Page 91 of Pucked and Pregnant

He laughs then navigates a turn before saying anything. “That’s not the hormones talking. You’ve always been convinced you could do anything if you just clenched your teeth tightly enough. It’s how you’ve gotten this far.”

I smile at him. “I had a good example in my big brother.”

He grins at me as he pulls into the rink’s back parking lot. “See that you remember that the next time you want to argue with my advice.”

I giggle and hop out of the car, having to steady myself against the door for a moment. As I do, I realize that someone is walking toward me, and I frown when I see that it’s Travis. I quickly straighten up and pull my jacket down a bit.

“Morning, Travis,” I say to him, my voice tight.

“You look… nice,” he says to me in a strange tone of voice. He glances at my brother, and I realize that he’s trying to figure out how to act normal around him. Max is shooting daggers at him.

“I’ll be watching to make sure you’re okay,” Max tells me, giving Travis a warning look.

Travis just laughs. “You’ll be busy playing and hopefully winning. Don’t worry. I’ve got her.” He winks at me and my skin crawls.

“Liv, be careful,” Max says. I’m not sure if he means to be careful because of the baby, or because of Travis so I just nod. I watch Max walk away, and for a brief second, I want to run after him, begging him not to leave me. However, I’m a grown woman and I need to face this on my own. A small wave of dizziness washes over me, and I close my eyes, breathing in through my nose for a moment to try and fight it off.

“Ready to go do this?” Travis asks.

I look at him silently for a moment, taking in the smug smile, the arrogance oozing from every pore. I can’t decide if he makes me want to revisit my morning sickness from earlier or hit him over the head with the high heels I’m carrying. I decide either choice would do very nicely to communicate how much I don’t want to be doing this, or anything for that matter, with him.

However, I do very much want to do this for myself, and for my career, and for my men. So, I draw myself up straight, blink a few times to clear my vision, and march past Travis, heading straight to the rink to start getting ready to cover what might be the biggest game of my career.

As I march as quickly as I can through the building, I think about what it will mean for all of us if my men and their team win this game. If they do, that means travel, and all kinds of other stress and worry. I frown a little as I realize that I might not be up for the travel part of the adventure, which makes me feel sad and disappointed.

However, I still want nothing more than for Max and my boys to win this game. They’ve worked so hard. They’ve earned the right to play with the best teams in the NHL.

“Excited?” the intern helping me with my mic asks as she putters about getting everything adjusted.

I swallow down the normal pre-game butterflies and smile at her. I put my heels on about ten minutes ago, and already, my back is protesting. I shove down the nagging worry that I won’t be able to make it through the game and manage to say, “Ready as I’ll ever be!”

“Glad to hear it,” Travis says, leaning in close to talk in a low voice. “I’d hate to have to replace you for all the upcoming games if they make it to the finals. But then again, once all that stuff about you guys fooling around gets out in the open, it might be all over for you here at True Sports.”

I shoot him a nasty look then turn my back on him. The intern goes back to setting up my mic, and I draw in a few deep breaths to try and steady myself.

What a dick, I think furiously. I had hoped that my time off might help him get over the idea of turning me in to our bosses and the press, but apparently not. He had to be the nastiest person I had ever worked with, and I wasn’t even sure why he was being so incredibly horrible to me.

Fueled by rage and frustration at just about everything going on in my life at the moment, I swing around again to face him. “Just what is your issue with me?” I demand, my hands on my hips.

He blinks at me for a moment as if he hadn’t expected me to be so direct, then his slimy used car salesman smile begins to form again.

“I actually think you’re really good at what you do, Liv,” he says, and I can hear the genuine honesty in his tone. “That’s not what bugs me about you though.”

I frown at him. “Then what is it?”

His expression grows darker, more threatening, as he says, “I don’t like that your connection to a player on the team got youthis job. Lots of people with more experience applied for this spot, and yet you got the job, all because you have connections with the team. Do you think that’s fair? Besides that, I work better with male cohosts, as your predecessor could attest.”

I glare at him for a moment, feeling confused at such an old-fashioned, chauvinistic reason to dislike me.

Finally, I say, “You won’t have to put up with me for long. I have big plans. I don’t intend to stay in this position forever.”

He nods. “Oh sure, that’s what they all say. We’ll see if you get so lucky. You can’t sleep your way to the top if you don’t have family and old friends on the team next time.”

My mouth falls open. I hate that I have such a strong reaction, and that he can tell that I’m annoyed, but I am truly stunned. How dare he assume that my brother or the boys had anything to do with me being hired to cohost with him.

The intern had gone suspiciously quiet moments ago. She finishes up then slips out the door. Travis and I are alone, and I clench my teeth as rage floods through me. I want to pick up something and throw it at him or scream in his face exactly what I really think about him.

Instead, I turn away, pick up the note cards that I made with some notes about stats and figures, and walk to the door. I open it, gesturing for him to go first. “After you,” I say flatly.

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