Shot at Love

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Luc’s dad nodded without a word.

  It was all starting to make more sense to Luc as he talked through it. “The code avoids that, and all the bad feelings that go along with it.”

  “Yep. It was probably made up by an athlete to protect his little sister from some creep. But not all athletes are creeps. And you know there are exceptions to every rule.”

  “I know a few exceptions personally.” Luc thought about his happily married teammates. Especially Sam and Tyler. Sam was married to Tyler’s sister, and they were still very close friends and teammates. “I think the secret is respect. And proving that you’d never do anything to hurt that girl.”

  Luc’s dad nodded with a smile. “Son, there’s only one thing that trumps the code.”

  “Being traded?” At this very moment, Luc figured that would be the only way Kaden would be okay with this. He was joking, obviously, but with how Kaden had reacted so far, he might not be far from the truth.

  His dad held his belly and chuckled a deep laugh. “No! Love. One night stands can be wiped away, but love, it can’t be chosen, and can’t be erased so easily. No code can change that.”

  “It’s a little soon for love, don’t you think?” Luc had never believed in love at first sight or falling head over heels for someone. Maybe it was the fact that it was just him and his dad growing up. He never saw two loving parents doting on one another. That could also be blamed for his life as a bachelor, always on the lookout for his next thrill.

  “What do you think, Luc?”

  “I know that I can’t stand to be without her. And if she decided this was a bad idea, I’d understand and accept her decision, but I don’t think I would ever be the same.”

  His dad grinned wide, and his voice was soft. “My boy, that’s love.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Kassie

  Kassie had no idea what she was walking into today at practice. After Kaden’s lecture the other day, she didn’t expect him to be over it yet.

  Since their dad passed away a few years back, Kaden had taken his role of “the man of the house” to extremes. He had moved her and their mom to Pittsburgh to be closer to him during the season. It had made sense while their mom was undergoing treatment, and Kassie was grateful for everything he had done for them. But he liked to micromanage what she did. He acted like she was still a kid. Trying to buy a house for her and their mom, lining up jobs for Kassie, and now deciding who she could and couldn’t date.

  Their mom liked Pittsburgh, so they’d spent more time here than back in Canada. That worked out in Kassie’s favor, because not only did she like it here, but bonus, she had met Luc. But, Kassie was drawing the line at Kaden’s butting into her personal life.

  She lived close enough that she could stop home and change out of her dress clothes and into something more comfortable. Jeans, tennis shoes and sweatshirt. She grabbed a smoothie on her way there.

  Knowing she was late, she rushed into the building. There had been more traffic than she figured. The lobby was bustling with folks stopping by for lunch at the café, some sitting to watch the Renegades practice. Inside the ice rink, the fans in the bleachers included high school and college-aged girls, media reporters, and the team dads, as well as random fans.

  The guys were already on the ice running drills. Kassie settled in on the top bleacher row closest to Kaden’s net. Dom was in the net at the other end of the ice, and Luc was shooting at Dom.

  The bunnies were out in swarms today. A group of them wearing Marcella jerseys huddled close to the glass where he stood at the moment. They screamed and cooed, banging on the glass for his attention. One girl had a sign. Kassie couldn’t read it from up here, but it had Luc’s name on it and a heart.

  They squealed every time he skated by them, and cheered each time he got a puck in the net. There was another squad of young girls that stood out, and they had on Tyler’s number.

  This wasn’t her first hockey practice; she knew how it all went. The squads of girls were called bunnies. They gushed and swooned over the guys on the ice. Some of the guys fell for the over-eighteen girls. The guys got off, and the girls got a notch on their bedposts, or however they kept track of all the hockey players they’d bedded.

  She had watched it happen for years with Kaden. Before Ali, he had given the bunnies the attention they craved. Kassie didn’t know how much exactly, and she didn’t really want to know. But after Ali came into his life, the bunnies tried their hardest to catch his eye with no luck. He’d fallen head over heels for his girl.

