Page 27 of Puck Shy

He nods. “That’s fair. Just promise me you’ll really consider it. I do need your help. And I know you’ll do a great job. Also, I pay well.” He winks.

“You’re nothing like I expected you to be.”

He stares into my eyes long and hard before he asks, “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

I take the last sip of my coffee before standing then place my hand on his shoulder. “A good thing.” Then I’m walking out the door, wondering what the hell happened.

Chapter twelve

Lucas

I was terrible during practice today. I can feel the side-eyes of my team as I remove my gear—I know they’re wondering if I’m going to blow tomorrow night’s game against Minnesota.

Eventually Johnny comes and sits next to me, a towel wrapped around his waist. “I take it you didn’t find your Slump Buster?”

“Don’t call her that,” I bite out, somehow refraining from smacking him in the back of the head. Stevie is so much more than that.

Johnny chuckles. “So you didn’t find your good luck?”

I don’t like that he’s calling her that, either, but it’s better than the alternative. “I found her,” I answer.

“I see…then I guess it didn’t go well?”

“Depends on how you look at it,” I say honestly, thinking of the bathroom last night and the coffee shop this morning. It did go well, in a way. I think Stevie’s considering working for me. Of course, my offer was totally selfish. While I do need a social media person, and everything I told her is true, she was going to walk away from me, and everything in me was screaming for me to not let that happen. Now, all day, I’ve been battling myself, wondering if what I did was right.

While I don’t attribute sex with Stevie to how I played the game against Vancouver like my team does, I can’t deny that meeting her helped me win. How much I stunk in practice only proved to me that maybe there’s some truth to her affecting my mood enough to shift how I play. But that’s not on her, that’s on me. I’m smart enough to realize that. And I know that if she agrees to work for me, I’m going to have to tell her about the whole “good luck” thing so she doesn’t think I’m using her.

I push up off the bench and make my way to the showers, Johnny on my heels again. I’m going to buy him a shock collar if he continues to follow me around like a puppy.

“So does that mean you fucked again?”

“Rookie,” I admonish. “Boundaries.”

He chuckles. “Sorry, sorry. Just curious why your head wasn’t in it on the ice tonight. You’d better get it together before tomorrow.”

I don’t answer him, instead turning on the spray and stepping under it. I quickly wash off and then head back to my locker, changing into my clothes and leaving before Johnny can find me again or Coach asks to talk to me. I don’t need a reminder of how much me being on my game is important.

When I turn the corner near the team parking lot entrance, I freeze when I see a familiar woman there. My heart stutters as Stevie looks up at me. She’s wearing a puffy red coat and that same cherry lipstick again, drawing my attention to those lips that spread into a smile when she sees me. A smile that makes my heart stop in my chest.

With a renewed pep in my step, I make my way over to her so we’re standing toe-to-toe. “What are you doing here?” I ask.

She tucks her hair behind her ear. “Leo got me in. He called me earlier and said you asked him to call about the job and make me an offer.”

“I wanted it to be official, so it’s nice and clean. I don’t want you to think this is me trying to get in your pants.”

Another smile cracks at her lips. “Are you saying you don’t want to get in my pants?”

I chuckle, glad she’s back to being relaxed. I was afraid I’d ruined it by talking so seriously with her earlier. It clearly made her uncomfortable.

“I mean”—I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear—“if you’re offering.”

She shakes her head and expels a breathy laugh before turning on what I call a “game face.”

“I accept the job.”

My heart beats faster, and my body buzzes with excitement. “That’s great.”

“But we need to keep things professional, Lucas. I quit my other job, and I’m freaking out. If this doesn’t work, I’m fucked. Literally and figuratively,” she says, trying to smile.

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