Page 66 of The Hockey Grump Saves Christmas

“Yes,” Natalie repeats, her tone clearly saying she doesn’t understand why I didn’t get it the first time.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I mean, didn’t you think there was a chance I might know him? Since we used to, you know, play for thesame team?” I jerk my thumb toward Wyatt, who was traded from the Apollos to our archrivals, the New Jersey Ironmen, at the end of the season before last.

“Ididmention it,” she says. “Oh…”

She pauses and looks up at the darkening sky, thinking for a second.

Then her eyes widen with realization. “I remember now. I was about to tell you, then we almosthit that tree across the road and had to turn back and I was stuck at your house.”

“You’ve spent the night at this jerk’s house?” Wyatt exclaims.

A steaming rage boils inside me. I could deck him right now. And if there wasn’t a good chance of it making Natalie hate me, I would. Also, it would undoubtedly cause a whole bunch of bad press that would make the head coach yell a lot. So instead, I shove my clenched fists into my parka pockets.

“Yes,” Natalie tells him. “But only because the road was blocked.” Her eyes flash to mine, puzzled as to what all the fuss is about.

“Seriously?”Wyatt looks from side to side, like he’s searching for someone else to back up what a terrible decision that was on Natalie’s part. “You’ve spentthe nightunder the same roof as him?”

“Leave her alone,” I bark. “It’s none of your business where she sleeps.”

“It is if she sleeps with you.”

“Who says I’m sleeping with him?” Natalie asks, her voice riddled with defensiveness.

“Aren’t you?” Wyatt makes a huge dramatic shrug.

“Not exac…” But one of her most attractive features is her inability to lie.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” Wyatt puts his hands on the top of his head like it’s his brain’s turn to explode and moves in a circle for no apparent reason other than complete outrage has sent him into a spin.

“This guy is trouble, Nat,” he says when he’s facing us again. “Stay away from him.”

That’s it. Fuck this guy.

I stride between them, my back to Natalie, shielding her from Wyatt’s venom. “Please leave.”

“I can see my cousin whenever the fuck I want,” Wyatt says.

“Not while you’re in a mood like this, you can’t.” She might not be mine to defend, but I’m fucking defending her anyway.

Natalie’s hand is on my sleeve. “It’s fine. It’s fine.” She moves beside me. “Wyatt, are you staying at Aunt Lou’s tonight?”

“No,” he says. “Just came to drop off the oh-so-delicate cookies. She said you’d be out here rehearsing a kids’ play, and I thought I’d stop to say hi on my way back to Jersey.”

“Well, you’ve done that,” I say. “So you can go.”

“Where the fuck do you get off on throwing your weight around, Woods?” Wyatt puffs himself up like he’s challenging me to a fight.

Fury boils within me and fires out of my mouth. “No one throws orders at my girl.”

Fuck.

Wyatt’s eyes are so wide his eyeballs might fall out.

What the ever-loving fuck made me say that?

I’ve never referred to anyone asmy girlin my life.

Is that even what she is? Or what she wants to be?

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