  She spun her straw at an attempt to mix her smoothie, doing her best to not pay too much attention to the girls. They weren’t worth her energy. She’d already seen a few grins from Luc that the bunnies must’ve thought were for them, if the screams of joy were any indication. But that was just who he was. He had fun on the ice.

  Tyler ruled the other end of the ice, shooting repeatedly at Kaden. He snuck a few through, but even he had trouble scoring on her brother. Kris and Pat joined Tyler in the shower of pucks on Kaden, as if they were determined to score on him. Calm and collected, Kaden batted every last one away, one at a time.

  Coach Walker had pulled the other group aside, so nothing was happening on that end. Kassie’s eyes stayed on Kaden and his mad goalie skills, along with his loud, obnoxious chirping at the guys who missed. Until the gaggle of girls caught her attention.

  They were pounding on the glass, trying to get Luc to notice them. Surely, he’d ignore them and pay attention to Coach. But the instruction must’ve been over, because Coach Walker skated to the bench to oversee practice.

  Sam Morris was practicing, which was good to see. He was on the end with Luc, shooting at Dom. The guys skated around him, and most acted cautiously. Sam didn’t seem to care as much as the other guys did, not backing off from running into people.

  That’s when she saw it. Luc posed for a selfie with one of the bunnies through the glass. Dominic chirped at him, and she would’ve thought that was enough to snap him out of it. But what he was doing was innocent. He was coming home with her tonight, so whatever the bunnies did made no difference to her.

  He wasn’t flirting. She’d seen him flirt. This was giving the public what they wanted. He was all smiles and when one of them brought out a sign that said “PUCK-STAR” his ego was fed.

  Luc didn’t know she was here yet, even though he had invited her. And try as she might, Kassie couldn’t stop the fire that ran through her as he continued to give the girls the attention they wanted, tapping the stick on the glass where they stood and flashing his amazing smile to them. Her jealousy was starting to show. Kassie, you know better than this. What was worse than the bunnies getting to her needlessly was hearing Kaden tell her “I told you so.”

  She sipped at her smoothie and watched the guys take one-timers at Kaden. He was a great goalie; there was no doubt about that. Tyler had been able to slip a few in, though. But, after all, he was the great Tyler Kidd.

  A puck flipped under the net and into the stands. Looking to see where it came from, Kassie saw it was from Luc. She’d seen him give pucks to the fans before, but not as much as Kris and Sam did. A girl with his number on caught it, screamed, and kissed the puck. A great smile crossed his face at her reaction.

  But that smile wasn’t the same as the way he grinned or smirked at Kassie, so she kept her jealousy at bay.

  Then there was yelling on the ice. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Kaden charged at Luc, who was busy posing for another photo. In the process of standing up to get a better look, Kassie clumsily knocked over her smoothie, which slowly spilled out onto the bleacher seat and floor.

  She wanted to find something to clean it up, but she also wanted to see what was going on down on the ice. First, she’d see what was going on, and then she’d clean it up. Tossing a few tissues on the mess, she moved down the steps, closer to the glass for a better view.

  She couldn’t hear what was being said through the th
ick plexiglass, but it was obvious that Kaden was mad. And his anger was being directed fully at Luc. Her brother had his goalie mask propped up on his head, and he was in Luc’s face, yelling.

  His behavior was like a repeat of the other day at her apartment. She’d had a bad feeling this would all come to a head on the ice, and she was right. But there was nothing she could do, as much as she wanted to jump in and help. She ran out to the café to grab a few napkins for her mess, and kept one eye on the guys through the glass. Kaden was still yelling at Luc. Practice had stopped, and everyone was standing around watching as well.

  When Dom rushed from his end of the ice to where Kaden and Luc were, Kassie grabbed a handful of napkins and rushed inside. Something was going down, and it wasn’t good. And it was all because of her.

  Kassie ran into the rink, right along the glass. She had to push by the Marcella fan club just to get to where the ruckus was. This isn’t playtime anymore, kids. Get out of my way! Dom was holding Kaden back, and Luc was straightening his jersey and messed-up pads, and putting his helmet back on.

  Luc turned towards the glass, their eyes meeting. A smile pulled at one side of his mouth as he acknowledged her. He tapped the butt end of his stick on the glass at her. They were close enough to the glass that she could hear bits and pieces of what was being said.

