Page 56 of Grumpy Puck

“Not the same,” he says grimly.

Coach skates over with an ecstatic expression.“That was amazing teamwork.Outstanding job!I always knew you had it in you.”He pats Michael on the shoulder.

He’s right.Itwasgood teamwork, which must have been as natural a behavior for my boo as yoga is for a bear.

Michael nods gruffly.“I couldn’t have done it without your coaching.”

Coach waves that away and winks at me.“How about our new mascot?”he asks.“You sure she wasn’t an inspiration as well?”

“Sure.”Michael slants me a glance.“She made me realize that getting my teammates to play better hockey shouldn’t be more difficult than teaching a rat to ride a unicycle.”

“This win will help at the fundraiser tonight,” Coach says.

Michael’s expression darkens.“I mentioned that to you in confidence.”

“What fundraiser?”I ask.

Coach turns to Michael with an expression of exaggerated shock.“You didn’t invite Calliope?”

“No,” Michael growls.“I thought about it, but?—”

“Why do you need to go to a fundraiser?”I ask.“Is it for your secret project?”

That’s the only reason I can think of for him not wanting to involve me.Or the only reason that doesn’t hurt my feelings.Unless he’s planning on bringing someone else?Someone who wears small skates?No.He wouldn’t risk ruining our ploy and being spotted by the paparazzi.Even so, just the idea of it makes me sick.

“Yes.”Michael looks furtively at the people leaving the stands.“I need to raise some money… and Icoulduse your help.”

“Myhelp?”I glance at Wolfgang as though he might understand this better.

Meine Liebe, say “yes.”Fundraisers mean hors d'oeuvres, and that means lots and lots of delicious parmesan.

“I’m not great at socializing,” Michael says, understating the case by a mile.“If you came, I think things would go smoother.”

Huh.That’s oddly nice of him to say.“Is it a swanky event?”I ask.

He nods.

I bite my lip.“I have nothing to wear.”

“I’ll get you whatever you need.”His eyes glint with such heat I can tell that whatever clothes he’s just pictured wouldn’t cover much of my skin.

Said skin heats up at the thought, but I keep my face neutral.“In that case, let’s make a deal,” I say sweetly.“You tell me what the project is, and I’ll be your escort.”

My latest guess: he wants to take DNA from inside the bellies of ancient stuck-in-amber mosquitoes and use that to resurrect an extinct species of saber-toothed panda.

Michael and Coach exchange glances.

“I thought you already explained it to her when you gave her those skates,” Coach says.

The suspiciously small and feminine skates I was just thinking about.Ones that made me think a woman might be involved.But I don’t see the connection to some secret project.Unless… do pandas prefer women to men?

“Fine,” Michael growls.“But this is to be a private matter between us.”

Like the fact that we slept together?“Sure.”

He scans the people who are still in the process of leaving the stadium.“Let’s go back to our hotel room, and I’ll tell you there.Then we’ll go shopping.”

“Okay,” I say, though my curiosity is at lethal levels now.“I’ll see you there.”

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