Page 61 of Playmaker

“Mmhmm. I did.” I forced myself to sound and look pleasant, if only because there were cameras and hot mics around. “So what brings you here? They have you as a guest commentator?”

The corners of his mouth twitched like he desperately wanted to scowl. It was admittedly a cheap shot—Ty’s one attempt as a guest commentator had been an embarrassing disaster. He wasn’t stupid by any means, but he was not comfortable in front of a camera like that.

After a second or two, Ty fixed his media smile into place. “Houston is campaigning to be included in the next expansion for a women’s team. So some of my teammates and I are here to represent our team and the city.” Though he had on that smile, his voice gave away how utterly displeased he was by this. Small wonder he couldn’t hack it as a commentator.

Beside me, Lila gave a quiet laugh. “Is Houston actually in the running? Doesn’t seem like there’s much of a hockey culture there. Not anymore, anyway.”

I had to literally bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud. Houston had been a thriving hockey town for almost twenty years, but in the last five—not so much. Fans were vocally frustrated with the team’s poor performance and worse management. The club had the cheapest season tickets in the men’s league and could barely sell them.

Ty rolled his eyes. To me, he said, “It was nice to see you, Sabrina. Good luck tonight and tomorrow.” Again with that media smile to sell it to the cameras and microphones, but I knew him too well not to catch the sarcasm.

He turned to go, and I called to his back, “Good luck against New York next week.”

Even his suit jacket couldn’t hide the ripple of irritated tension that went through him, but he kept walking.

I watched him go, then shook myself and continued inside. I wasn’t proud of the interaction. The whole mean girl thing wasn’t my style. But damn if Ty didn’t bring out the cattiness in me.

“New York?” Lila whispered as we walked. “Is that a nerve?”

I laughed. “Ooh, yeah. Houston is on a multi-year losing streak against New York. Hehatesplaying against them.” Humor fading, I glanced back in the direction he’d gone. Then I stood aside, out of the flow of traffic, and chewed my lip. “I… kind of feel bad for picking at him.”

“Why?” Lila tilted her head. “Not to sound like a kid, but… he started it.”

I managed to laugh but with a lot less feeling than before. “I know, but… I don’t know. I just feel like…” I gnawed my lip again.

“Don’t do that to yourself,” she said softly. “He was an asshole to you when you were married, and he was setting up to be an asshole to you just now. You had every right to shut him down before he had a chance to.”

I glanced at her. “So why do I feel so bad for being catty?”

“Did he make you feel bad every time you stood up to him while you were married?”

“I…” I wavered on my feet a little. “Yeah. Yeah, he did.”

“Right. So you’re conditioned to just take his crap and then feel bad when you have the audacity to dish it back.” She tugged me into the flow of traffic again, and with that hand on my back again, she gently propelled me forward. The contact made goose bumps spring up under my suit, and my brain record-scratched so hard I almost didn’t hear her speak. “If you went out of your way to stomp on his raw nerves unprovoked, then yeah, I could see saying you’re the problem.” Shaking her head, she added, “You’re just not putting up with his bullshit anymore.”

I exhaled, letting her words—and let’s be real, her hand on my back—soothe me and ease me down from the rafters. “You’re right. Maybe eventually I’ll learn not to feel like crap when I don’t just take it.”

“You will.” She flashed me a wicked grin, her beautiful eyes sparkling with mischief. “And if I’m there, you’ll have backup,which means he’ll have two catty bitches to deal with.” She winked. “If memory serves, he’s not that great at defending against a two-man rush.”

The laughter that poured out of me felt amazing, and we continued into the venue.

Bringing Lila as my plus one had been the best idea ever.

With her nearby, it would be a lot harder for me to even notice Ty.

I managed to avoid Ty and his attitude for most of the day. And when we were in the same place, there were usually enough witnesses and recording devices present to keep us both from letting the cracks show. Plus I was pretty sure he wanted nothing to do with Lila, who was there most of the time.

Mostof the time.

Just my luck, as I was leaving a photo shoot, I was alone. A reporter had asked Lila for an interview, and I was due to meet up with her after we were both finished.

I stepped out of the room where the shoots were being done, and I took out my phone.The photographers are done with me. Where do you want to meet up?

No response right away, so she was probably still in her interview. That, or she was somewhere she couldn’t hear her phone. Either way, there was no hurry, so I leaned against the wall and thumbed through notifications and social media. I’d been warned that the All-Stars meant nonstop people and activity, and I was grateful for a moment to catch my breath.

Shame it didn’t last.

There were people walking by in either direction. Someone in heels and in a hurry. Someone else in dress shoes walking ata more sedate pace while talking on his phone. A small group of people heading someplace on a mission.

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