  “Nice move, O’Conner. Right in front of your sister.” Luc’s smirk was sexy and a bad move on his part. Her brother would take any opportunity to wipe it right off his face.

  “You’re going to condemn me for that shit? You were flirting with those girls right in front of me! I told you not to pull this shit with my sister! I also told you if you hurt Kassie, I’d kill you!” Kaden lunged at Luc again, but was being restrained.

  “I wasn’t doing anything, and Kassie knows that. You seem to be the only one with a problem!” Luc retorted.

  Coach Walker wildly blew his whistle, interrupting the fight. He quickly instructed Luc to go to the locker room and Kaden to go to the bench. As Luc stormed off the ice, he slammed his stick down at the benches, breaking it in half. Coach Walker told the team to get back to practice or they’d all be doing laps.

  Her brother was overreacting, as usual. Not being able to get to either of them was frustrating. Her hands were tied. And now Luc was out of sight, so she kept her eye on Kaden instead. He stood at the bench, drinking water. Kaden’s helmet was propped up on top of his head, and he squirted a drink into his mouth. His eyes caught hers. There was no doubt that he was angry. Kaden nodded towards the Marcella-bunny fan club, then back at her. His face was stern and hard.

  That was his way of saying, “I told you so.”

  She shook her head and looked away. She’d deal with her brother later. It wasn’t like she and Luc were married, or had even been seeing each other for that long. Luc didn’t owe her anything. Besides, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Luc was just being Luc. He had fans, and at least he wasn’t being a jerk to them.

  So what if he flashed a few smiles? Took a few selfies? As long as he was going home with her, what did it matter?

  Just then, her phone buzzed in her purse.

  Luc: Kass. Sorry about that. I understand if you don’t want to go grab dinner after that mess, but I hope you still do.

  Luc: Coach told me to go home. Give me about fifteen minutes and I’ll meet you outside?

  Kassie: What about your dad?

  Luc: He’s going out to dinner with some of the other dads. Tonight, it’s just us. Still up for it?

  Kassie: I’ll see you in fifteen.

  She wasn’t angry at Luc for the scuffle. Kaden had started it and got in Luc’s face. Her biggest issue was trying to control the jealousy she felt when he was smiling at the fans. It was probably normal, but feeling that way wasn’t okay in her mind.

  After leaving the rink, she paused at the café counter, because her conscience wouldn’t let her leave a mess behind. “Hi. I accidently spilled a smoothie on one of the bleachers in there. Up top.” She pointed to the rink area where she’d been sitting. “I tried to clean it up, but did a pretty poor job, and I really need to leave. I-I’m sorry.”

  The lady behind the counter waved her off, with little concern. “No problem, I’ll get it. Thanks for letting me know.”

  She’d get things with Luc all straightened out with a simple conversation. She knew he was just doing what he always did, but her stomach wrenched with uncertainty the more she thought about it. Her anxiety was less about what Luc had done and more about Kaden’s outburst. If her brother reacted that way to Luc’s playing up to his fans, what would he do if she and Luc had a disagreement?

  She drove her car to the gate where the players always came out. There were a group of people already waiting there for autographs. She parked in a space and waited until Luc’s white Porsche appeared. He waved at her, and she followed him down the highway to a shopping center.

  They chose an Italian restaurant and sat in the back. When Luc pulled off his jacket, she couldn’t help but laugh at his t-shirt.

  “Wait, so you own a t-shirt that says ‘Puck-Star’?” Kassie chuckled at the soft cotton shirt that molded to the muscles in his chest and upper arms.

  “Sure do. I had it made.” Luc proudly puffed out his chest, putting the t-shirt on display. Pointing to the upper shoulder, he added, “It even has my number on it. To make sure there’s no mistake who the Puck-Star is.”

  Kassie shook her head in what should be disbelief, but not much surprised her about him anymore.

  The waitress interrupted their conversation, and Kassie was so hungry that she ordered quickly, already knowing what she wanted. After the waitress left, they dove right into the issue that gnawed at her gut.

