Page 35 of One Pucking Wish

I laugh. “I didn’t mean right now!”

“You said to move on to someone else, so I’m moving on to someone else,” she quips.

“Okay, but not now. I’m exhausted. Plus, no. I think Elena would kill any player who tried to get with her daughter.”

“Bash is the baby on the team. He’s only a couple of years older than Ariana. I think they’d be cute together.”

Holding out my hands, I shake my head. “Not in the mood.”

“Fine.” She sighs. “Well, I have everything set up for meet and greet after the game tomorrow. And, the linen supplier doesn’t have enough white tablecloths for the charity dinner next week, so I ordered the cream. I figure it will look just as good with the color scheme we have picked out.”

“Iris, you know I love you, but I’m going to have to kill you if you don’t leave.”

“What?” She giggles.

“I’m tired and need to sleep. I have full confidence in you and all your decisions. If you think hot-pink linens will look best, I trust you. I don’t care about who has chemistry with who. And, if I’m being honest, the only reason I’m still sitting here is because I’m enjoying my last few sips of my latte, which I won’t have again until August. So I appreciate you stopping by, but can you please leave now?”

She groans in mock annoyance. “Okay, then.” She hops up from the sofa. “I’ll leave. One of these days, you’ll have to give me something juicy. A friendship requires some tea, Penelope.”

“I’m not the tea-spilling type of girl. You know that about me.”

“I do, and I love you anyway,” she singsongs. “Oh, I’m all caught up at work and literally have nothing to do, so I’m taking the rest of the day off to play with Sandy. Okay, boss?”

Sandy is the golden wiener dog that she got Cade for Christmas, and I don’t blame her. I’d rather hang out with the puppy than most of the people at work, too.

Bringing the cup to my lips, I take a sip and give her a thumbs-up.

“See you tomorrow,” she says before leaving the living room.

The front door closes, and I’m left alone with my coffee and thoughts. I can’t believe she thought there was something between me and Gunner. I’m even more sure of my decision not to say anything about our time together in that hotel room. If she had thought there were some hidden feelings there before, our Vancouver escapades would have given her all the fuel she needed to fan that fire. And there’s no flame. No fire. No feelings.

There’s nothing between me and the grumpy goalie besides a distant memory of an extended one-night stand. Which, if I’m being honest, doesn’t even feel real. It felt like a dream. And like all dreams… they’re soon forgotten.

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

GUNNER

It’s crazy how one day my feet are so frozen I can no longer feel them, and a couple of days later, I’m sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat. The humidity in Florida is no fucking joke. My lip—my actual lip—is dripping with beads of sweat.

“Who picked this shithole?” Beckett grumbles to my side before taking a sip of his beer.

I think the bar is supposed to resemble an oversized tiki hut or something. The ceiling is covered in some sort of straw or more accurately palm fronds. The motif is a mix of crap constructed with coconuts or shells. All the furniture is very rustic and very cheap tourist Florida. The space is open to the outside elements, which means it’s muggy as hell.

I’d prefer the frozen toes any day. I don’t mind the cold. Hell, I willingly spend a good portion of my day on ice. “Probably Cookie,” I huff, calling out the youngest member of the team by his much-detested nickname.

“Hey, I resent that,” Bash pipes up. “I’m pretty sure it was J-Man.”

Jaden joins us with a goofy grin. He’s holding a clear fishbowl with bright blue liquid in each hand. The fishbowl drinks have skewers of fruit garnishes and sport a neon drink umbrella. “The Zamboni guy recommended it. His cousin owns it. It’s really not bad once you get one of these down.” He nods toward the obnoxious drink in his hands. “The drink is called Paradise punch, and for ten bucks, you can get it in a fishbowl.” He takes a long swig of the drink. “That’s a pretty good deal.”

I roll my eyes at the idiot.

“Apparently, it’s unseasonably hot for this time of year,” Cade says as he and his wife, Iris, join the circle.

“Someplace with air-conditioning would’ve been great,” she adds.

At least we won against Tampa Bay tonight. Had we lost, I’m positive this place and the massive amounts of sweat dripping down my back and into my ass crack would’ve caused me to lose my mind. The truth is, I got lucky with some of my saves. I wasn’t on my A game tonight. Not even close. I felt sluggish as hell. Vancouver really did a number on me. I’m sure the fact that I was off my routine for a few days is the cause.

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