Page 9 of Falling for the Pucking Bad Boy

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CHAPTER THREE

RORY

The atmosphere in the stadium is electric tonight, crackling with tension and rivalry as the Montreal Blizzard face off against the New Brunswick Wolverines in game two of their bloodbath.

This game is the highlight of the year, the one everyone talks about, especially since the rivalry between our teams is practically legendary because my father acts like a maniac.

Being the head coach for the Blizzard, it’s his job to bring home victory. And I can’t imagine the pressure he’s under. However, a little subtlety could go a long way because the Wolverines are eating up his negative energy and using it against him. His frustration is palpable as we're down a goal, and there isn’t much time on the clock.

I sit on the team’s bench, casually watching the game unfold. My attention keeps drifting to two players: Wells and Charles Gagnon. Charles is our star defenseman, skilled but aggressive with his not-so-friendly demeanor, both on and off the ice.

I wouldn’t mind seeing him slammed into the boards a few more times, but I try to keep the thoughts out of my head because it’s bad karma.

As the game intensifies, Wells and Charles engage in a fierce battle, their rivalry mirroring our teams. I can't help but admire Wells’s body in his uniform and his calmness during the game.

Not once has he lost his shit. He plays like it’s his job, and the win is his goal.

My dad's behavior has always driven me crazy. He acts unprofessional—in my eyes—constantly yelling and barking orders as if that's going to magically turn the game around. Deep down, I know he's scared that we’ll lose to our archrivals, and that fear makes him lash out even more. It’s possible that his job could be on the line, but he would never tell me that.

All of this stress also does not help his blood pressure at all.

The clock buzzes its two-minute warning, and the Wolverines take a timeout. Wells skates past our section, glances over, and then snaps his neck back to do a double-take when he catches sight of me.

Shit.

I can’t help but freeze. I’m sitting in the Blizzard’s box with the players, but he doesn’t seem to put two and two together. His expression shifts into a sexy little smirk that sends a tingle down my spine.

It also triggers memories of last night.

I obviously kept my true identity a secret for several reasons. One was to keep Wells from an all-out battle of fists with Charles. Two, I didn’t think his knowing who I was related to would do me any favors.

And I wouldn’t be here, in the box, if it weren’t for my father’s excessive whining about supporting him.

But I love hockey—I always have. I’d rather sit with the fans where the air isn’t so thick with tension, but that’s neither here nor there.

I watch Wells smoothly continue back into the game, and no one from Dad’s team seems to notice our small transaction.

It’s not every day that a player like Wells acknowledges your presence in a crowded stadium during a heated game. That man is trouble with a capital T, and he knows it.

However, he spared me without making too much of it. I couldn’t be more thankful that the game is still going. I may have to still hear my father’s voice with his constant barrage of instructions and frustrations echoing in my ears, but it’s better than the alternative.

With the clock down to seconds, Elliot Fox—the Wolverine’s right-wing forward—breaks through the Blizzard’s defense with the puck. The crowd goes insane with anxiety, and as Elliot slaps it toward the net, it’s blocked by our goalie.

The game ends.

We lost, which means I will stay far away from the locker room.

I rise from the bench and gather my trash so I can quickly exit before my father goes in on all his players when something thumps against the plexiglass.

Glancing up, Wells stands there with his black gloves resting on the surface, an orange post-it underneath them, but I can’t stop looking at those emerald eyes full of unadulterated mischief.

Someone yells out his name, but he doesn’t move.

Neither do I.

He damn sure put two and two together now.

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