  “I guess you caught all the fun that went down at the rink today?” Luc asked, keeping his gaze on her.

  “Yeah. I know my brother means well, but I wish he would just stop. I’m not a little kid anymore. I can fight my own battles. And I can decide when to do that.”

  “It was my fault, I guess. I can’t be doing that stuff anymore. I’m sorry I was showing off for the fangirls. I’m so used to playing to the fans, because my agent has always instructed me to give them what they want. But it’s disrespectful to you, and it shouldn’t have taken Kaden trying to kick my ass for me to realize that,” Luc said. His face no longer had a joking grin to it. He was serious.

  “No, I don’t want you to be sorry for that. Your agent is right; you can’t just blow off your fans. I mean, I don’t want you flirting with bunnies or fangirls. Obviously. But, let’s be real. I know how you flirt. I like how you flirt. And that wasn’t you flirting.” That was exactly why it shouldn’t bother her.

  Luc grinned at her from across the table, the delicious curl of his lips causing her arms to break out in goosebumps as he spoke low and playfully. “You’re right. There’s only one girl I want to flirt with, and she’s no bunny.”

  Kassie’s face burned at his comment. As silence filled the next few moments, the waitress delivered their food to the table. Kassie carefully considered what she was going to say next, waiting until the waitress left. She picked up her fork and pushed the chicken parmesan around her plate. “I will admit that I got a twinge of jealousy. And it sucked.”

  Luc’s voice lowered as he spoke. “Sweets, I’m so sorry. You don’t need to be—”

  “Luc, I know that. I didn’t want to be. I don’t know why I felt it, but I hated it.” She picked at her chicken and took a bite.

  “I apologize.” Luc put his fork down after taking a bite of lasagna. He reached over the table and took her hand.

  She laced her fingers in his. “No. I don’t want you to apologize. I’ve seen other guys show off to the fans; it’s what you do sometimes. I get that. Who am I to say that you can’t? That wouldn’t make me a very good… friend.” She didn’t know what to call herself. Was she his girlfriend? She felt like she was, but hated to say the word unless she was sure.

  “I don’t have t
o do that. I don’t have to do any of that if you don’t want me to. Just say the word. And I like to think that we are more than just friends.”

  “Yeah, I mean, I do too. But Luc, we haven’t known each other that long. I would never ask you to change, so please don’t do it for me. The girls love you. Let them love you, as long as it’s from afar.” She didn’t mean to add that last part, and regret immediately filled her.

  “Sweets, the girls might love me, but…” Luc paused and stared into her eyes. “I have no interest in the bunnies. I hope you trust me.”

  It wasn’t the words she had hoped to hear, but it was enough. Kassie wasn’t sure she was ready to hear those three little words, anyway. Or was she?

  Kassie unlocked the door to her apartment. She carried iced coffees, and Luc followed close behind her, his hand glued to her hip. Rushing her from behind, he kept nudging his pelvis into her ass. She obviously wasn’t moving fast enough for him, and she wasn’t hating his impatience either.

  Dinner was weird. She still had a bit of jealousy niggling at her from seeing how he reacted to the girls in practice. But she was going to have to get used to it if she was going to be with him. He seemed sincere that he’d stop if she wanted him to, and that he didn’t need the attention from the girls.

  In her heart, she knew he only wanted her. Getting her head to understand it was the issue.

  As soon as she shut the door, Luc kept himself molded to her and assisted her with the locks, pushing her fumbling fingers away. Taking the iced coffees from her, he hurriedly set them on the closest table, right next to the couch.

  “You don’t really seem like you need any caffeine.” She looked him in the eye, poking fun at his frenzied movements.

  But the joke was on her when he grabbed her around the waist and sat down on the couch, pulling her down with him. Straddling him now, the bulge in his blue jeans throbbed between her legs.

  “Sweets, you can be sure it has nothing to do with caffeine,” Luc said with a smirk. Gripping her hips in his strong hands, he pressed Kassie against his hardness. “You need to know you’re the only girl I want to be with. I don’t want you to worry about that.”