Page 77 of The Christmas You Crash

I’m bristling from his crass and, frankly, disgusting words. Even if it wasn’t his daughter I was dating, what the hell kind of thinking is that? Are women really just a distraction and a good lay to him? How the hell can he say stuff like that when he was married and has a grown daughter? The rest of my teammates look equally appalled. Even Byrne, who’s never had a real relationship in his life. But as far as I can tell, that’s because his issues are with relationships themselves, not women in general. He may never sleep with the same woman twice, but he treats them with respect. He and Wright may have joked about sex or made the occasional lewd comment, but somehow, this feels different.

I’m pissed on Lexi’s behalf.

Clearing my throat, I try to control my anger. “I’ll always play my best, Coach. Regardless of my relationship status.”

He must take that as me agreeing with his sexist sentiment, because he nods. “Good man. That’s what I like to hear. We’vehad enough distractions this past season with this one.” He hooks his finger in Maddox’s direction. Our captain scowls.

Distractionsor not, after getting past a preseason slump, Maddox has been on fire so far this year. Everyone has off games. Even the single guys. To blame poor performances on spouses and partners is bullshit. We all agree on that. Coach doesn’t seem to have the same qualms.

Maybe he’s not the good man I thought he was.

“Right.” Coach claps his hands. “Enough talk about women. We’re here to work, so let’s get to work! Hanson, take it easy on that hand. Only legs for you.” He surveys the room, barks out a command to quit dicking around, and strides out of the weight room.

“How is your girl so cool when she was raised by someone with views like that?” Griffin muses.

“Honestly? I’m wondering that myself.” I’m practically buzzing with angry energy.

“Well, I guess we all know why his wife left him,” Sebastian mutters under his breath. “It can’t have been fun being married to a guy like that.”

Or being raised by one.

Damn. Now I’m really determined to show Lexi how amazing she is and how much I want her. It’ll be hard once I’m back on the road, but I’ll work my ass off to show her that not everyone is like her dad. And that, while he may be blind to what an extraordinary woman she is, I’m not.

“Bring your girl around anytime,” Maddox says, resting a hand on my shoulder. “Isla loved her, and we all think she’s cool.”

“Mira loved her too,” Griffin pipes up. “I know she’s looking for more girlfriends now that she’s back in Minnesota. You’d think rooming with me would be enough socializing for her, but she says she needs other women in her life. Whatever.”

Emotion creates a lump in my throat, and I swallow thickly before I can reply. “Thanks, guys. We’d love to hang out more. Her best friend is all the way in Chicago, so I’m sure she’d enjoy making a few female friends.”

Maddox nods. “We’ll plan something else soon. In the meantime, ask HCB if she’d be willing for you to give me her number. I can pass it along to Isla and my sister. They’ll make sure she’s included.”

“Thanks, man.” My voice is gruff. They’re accepting Lexi, and I appreciate the hell out of them for it. But they’re also accepting me. They’re making sure we both have people in our corners. “I’ll definitely ask her.”

“Good,” Maddox replies. His expression shifts from protective mode to captain mode in an instant. “Now, go do some leg presses or something. We can’t have you out of shape for your first game back.”

I grin, giving him a salute.

Nope, we can’t have that. I’ve got a lot to do to prepare for my triumphant return to the ice with the Rogues. For now, I’ll focus on my strength training. Tonight, I’ll start the more important prep work.

I can’t wait.

thirty-seven

LEXI

Ryder shows up,unannounced, at my apartment at six p.m. The first thing I notice is the beautiful bouquet of flowers in his hand. The second thing I notice is the way his navy blue Henley hugs every dip and ripple of his muscles. Which is why I just stand there staring, dumbstruck, for a solid fifteen seconds before he clears his throat. His lips twitch with effort as he tries to hold back an amused smile. Even if he’d succeeded, his eyes give him away. They crinkle at the corners, sparkling, even in the crappy fluorescent hellscape that is our apartment building’s hallway.

“Gonna let me in, Lex?”

“Huh?” His laughter has me shaking my head to clear away the fog. “Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

Stepping aside, I wave Ryder in. Once the door’s shut, he hands me the flowers. They smell amazing, and I let myself sniff them for a few seconds. My roommate, Sarah, pops her head out of the hallway.

“Someone here?” She surveys Ryder. Sarah and I don’t have much in common, but by the way her eyebrows lift and her jaw goes slack, I’d say we can at least agree that Ryder is hot as hell.

“Ryder, this is my roommate, Sarah.” Ryder gives her a little wave, which makes her blush. “Sarah, this is my…” My brow pinches. I realize I don’t know what to call him. We haven’t really had that conversation yet. “This is Ryder.”

“Her boyfriend,” he finishes for me with a wink. I turn to look at him, and whatever my face is doing makes him chuckle. But he ignores me for now in favor of saying, “Nice to meet you, Sarah.”

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