Page 19 of Ice

“Didn’t want my brother’s name on your back.”

Reaching up to trace the letters on the back of his jersey, I pointed out, “But it’s the same as yours.”

“But the number under it is his, not mine,” he growled. “I love Nathan, but no way in hell am I gonna have my woman walking around branded as his.”

I hid my smile behind my drink, happy to know that I wasn’t the only one in this relationship who was feeling possessive. Not that Hayes needed to worry—he was the only man I wanted.

His attention shifted to the ice, his blue eyes tracking his brother as he stole the puck from another guy’s stick and skated toward the net.

We celebrated the goal with a kiss and ended up on the giant screens lining the stands. Hayes didn’t seem bothered by it and claimed my lips again, only lifting his head when the crowd cheered. We glanced down at the ice to see Nathan pointing his stick at the box we were in, pumping his fist in the air.

“Oops,” I giggled, my cheeks heating as I wondered if he was upset that we’d taken attention away from his goal.

Since we were already in the third period, I didn’t have long before I found out. After the final buzzer rang and the teams left the ice, we said our goodbyes to everyone and headed down to meet Nathan. We spent about half an hour surrounded by women who didn’t look like they’d dressed for a hockey game—puck bunnies, as Hayes explained.

With him leaning against the wall, his arms wrapped around me, and my back pressed against his chest, none of the women paid any attention to us. But they sure did perk up each time a player came out. Except none of them approached Nathan when he finally came through the doors, his dark hair still wet from his shower.

“Huh, that’s weird,” I mumbled.

“Them?” Hayes asked, jerking his chin toward the crowd. When I nodded, he explained, “They know it’s not gonna do any good, so they don’t bother. My brother followed my lead and trained the puck bunnies to stay away.”

I beamed a smile at him, loving that he hadn’t taken advantage of his professional athlete status to mess around with a bunch of women.

“Welcome to the family, Marnie.” Instead of greeting his brother, Nathan headed straight for me and gave me a hug. But it didn’t last long before Hayes yanked him away from me.

Sliding his arm around my shoulders, he grumbled, “Get your own girl.”

Nathan cocked a brow. “You know what Mom and Dad have always said…sharing is caring.”

“Never gonna happen.” Hayes pulled me closer. “And I’d hate for Mom to cry because I had to make you bleed.”

Nathan chuckled, shaking his head as he grinned at his brother. “Figured you’d say something along those lines, but I still had to yank your chain. That’s what younger brothers are for, right?”

“Fucking hell.” Hayes shook his head with a sigh.

“Let me know if this big lug doesn’t do right by you.” Nathan winked at me, earning himself a half-punch to the shoulder from Hayes. “I’ll kick his ass for you.”

Hayes was proven right yet again. I didn’t need to be worried about meeting Nathan. Although the way he welcomed me into their family did make me wonder what Hayes had told him about me.

9

MARNIE

Hayes and I had been together pretty much twenty-four seven for the past week and a half, but this was our first chance to go out on a real date. He hadn't given me any clues as to what he’d planned for our night, except that I needed to dress warm and in pants. I’d guessed about a dozen different things, but not once had I thought he’d rented out an entire ice rink so we’d have the place to ourselves while he taught me how to skate.

The only staff here when we arrived was the Zamboni driver, who’d assured Hayes the ice had been freshly cleared, and the guy working the snack bar. After he’d served us a dozen things from the menu, he’d headed out the door behind his coworker.

“I’m probably going to be really bad at this,” I warned Hayes as he laced up the skates he’d put on my feet.

Tilting his head back, he flashed me a cocky smirk. “Then it’ll be a good thing you’ve got your very own pro to teach you.”

“I guess,” I conceded with a sigh.

After he finished with my skates, he straightened and held out a hand. I slid my mitten-covered palm against his and stood. My knees were wobbly, but it didn’t take much effort on his part to help me hobble over to the open door. He stepped on the ice first, and waited for me to get my footing before he moved us away from the wall.

“You’re doing good.”

I rolled my eyes at his unwarranted compliment and clutched his arms even tighter. “Only because I have you to hold. Otherwise, I’d stick to the wall so I could keep a hand on it as I inched around the ice at a snail’s pace.”

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