Page 53 of Coach's Temptation

I perch on a leather armchair, sipping my wine and taking in the sweet taste of victory in Game One of the playoffs.

"That's not how you do it!" Blake laughs as Connor fumbles another beer can, foam spraying across his playoff beard. "Here, watch the master."

Blake punctures the can with ease, shot-gunning it in seconds while the team chants his name.

"Weak sauce, Walsh!" Logan calls from across the room. "Almost as weak as Ryder's taste in music."

"You take that back!" Ryder points an accusatory finger, nearly falling off his barstool. "'All Star' is the greatest playoff anthem of all time and I will die on this hill!"

"Smash Mouth?" Logan winces and grabs at his ribcage, trying his best to ignore the injury he's sustained tonight. "Mia? Where are you? Come smack Ryder around the head for me, would ya?"

I laugh and watch as Mia strides in with a fresh drink, followed by Sophia who immediately dances over to Blake and leans on her toes to kiss him. Lucy slides into the seat next to me, her curls bouncing as Mia takes up the stool beside Ryder.

"Awww. Leave Ryder alone," Mia says, her eyes sparkling at her best friend. "His music taste might be questionable, but I happen to like the same stuff."

A collective groan and eyeroll passes through the entire room.

The victory over Vancouver has transformed these professional athletes into overgrown teenagers, sprawled across Big Mike's designer furniture like they're at a high school house party.

Someone's started a dart tournament in the corner, though their aim gets progressively worse with each round.

"Sweet Caroline" comes on and the entire room erupts, everyone belting out "BAH BAH BAH" with more enthusiasm than skill.

And across the room, I can't help but notice that even Mr. Grumpy himself can't stop his lips from twitching into a reluctant smile.

Hunter's tie hangs loose around his neck, top buttons undone, sleeves rolled to his elbows. Those forearms flex every time he lifts the bottle to his lips, and I have to physically force myself to look away before I start drooling.

He leans against the wall near the fireplace, one ankle crossed over the other, shoulders relaxed in a way I've never seen before.

The usually hard, stern lines around his mouth have softened tonight.

He won. Hewon.

Logan attempts another terrible joke aimed at Ryder, and Hunter actually laughs.

No growling. No barking orders. No clenching his jaw so hard I worry for his dental work.

This isn't Coach Brody, terror of the ice and breaker of rookies' spirits. This is just... Hunter. A devastatingly attractive man, letting his guard down after finally getting a win over the team that's broken his heart for way too many years.

He catches me staring and raises his beer in a silent toast. The corner of his mouth quirks up, and heat floods my cheeks. I lift my wine glass in return, trying to ignore how my hand trembles slightly.

Lucy groans on the couch beside me, her recently re-filled glass already nearly gone. "God, Connor needs to stop doing that thing with his hips."

"What thing?"

I follow her gaze to where Connor's attempting to teach Ryder some complicated dance move as the 'BAH BAH BAH' part of the song comes on again.

"Oh. That thing."

"I hate him." Lucy takes a long sip of her cocktail. "Like,actuallyhate him."

"Wait. What?" I swivel on the sofa to face her. "You guys just met when you started working here, didn't you?"

Sophia suddenly appears on the armrest, waggling her eyebrows at Lucy. "Yeah. When I saw you guys last, you looked like you might hate him enough to push him against a wall and—"

"Do not finish that sentence." Lucy's cheeks flame red. "Turns out, he's my brother's best friend. Total jerk, in other words. It's not happening."

"That's what Sophia said about Blake, until he was-" I scan the room until I spot Blake doing an impressive keg stand while his teammates cheer. "Otherwise occupied."

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