Page 31 of Hockey Heart

Throwing open the door, ready to yell at whoever was treating it as a punchbag at this time of night, there he was, filling up my entire doorframe. The dream. The nightmare. Hayden Raynor. I went to throw the door closed again, and one of his large paws reached out and stopped it.

“Hey! Wait, Sarah, please.”

As I scowled at him for the intrusion, the way he’d made me feelagain, the audacity of showing up here, I looked down at his hands and frowned, “Is that?”

“Um… Jax’s milk butter chicken sandwich, curly kale fries, and a caramel dreams shake. Also threw in a mega-chicken-bucket just in case,” he looked up at me earnestly, “I got it right, didn’t I?”

Huh, so he actually did listen that night.

It would take a lot more than Jax’s chicken to win me over, but there was this look in his eyes, like he was desperate to make it right, to change my thoughts on him. I felt my heart beat harder in my chest and was annoyed at it. I didn’t want to feel anything for him.

“So, look…”

“Yeah, you got yourself arrested. After I was waiting for… Well, I waited long enough for you! Then I found out on thefuckingnews, Hayden.”

As I wavered, he looked past me and saw the frozen image of Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston on the screen.

“The Bodyguard!”

“Oh!” I blushed, feeling judged.

“I love that movie!”

I couldn’t tell if he was teasing me, until I saw his bright, excited eyes.Oh my God. Heactuallyloves that movie…

I sighed. There was something about him that stopped me wanting to tell him off. I was too tired to be mad. I’d already been mad at him for hours before he’d unexpectedly turned up at my door, and it was exhausting.

“Well, gee! I guess come in then,” I told him with a heavy dose of sarcasm and extended my arm to the apartment.

Hayden

Watching Kevin Costner trying to handle Whitney’s shit, while chowing down on Jax’s chicken (she was right, it was good!) and sipping chilled rosé, was about as good as an evening as I could have imagined. Why didn’t everyone want to do this? All I got asked to do was to take people to some pretentious new club, a boring restaurant opening, or anywhere that celebrities might hang out. No one ever wanted to dothis.

I looked over to check Sarah’s expression, hoping she still wasn’t quite so mad at me, but she was transfixed by the movie, her fingers moving food from the bucket to her mouth as if they were operating on another level.

She actually looked great without make-up. Those soft wrinkles around her eyes when she smiled were adorable. I leaned over to top up our wine glasses and sat back comfortably.

And you’re ready to die for me?

It’s the job.

And you’d do it. Why?

I can’t sing.

Her lips curled in delight at those lines. Sarah noticed me looking and turned to me. I gave her a timid smile, hoping that she was at least enjoying this, despite everything. Hell, if I didn’t feel so bad about letting her down, Iwas enjoying it, too. The rosé was slipping down nicely, making me feel warm and fuzzy. Those dimples in her cheeks when she moved her lips were really something. We both turned back to the movie.

What are you afraid of?

I’m afraid of not being there.

Sarah’s hand went for the bucket, with mine already deep in there and, as we brushed each other’s skin, something electric sparkled inside. The sensation sent a flickering rush of wild emotions that my brain had not anticipated, and neither of us moved our hands away. For a fleeting moment, they found each other and delighted in the touch before we pulled them away. It was odd afterward. Like my hand missed hers, and I wanted it to come back.

This time, I caught Sarah looking at me with an amused look on her face.

“What?” I asked.

“Hayden Raynor, drinking rosé and watching The Bodyguard. It’s a surprise.”

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