Page 22 of Holiday Hostilities

The appalling nerve of this man!

I glower at him, standing down there on the ice like a buffoon.

Our gazes clash and his green eyes flare as a slow grin spreads across his face.

Damn his beautiful, cocky self.

Jake is on the ice now too, also looking in my direction, but I know that he’s not looking for me.

I yank my gaze away from Aaron-the-a-hole and focus on my brother. “She’s not here yet,” I mouth at Jake uselessly while willing Sofia to appear ASAP. I made it past security and throughto the box unscathed a few moments ago, but with my brother’s girlfriend running late, I don’t know anybody here.

And I’m now being regarded with keen interest from other members of the box, thanks to said ridiculous wink from a certain insufferable man.

“Hi!” A pretty, freckle-faced woman with a light-brown bob haircut greets me warmly as she comes to stand next to me. “I’m Maddie Slater.”

I recognize the last name—she must be Seb Slater’s wife. Lucky for her, because the guy looks like a chef’s kiss in human form.

Plus, she seems nice. Friendly. Maybe this won’t be too terrible.

“Olivia,” I tell her, awkwardly sticking out my hand and smiling back at her. “Jake’s sister.”

“I figured that’s who you were!” Maddie says, then points to the purple-streaked-blond woman on her other side. “This is Reagan.”

“Hi,” I say, and she gives me a little smile, but her expression is tight as she glances at her phone.

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Maddie continues. “We’ve heard so much about you.”

“Really?” I blink. Like I mentioned, my brother is not exactly a talker, and it’s a miracle from heaven that he met Sofia and actually managed to form a relationship with her that involved, you know, human adult communication.

“Sure,” Reagan pipes up, her eyes darting again to something on her phone screen. “Aaron told me you moved here recently from the UK.”

“Oh,” I say slowly, wondering if Reagan is Aaron’s latest flavor of the week. She seems way too normal to be dating a guy with an ego that large, but I tread carefully, just in case. “Yeah, I arrived in Atlanta last month and I’m renting an apartmentdowntown.” And then, in case she thinks I’m interested in her man or something along those repulsive lines, I add, “Aaron and I know each other through Jake. They’ve been friends for years.”

Okay, the thought isn’t exactly repulsive—Aaron has an ego for a reason. The reason being that he’s disgustingly good looking in a way that makes me want to simultaneously retch and stroke his biceps.

My neanderthal brain clearly needs to do some serious evolving, stat.

Reagan nods at his hulking form on the ice below. “Do you think he’s okay?”

Weird question. But I do know that he gets nervous before games, and he does all these strange superstitious rituals—seriously, the dude used to have a locker full of crocheted animals at school—that he seems to think will help him win. Maybe she’s talking about that?

“He’s… Aaron.” I lift my shoulders, like this statement explains everything.

But for some reason, she nods like this makes sense.

“I wouldn’t worry, Reags,” Maddie says. “It’s just one dumb live stream.”

“You’re right.” Reagan sighs, placing her phone to the side in a definitive sort of way. “So what do you do, Olivia?”

“I’m a flight attendant,” I tell her. “I used to work out of Heathrow, but I changed airlines recently, and now I’m based in Atlanta.”

Maddie’s lips curve upward. “Ooh, has a hot pilot ever swept you off your feet?”

“I wish,” I tell her with a chuckle. “Most of them seem to be looking for a good time, not a long time, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh, we have a couple of those on the Cyclones.” Reagan rolls her eyes.

“I’m aware,” I say tightly.

---