Page 162 of Power Play

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G-Money:LOL. It’s always funny to see what the tipping point for Goalie Daddy will be. Today it’s face dicks.

G-Money:Wonder what it will be tomorrow.

**

Something is wrong with Piper.

She’s been acting differently since the rehearsal dinner last night.

All her smiles are strained. Her answers to questions are short. And when I woke up this morning, she was on the other side of the bed.

It’s driving me fucking insane trying to figure out what’s going through her mind. I missed a dozen texts and forgot to respond to Coach about practice this weekend, too busy racking my brain about what I might have done to piss Piper off.

The lack of response earned me a ten-minute phone call about responsibilities and balancing my priorities. A lecture on how I’m lucky to have a few days away, but that doesn’t mean I can blow off everything waiting for me back home.

The chastising made me feel like shit, like I’m neglecting important parts of my life, and I’m still carrying my sour attitude with me as I stand in the hallway outside the hotel ballroom, waiting for my cue to walk Alana down the aisle with my dad.

“Hey.” My sister snaps her fingers in my face and I blink. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I’m fine.”

“Is that why you’ve been scowling for the last five minutes?”

“I’m not scowling.”

“You’re staring at the wall like it did something to offend you.”

I run a hand through my hair and check over my shoulder. My dad is distracted, busy talking with one of the bridesmaids. Last-minute guests are filing into the chairs arranged in a dozen rows, and I know I have some time before the ceremony starts.

“I’m frustrated,” I tell her, dropping my voice low. “I did something to make Piper mad.”

“Okay, that’s easy. Apologize to her.”

“That would be easy if I knew what the fuck I did to make her close up over the last twenty-four hours. And, in the time it’s taken me to try to figure it out, Coach has reamed me for not answering my phone, my teammates have told me they like my temporary replacement more than they like me, and I’ve remembered how much goddamn energy relationships require.”

“For fuck’s sake.” Alana rolls her eyes and checks her reflection in the mirror hanging in the hallway. “You can be so selfish sometimes, Liam. It’s obvious your teammates are fucking with you because you don’t know how to take a joke. Do youreallythink they want to get rid of the guy who’s been with the organization for years and led the team from a losing record to almost Stanley Cup champions?”

“Maybe they?—”

“And you missed a call from your coach. Big deal,” she challenges, steamrolling past me. “That’s the first time it’s probably ever happened, and you’re acting like it’s the end of the world.”

“It’s myjob, Alana, and what I’m paid to do. This isn’t some pickup game on the lake up the street from our house. Four days away has me acting like I’m some rookie who doesn’t understand time management.”

“I see what’s happening.” Lani grins at me. “You’re self-sabotaging.”

I rub my jaw. I hate how her attention makes me uneasy. “What the fuck does that mean?”

“It’s something my therapist and I talk about.”

“You go to a therapist?”

She lifts an eyebrow, daring me to make a comment, but I keep my mouth shut. “You don’t?”

Lots of guys on the team go and talk to someone. I’m glad that works for them and I’d never make fun of them for finding an outlet for their stress.

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