Page 6 of The Christmas You Crash

Shit. Do not look at the dick, Lexi. Donotlook at the dick.

My eyes drop to his crotch, and the very sizable bulge hidden behind a layer of what can only be described as fleece-lined-lady-catnip, before I can stop myself. Cheeks and lower belly warm, I step away, hoping he didn’t notice me checking out his crotch. His soft chuckle tells me I’m not so lucky, so I busy myself with making the whipped cream.

More heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar go into a bowl, then I grab a whisk and beat the hell out of the mixture. At least it will give me a reason to ignore Ryder and his bulge and get some frustration out at the same time.

“So, what happened to your hand?”

“Oh, uh, got into it with a guy on the opposing team. We used to be close friends in college, but he turned into a real piece of work, and now we end up brawling every time we play. I got shoved onto the ice, and Chase’s skate sliced right through the center of my palm. Pretty fucking deep too. He says it was an accident, but I don’t buy it. I know he did it on purpose.” Though Ryder’s voice is tinged with anger, I can hear the hurt as well. I should know, I’m a pro at masking my hurt with anger. “He could have cost me my career and the use of my dominant hand.”

Ah, crap. Now I don’t feel so smug about hurting him with the wine bottle. “I’m sorry. Are you okay? I hit you with the wine bottle, and it looked like you were in a lot of pain.” I look over my shoulder to steal a glance at him and find Ryder frowning as he stirs the hot chocolate, his attention completely on the thick, dark mixture.

“Didn’t feel great,” he says with a shrug. “But you thought you were in danger, so I can’t be mad at you for it.”

My arm burns as I continue to whisk the whipped cream. “Still, I’m sorry.”

He glances up at me, and my traitorous knees wobble when he gifts me with a melancholy sort of smile. “You’re forgiven. I’m sorry for scaring you and seeing you naked and ruining your peaceful night. I’ll head out as soon as we’ve had hot chocolate. This smells amazing, and I’d leave now, but I really want to try it.”

That earns a chuckle from me as I switch hands to whisk with my left. The cream is getting thicker, but it’s not as fluffy as I’d like. As we lapse into silence once again, it’s less tension-filled. After a few more minutes of stirring, the whipped cream is done. Instructing Ryder to turn the stove off, I pull two mugs from the cabinet before doling out the hot chocolate, scoopinga generous serving of whipped cream into both, then sprinkling some chocolate flakes on top.

“Cheers,” I say, clinking my mug against his. “And here’s to neverevertelling my dad you saw my tits. Or even that I was here.”

He smiles brilliantly at that little toast. “Cheers. And I definitely never will. I’d like to keep my balls attached to my body.”

We both sip our hot chocolate and let out simultaneous groans of pleasure. Drinking hot cocoa with an attractive stranger isn’t the worst way I could have spent an hour during this long week of solitude, but I can’t forget he’s a hockey player. One of my dad’shockey players. And an hour is all we’ll ever have.

I’m ready to go back to the quiet of my regularly scheduled plans. Plans that definitely do not include Ryder Hanson.

five

RYDER

Lexi Cross is nota fan of her dad. Unfortunately, that also means she’s not a big fan of me. I guess I can’t blame her if he blew her off the day I got my injury, but I didn’t ask him to stick around and check up on me. Hell, I’m a grown man. He should have gone out with his daughter.

As far as I know, Lexi’s never been to a game since I’ve been on the team. We all know the coach has a daughter, but the photo on his desk has to be from when she was a teenager. Maybe fourteen or fifteen. She looks nothing like the woman sitting beside me, sipping hot chocolate. This woman is beautiful and tough, if a bit jaded. The girl in the photo had a wide-eyed innocence that the current iteration of Lexi seems to lack.

Sipping my drink beside her at the kitchen island, I’m so tempted to ask her what their deal is, but I won’t. Though we’re enjoying a ceasefire right now because I’m leaving, I doubt it would hold if I asked something so intensely personal. I mean, she packed up her shit and drove to an isolated cabin in a town of only three thousand people for Christmas, rather than spending it with her dad. There has to be a story there.

I don’t understand it myself. My mom passed away when I was seven, and my dad died four years ago. I’d give anything to spend the holidays with them again. Anything.

“Are you sure your hand is okay?” Lexi asks, breaking our silence. “I can look at it and make sure your stitches didn’t open.”

“It would be bleeding through the gauze if they had,” I reassure her. I’m confident everything is as it should be, even if it is throbbing.

She peers at me from beneath the long fringe of dark blonde lashes. “I’m really sorry. Again. I feel terrible.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I say with a chuckle. “After all, you were just trying to keep me from reaching for my garrote.”

That makes her laugh, and the sound is like chimes on a late spring day. It warms my chest. She’s gorgeous, even frowning, but a smiling Lexi? Damn. If she wasn’t Coach’s daughter, I might try to charm my way into an invitation for the night. I’m not usually a one-night-stand kind of guy, but I’d happily enjoy a night or two with this woman if the situation was different. Hell, there wouldn’t even need to be any sex involved. We could sit around and talk about the weather, and she’d probably make it sound like a revelation.

“Are you in criminal justice or something?”

She nearly spits out her cocoa. “Me? Oh, god, no. I’m working on my MBA. I just really love true crime stuff.”

“I’ve never really understood women’s fascination with brutal murders.”

“We’re full of rage,” she says with a shrug, as if that explains it. “Plus, my favorite girl has a podcast and a YouTube channel where she goes over the details of crimes while putting on her makeup. It’s fun and she’s hilarious.”

“Sure,” I say with a shake of my head. “Murderisfun and hilarious.”

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