Page 68 of The Christmas You Crash

“During Christmas?” Griffin’s brow creases. “Why would you want to be alone during Christmas?”

Lexi sighs. “My parents got a divorce, and it’s made holidays a little...awkward. I didn’t want to deal with my mom and her boyfriend, and my dad and I don’t exactly have a great relationship.” She shifts in her seat beside me. “Which is probably obvious because I’ve never been to a Rogues game and none of you had any clue who I was. My dad’s probably never even mentioned me by name, right?”

The guys wince. Because, no, he hasn’t.

“Right.” Lexi nods, because this is exactly what she expected. “So, I didn’t tell my dad I was heading up to the cabin. Didn’t think he’d care either way, to be honest, so I didn’t see the point.” She shakes her head. “Anyway. I was soaking outside in the hot tub when Ryder arrived, so I failed to hear his car or him entering the house. He was standing there like a total creep in all black when I waltzed my oblivious ass inside, and since I had been listening to some true crime podcasts on the drive in, I naturally thought he was there to murder me.”

“Naturally,” Logan parrots with a smirk in my direction.

“Sooo, I hit him with a wineglass, he saw me naked, and eventually, as we yelled at each other through a closed door, we realized what had happened.” Lexi’s cheeks are stained pink with the revelation that I saw her naked. I don’t think she meant to say that part out loud.

“I have so many questions,” Griffin mutters.

“Just let them tell the story,” Mira says. She pats him on the head, and Griffin settles in beside her.

“Right,” I say, picking up where Lexi left off. “After we talked, I decided to leave. I obviously wasn’t planning to crash her week alone. But the weather had other plans. My car couldn’t evenmake it down the driveway. So, we got snowed in together for a week.” When I glance at Lexi out of the corner of my eye, she’s smiling. I pause the story to give her a kiss on the forehead. The guys let out a collectiveawwwsound, which makes her giggle.

“Anyway. I quickly realized that Lexi is amazing and practically begged her to give me a chance. And I don’t know if it was all the snow causing a beer-goggle effect, or if she was bored, or what, but we ended up clicking and she agreed to give dating me a try.”

“And you don’t want to tell Coach?” Sebastian asks me.

“I don’t want to tell him,” Lexi says. “Ryder would tell him, but I don’t want to. My relationship with my dad is...complicated. It’s not worth the drama it would cause.”

“You think he’d retaliate against Ryder?” Maddox leans forward, his elbows on his knees.

Lexi shifts uncomfortably again. “No, it’s not that, but if Ryder doesn’t play at the top of his game this season, my dad will blame it on me, and I just…” She sighs deeply, her lips twisting into a frown. “Look, I know it’s shitty to ask you guys to keep this from him, but I’m not ready to deal with all of that. So, will you keep it a secret? Please?”

Sebastian’s brow furrows as he studies Lexi. “He’s your dad. Why would he blame Ryder’s performance issues on you?”

“Yeah,” Griffin pipes up. “No way would Coach do that. You’re his daughter.”

Maddox clears his throat. “Remember that time earlier this year in the locker room and what he said when he ripped me a new one for defending Isla from those asshole fans?”

“Oh.” Griffin frowns. “I guess I do.”

Shit. I remember. He told Maddox that hockey had to come first. That, when he was coaching, hockey was everything. He didn’t have a wife or a daughter. He wasn’t a husband or a father. He was justCoach. How could I have forgotten that?

“What did he say?” Lexi asks, her tone wary.

Maddox shakes his head. “It’s not worth repeating. All you need to know is that, if this is what the two of you want, we’ll support you.”

“Thank you,” Lexi murmurs.

“So, you’re not going to come to our games and cheer Hanson on?” Griffin gives me a sad look. He knows there’s nothing better than having someone who loves you cheering from the seats. And they all know my parents are both gone.

No one cheers for me from the seats. At least, not anyone that matters.

“I... It wouldn’t be a good idea,” Lexi says. She looks up at me with a frown. She’s smart and perceptive, so I’m sure she doesn’t miss the distant look of longing I’m trying to hide.

“And what if things get serious between you two?” Sebastian asks.

Giving Lexi a squeeze, I say, “We’ll figure that out when we get there. For now, this is all new. Will you guys agree to keep this quiet?”

“Of course they will,” Mira says with a pointed look at Griffin.

“Yeah,” Maddox agrees. “We’ll keep it a secret.”

Logan shakes his head, incredulous. “I’ll keep my mouth shut, but watching all of you twist yourselves into pretzels for relationships makes me damned sure of my decision to avoid them. Too much work. Relationships are inconvenient.”

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