Page 7 of Faking It with my Hockey Crush

While I left them at the table and limped out of the coffee shop looking pretty confident, I’ll admit that I did hesitate once I’d traveled down several streets and found myself outside the glass doors of the clinic.

It’s not like me to hesitate in anything, but putting a name to the face on her website, I remembered what had happened all those years ago. But then, feeling ridiculous, I shook my head.I’m a grown man and a famous ice hockey player. What was I doing?

I was with John on this one. Surely, she wouldn’t still be holding on to something so petty.

When I walked into the clinic, I didn’t really know what to expect. Sure, I’ve been attended to by physios before, but our med team has state-of-the-art equipment in a pretty large room back in the city. This place was tucked away in sleepy old Maple Springs. I’ll admit, I was impressed. The place was all clean lines and bright décor.

What I wasn’t expecting was a rather stunningly beautiful redhead standing behind the desk.

The picture on Emma Carter’s website doesn’t do her justice. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it’s false advertising. My heart didn’t exactly skip a beat at the cascading red hair falling over her slender shoulders, but she certainly had my attention.

Unfortunately, my delight was not at all reciprocated, and with her arms folded across her chest at the sight of me, I knew straight away that she remembered our last encounter in 4K clarity. I did try to be nice, but even my charm couldn’t dent the ice-cold armor she was wearing. In fact, from the vibes I was getting, I’d be warmer outside.

There was a moment when she and her assistant were clearly not on the same page. I recognized her, too, and figured she was another girl who attended Maple Springs High. At least she seemed impressed to see me. But that didn’t last long before Emma gave a look that could kill dead things.

It was a short exchange wherein she was adamant that she couldn’t fit me in. I didn’t believe it for a second, but whatever.

I left with my pride intact, and after taking the same route back, I’m now pulling my collar up against the bitter wind that’s funneling down Main Street. I won’t lie, I am a bit annoyed, butI push that down somewhere where I can’t feel it. If she doesn’t want my business, then I’ll find someone else who does.

In fact, I don’t need her. I’ll just call Coach.

The guys watch me as I enter the coffee shop again, both of them with expectant faces. I lift my hand, gesturing for another coffee from the pretty barista behind the counter before limping back to the table they’re still sitting at.

“Well?” Steve presses.

“You were right,” I say, dropping back into my chair. “Women really are elephants.”

Steve grins and holds his hand out to John. “Cough up.”

I smirk as I watch John dig around in his wallet and hand over ten dollars. “I can’t believe you guys actually bet on that.”

“Hey, you brought it up,” Steve says. He gives me a sympathetic look across the table. “So, how bad was it?”

“Well, if looks were fire, I’d probably be covered in third-degree burns right now. Let’s just say she was less than impressed to see me.”

Steve shrugged. “I told you.”

“Yes. So you’ve mentioned once or twice,” I snarl dryly.

The barista arrives with a tray and places three more coffees down on the table. After thanking her, John lifts his and looks at me over the rim.

“What are you going to do?”

I swipe a dismissive hand. “I don’t need her. I’ll just call Coach. I just thought going to appointments in the town would be easier than having the team physio traveling all the way out here.”

“They would do that?” John looks impressed.

“Sure, they would. It’s me, right? In fact”—I dig around in my jacket pocket for my phone—“I’m going to call Coach right now.”

Steve and John talk among themselves while I wait for Coach to answer, and on the fifth ring, he picks up.

“Hey, Coach. It’s Ryan.”

“Ryan. How’s it going? What about the leg?”

“Still injured,” I joke back. “Listen, I was wondering whether I can get one of the team to come down here.”

“What do you mean?” Coach says, sounding confused.

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