then he nodded to the other end, where Assistant Coach Sal stood at the net, gathering pucks. “Darks, you’re with Sal.”
The guys with the white practice jerseys gathered at Coach Walker’s end of the ice. Ty messed around in the corner with a puck, stick handling it like only he could. The guy had mad hockey skills, and he was a great captain.
Young guys like Kyler could only hope to be as good as their captain, but most days Ty just left them in awe.
Coach Walker blew the whistle, and the guys lined up against the boards on either side of the rink.
The guy from the left line skated out towards the blue line. Coach passed a puck to him. The guy from the right boards skated towards the net. The first guy shot a one-timer to the second guy, and he attempted to slap the puck in the net.
Patrick missed. Up next was Luc, he slipped the puck right by Kaden, then got in his face, smiling. “Boom, baby!”
“Get outta my face, Marcella.” Kaden droned. “Stop show-boating and get your ass back in line.”
Luc was dating Kaden’s little sister, Kassie. It took Kaden a while to warm up to the idea of his teammate and his sister, but they were okay now.
“Marcella!” Coach Walker called. “Are you done dancing? If so, get back in line. You’re holding up practice.”
Ty was behind Kyler. “Paige wanted to make sure that you were still coming over for dinner tonight?” Ty asked.
They had standing dinner plans every Wednesday. Ty was a good teammate and friend and liked to help the younger guys however he could. Kyler came to Pittsburgh alone, and he was still alone. Ty and Paige have helped him get used to the city and welcomed him into the team family.
Spending some time with friends always sounded better to Kyler than going home – alone. As much of a loner as Kyler had become, Wednesday dinners with Ty and Paige were oddly enough something he looked forward to. “Sure. I’ll grab some of those cupcakes that Paige likes on my way over.”
“Great.”
Kyler knew in this line of work, starting over was sometimes necessary. Hockey alone took up a good chunk of his time. He was just lucky that he landed on a team like the Renegades. These guys were like a big family. He couldn’t have asked for a better group of guys. They always had one another’s back.
“Wilson, you’re up! Cut the chatter and let’s do this!” Coach Walker yelled.
Kyler skated to the net and waited for Jaxon to pass him the puck. He kept his eye on the biscuit as it slid his way and slapped it to the net with a wicked wrister.
Kaden slid in front of the shot and did his best to stop it. Unfortunately for Kaden, the puck slid right through the five-hole and to the back of the net.
“Yeah, baby!” Kyler yelled and pumped his fist, and quickly got back in line as the drill continued.
Chapter Three
Avery
Avery stood back and admired her completed gingerbread house. It took her two days to get it decorated just the way she wanted. The roof looked like it was covered with new fallen snow. The windows were made out of sugar, even the little white window panes. Those took a little longer, but they came out perfectly and really pulled the whole house together. She had a fence made of gingerbread and candy canes, with a gumdrop lined walkway leading up to the gingerbread house.
The cookie house looked almost too good to eat, but considering it was for the local orphanage’s Christmas party, she didn’t think the kiddos would hesitate to take a bite.
“Wow,” Becca commented with a grin. “I think that’s your best gingerbread house yet, Avery.”
“Thanks. I know the kids are going to love it.” Avery loved this time of year, even with the way things went with Jack at this time last year. She was determined to not let ghosts of her holiday past ruin her favorite time of the year.
Avery had always loved the Christmas season. There was just something magical about the lights, the music, the feel of delight in the air. Add in jolly tales of the North Pole and gumdrops dancing in your head, and she was a child all over again. Now as an adult, she spoiled the children at the orphanage with cookies and treats at the one time of year those kids looked forward to.
Every year at the orphanage Christmas party, it was as if she was seeing the holiday through a child’s eyes. The home did their best to make a winter wonderland for the kids with the North Pole and Santa being the center of it all. And every year Avery and Becca were honored to be asked to provide treats. Even with all the holiday orders coming in, they made the time to make sure the kiddos had a wonderful day, and a special treat for the next morning as well.
“Just one thing, Avery.” Becca’s face grew serious. “I don’t know how much we are going to be able to buy with what we collected. There are a lot of kids in the orphanage this year, and money doesn’t go as far as it used to. Especially this year.”
