Page 82 of The Christmas You Crash

“Ignore him,” Maddox says. “Byrne wouldn’t knowthe one,even if she lit his hair on fire.”

Logan pales and his hand goes to his sandy-blond hair. “Don’t even say things like that.”

Sebastian’s shoulders shake with silent laughter. “I can’t wait until you fall so head over heels you can’t shut up about her. We’ll never let you forget how completely against love you were.”

“Not going to happen,” Logan replies confidently. “Love is a lie and marriage is just a piece of paper.”

“Just because your dad treats it that way doesn’t make it the truth.” Navarro braces a hand on Logan’s shoulder. Logan brushes Bash’s words and hand off, but he can’t hide the haunted look that overtakes his eyes for a split second before he manages to school his expression.

“You think she may be the one?” Griffin asks, bringing the conversation back around. He grins like a little boy surrounded by puppies. Ever since Maddox and Isla got together, the guy is in love with love. Actually, I’m not sure he wasn’t always that way. Some of the things he says make me think the guy’s always been a closet romantic.

“Maybe,” I say as I bend over to lace up my Bauers. If this isn’t love, I don’t know what it is. Infatuation? I’m not sure that covers it. Every second of the day, I’m consumed with thoughts of Lexi. I wake up hard as a rock, dreaming of her lips on me, her soft body welcoming mine. Whenever I have a free minute, I’m calling or texting her. I fall asleep with the image of her face painted in vivid colors across my eyelids. Nothing she says bores me. I want to know everything. All the moments of herday. All the thoughts that cross her mind. And I want to tell her everything. Not since my dad passed have I felt so close to another person.

She’smyperson. And I think I’m hers.

“You two are cute as fuck together,” Griffin says.

Maddox nods in agreement, even though he’d never use those exact words to describe Lexi and me. “It’s different for everyone. I think, for me, it was realizing that I could no longer imagine my life without Isla. There wasn’t some huge lightning-strike event that made me see it. More like a thousand little moments that added up to an undeniable truth. Loving Isla became part of my DNA. She burrowed under my skin. And when I thought she was getting back together with her asshole ex-fiancé, it killed me. I was so pissed and so hurt, but even then, I never stopped loving her.”

“But is it too soon?” I ask, giving voice to the thought that haunts me.

“You planning on proposing when we get back, Handsome?” Maddox’s brow lifts.

“No, of course not.” That’s not to say I haven’t had thoughts of proposing to Lexisomeday.

Our team captain and star center leans forward in his spot on the locker room bench, resting his elbows on his knees. “There are only two people in the world who can answer if it’s too soon to know whether HCB isthe one. And that’s you and her. Anyone else’s opinion is just noise, Rookie.” He rises to his feet, grabbing his stick. “But for what it’s worth, you’re different since you’ve been with her. You’re happier. More focused. Settled in yourself, you know? I can’t tell you if she’s the one, but I can tell you love her.”

I can tell you love her.

Do I? Do I love her? I’m crazy about her, sure. Can’t stop thinking about her. Butlove? Do Iloveher?

Shit.I think I love her.

Maddox chuckles. “Admitting it to yourself for the first time, aren’t you?” He pats my back a few times, jarring me from my thoughts. “Yeah. It’s a mind fuck.”

Yeah. It is.

My ribs are bruised,and I’ve got a split lip after an altercation on the ice with the Renegades’ second-line right winger, but not even my sore body can temper the anticipation I feel when I get to my hotel room and flop onto the queen-size bed. My roommate for the trip is out with the rest of the guys at a bar celebrating a hard-fought win, but I begged off for the night. I need to see Lexi’s face. Hear her voice.

My girl picks up on the third ring. Tension melts out of my body when her beautiful face fills my phone’s screen. Her green eyes widen when they fall on my split lip. Pushing her golden hair away from her face, she takes the rest of me in. “Oh my god, babe. Are you okay? I can’t believe that asshole tried to start shit with Bash.”

I can’t, either. Everyone knows you don’t go after the goalie. That’s why I got into a fight. Normally, I stay out of brawls, but the prick with a shitty attitude and straggly lip sweater cross-checked Sebastian into the pipe. All because Navarro was on fire tonight and he’d easily ignored all the right winger’s immature chirping.

Shit like that can’t stand. So, I went after the guy. Totally worth the time I spent in the sin bin for it too.

“He won’t start anything with Bash again,” I say with a feral grin. It tugs at my split lip, but I couldn’t care less. Lexi’s pupilsblow wide. Apparently, my girl is a little bloodthirsty. Damn. This woman is perfect for me.

“I miss you,” she says, giving words to my own thoughts. “So much. Is that too needy?” She grins. “I don’t care.”

Chuckling, I unbutton my dress shirt. “Nah, OTG. Not too needy at all. I miss you too. Wish you were here.”

“Me too. Stupid school.” Lexi blows out a deep breath. Her eyes track my fingers as they undo the next few buttons. Heat fills those beautiful green irises, and her lids lower to half-mast. Her tongue darts out and swipes across her lower lip. “Stupid distance.”

“You know, there are plenty of things we can do to feel close to one another, even with thousands of miles between us.” I waggle my eyebrows at her and am rewarded with a bright peal of laughter.

“Oh, yeah? And what, exactly, do you have in mind, Handsome?”

My chest warms at her use of my nickname. I like the sound of it on her lips a hell of a lot more than when the guys on my team use it. When I’ve flicked the last button open, I sit up and shrug out of my dress shirt and jacket. Lexi’s greedy emerald eyes track across my now-exposed chest. A pretty pink flush spreads across her cheeks, and I can’t help thinking about other pretty pink parts of her body.

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