Page 25 of The Goalie

My eyes dart over to my girl. She’s the only one standing, cheering her beautiful head off.

I can’t help but smile.

It feels nice to be in love.

I’m required to give the press ten minutes of my time after the game. I want it over with fast, so I sit down at the table in the room set up for press conferences as quickly as I can. I haven’t even showered yet. I still have my damn skates on and all of my pads from the waist down.

I’m in my sweaty white t-shirt with my wavy hair slicked back as the sports reporters fight to ask me the first question. It seems like every reporter in sports media is here for the beginning of the playoffs. The large room is packed.

“That was an amazing performance,” the guy in the front row with the green sweater says. “A career game for you. Forty-two saves against a stellar team, including Nikolai Kuznetsov who you shut out. Zero goals let in. What was on your mind going into the playoffs?”

I take a deep breath as Grace’s beautiful smile pops into my head. She was on my mind. But I’m not about to share that with these vultures. She’s all mine for now.

“I wanted to perform well for my team and my city,” I say, spitting out a generic answer.

“How does a performance like this impact your confidence moving forward?” another reporter asks.

I give more generic answers, barely even listening to myself until the back door opens and she walks in.

My heart stops when I see her in my jersey with a press pass around her neck. She’s even more spectacular than I remembered.

“Nolan…” the reporter says, urging me to finish.

My mind is blank as I stare at her in awe. “What was the question again?”

He repeats it, but Grace and I are smiling at one another and I miss it again.

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a paper. I watch as she scribbles something on it and then holds it up.

Room Number?

“I’ll give you a prediction of how many goals I’ll save over the playoffs,” I tell the room, ignoring his question completely. “Thirty-three zero six.”

Grace grins as she writes my hotel room number down. Everyone else is confused.

“Three thousand, three hundred and six goals?” a reporter asks. “That doesn’t make sense. Is that over your career? Please clarify.”

“My time is up,” I say as I burst out of my seat. They all shoot questions at my back as I hurry into the locker room to get these damn skates off.

I need to get back to my hotel room asap.

CHAPTER TEN

Grace

3306.

I’m standing in front of the door with nervous butterflies in my stomach. It’s a good kind of nervous though. I can’t wait to see Nolan again.

I fix my hair, put on some lip gloss, lift my boobs, and knock on the door.

Nolan opens it and I nearly gasp out loud. He just took a shower and he’s wearing nothing but a big fluffy white towel wrapped around his waist.

I don’t know where to look. At his wet slicked-back hair, his gorgeous simmering eyes, his soft lips, or the beautifully sculpted body on display.

Water droplets cling to his golden skin as he leans on the door, grinning at me.

“You made it.”

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