Their bakery, the Pink Ribbon Cupcakery, kept a jar on the counter year-round for donations to buy the orphanage a gift or two for Christmas morning. But this year, the donations were a lot less than usual. Avery wasn’t sure what the reason, but she’d drain her own bank account if it meant putting a smile on the kid’s faces. “I’ll figure something out, Becca. I’d never let those kids down.”
Avery was one of the lucky ones. She came from a loving family, who kept a roof over her head, food on the table, and she never wanted for anything. Since the day they opened their doors, she’d been making sure these kids felt special. Each month she’d bring a different design of cupcakes to celebrate all the birthdays in that month.
“I know, Avery. You, my dear, are an angel in disguise.” Becca mused.
“Hardly.”
“Got a date for New Year’s Eve yet?” Becca asked.
“Me? No. I think I’m going to skip it this year. I can still feel the hangover from last year.” Avery joked. “It might be safer for me to stay home.”
Avery had a rough start to the year but focusing on the business helped. And here it was, almost New Year’s Eve again.
“Well, too bad for you that we’re having a party here.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d poo-poo the idea and go on about how you want to be tucked away safe and sound in your loft. Then you’d make it clear that you want to be alone. But being alone on New Year’s Eve is no fun!” Becca went on, ignoring the faces of distain Avery was making. “Derrick and I planned it and put your name on it too. Find a date, don’t find a date, doesn’t matter to me. Your name is on the invite, so prepare to party. Oh, and prepare to make more Champagne Dreams cupcakes than you ever wanted to. Because that’s the theme.”
Avery knew better than to argue with Becca. As long as she didn’t have to bring a date. She didn’t need to be reminded that being alone on New Year’s Eve was no fun. Seeing as how she spent midnight alone in a cab last year, running from the only one-night stand she’d ever had.
Those memories were just that. She didn’t remember the guy’s name, and she hadn’t seen him since. It was obviously a learning experience. And the lesson she learned was to not drink that much ever again.
Avery heard the chimes over the door as a customer entered. She left her gingerbread house safe on top of the glass display case. It was high enough to be out of reach of any little kid hands. She hurried to the back room and pulled out the cookie dough, so she could get started on more cut-out cookie orders.
She heard the man’s voice as she went back into the front of the store.
“Hi, I need to get a dozen of these cupcakes with the white icing. And can I also get a cup of coffee and a glazed donut?”
Avery checked the cases to see wh
at cookies needed replenished. She couldn’t help but look up at the customer.
The man took his focus away from the glass display case with the cupcakes and moved to Avery. His gaze turned into a stare, then a grin filled his face. “Anna, didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”
It was him. The man from last New Year’s Eve. Heat filled her cheeks as she stood silent, no words formed on her lips.
“Anna?” Becca asked with a confused look. “No, her name is Avery.” Becca corrected him as she rang up his order.
Avery knew by the curious look on Becca’s face that she wasn’t going to let this go easily.
“Avery? I thought your name was Anna?”
“Why would you think her name was Anna?” Becca wrinkled her face up in amused confusion.
“Because I told him it was.” Avery said with a sigh, as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“When did you tell him?” Becca looked at Avery with question, but slowly an evil grin formed on her face. “This is the mystery guy with the amazing abs that you disappeared with on New Year’s?”
Avery nodded, wishing the floor would open up and swallow her at this very moment.
“And you told him your name was Anna?” Becca continued.
“She did.” Kyler answered for her.
“And you are?” Becca asked him.
“Oh, she didn’t tell you about me?”
Becca shook her head and gawked. “Not nearly enough.”
“Hi,” he stuck out his hand, and Becca immediately shook his hand. “I’m Kyler Wilson.”
“Kyler Wilson? Wait a minute.” Becca pulled off Kyler’s knit cap and tilted her head as she examined him.
“Becca, what are you doing?” Avery’s face filled with heat. She was embarrassed when he recognized her, but now she was mortified that Becca tore off his knit toque.
“I know you.” Becca said. She nodded slowly and squinted her eyes at Kyler.