Page 65 of Cross Check Hearts

Chapter29

Declan

It’s probably no coincidence given what’s going on with Hannah, but I’m fuckingkillingmy drills at practice today. I’m skating circles around the other guys, I haven’t missed a single shot or play I’ve made since we started, and I’ve still got plenty more energy to keep this up.

Or maybe this is all just because we’re finally out of the pre-season and into the real games. It won’t be much longer before I’ll officially hit the ice as a full-fledged member of the Aces and show Denver and the rest of the NHL just what I can do.

I can’t fucking wait.

I’ve been working toward this for so long that it’s almost hard to believe that it’s finally here and happening. Our pre-season games so far have given me a little taste of what it’s going to be like to be one of the pros, but it’s not quite the same thing. The stakes are lower, at least for the rest of the guys. They’ve already proven themselves and earned their spot on the team, and while I’ve had a few great plays myself, there’s a lot more riding on my performance than theirs.

So they might be able to take practice a little less seriously than I can. But I don’t honestly think I’d be treating this any differently even if I’d been on the team for five years. Playing hockey and being in the NHL mean way too much to me to ever not take it seriously, even something as mundane as a practice session.

But we’ve been at it for almost two hours now, and I can tell the rest of the guys are starting to wear down. Coach Dunaway picks up on it too because he blows his whistle and motions us off the ice to the locker room, signaling the end of practice. The rest of the team streams away to the locker rooms, but Dunaway signals for me to hold back as I make my way and claps a hand on my shoulder when he reaches me.

“Your sessions with Hannah must really be paying off. You were on fire today,” he says, and my chest clenches at the reference to me spending time with his daughter. He doesn’t seem like he has a clue that anything is going on between us other than our yoga lessons, and I’d very much like to keep it that way for both mine and Hannah’s sake.

“Uh, yeah, it’s been great working with her.” I stumble over my words and have to keep myself from visibly wincing at it, but Dunaway either doesn’t notice or chooses not to acknowledge it.

“I told you she was good. And I can tell from the way you were skating tonight that it was the right call to hook you two up.” I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting to his choice of words. I’m sure he doesn’t mean anything by them, but there’s always the possibility. But when he smiles and pats my shoulder again then starts walking away, I breathe a sigh of relief.

“We’ve got our first real game coming up soon,” he says over his shoulder as I follow him toward the locker room. “How are you feeling?”

“I can’t wait. Like literally can’t wait. They aren’t going to know what hit them until it’s too late.”

Dunaway beams at me. “That’s exactly what I want to hear, and it’s what I’m hoping for too. For better or worse, we did so well last season that all my guys are a known commodity now—except for you. I’m hoping you’ll be just the wildcard we need out on the ice to keep all these other jokers on their toes.”

“Leave it to me,” I tell him, although I cringe internally because I’m more of a wildcard than he knows. I have no idea how he’s going to take it if he ever finds out there’s more between me and Hannah than just yoga lessons, but I’m willing to bet it isn’t going to go over well. Thankfully, that isn’t a bridge we have to cross right now, so I just head into the locker room and peel off my sweaty, sticky gear before I hit the shower. By the time I get out, everyone else is already finished and milling around the locker room talking.

“How’s the wedding planning going? Making your final preparations?” Sawyer asks Reese, who lets out a long breath. The rest of the guys laugh.

“We’re getting there. At this point, I don’t care about the details. I just want to marry Callie. Whatever the wedding ends up looking like, it’ll be perfect just because she’s there.”

Sawyer snorts. “That’s dangerously close to a rom-com line, man.”

Noah grins. “He’s in love, let him be cheesy.” Then he shifts the conversation, nudging Sawyer’s shoulder. “What about you and Violet? You two gonna set a date soon?”

Sawyer groans, scrubbing a hand down his face. “We’re trying. Turns out, weddings don’t just plan themselves.”

“No kidding.” Reese shakes his head. “Every time I think we’ve made a decision, another one pops up. Cake tastings, chair colors—like, do I look like a guy with strong opinions on linens?”

Sawyer chuckles. “Yeah, but you’re doing it for Callie. That’s the whole point, right?”

Reese’s face softens instantly, his eyes warming. I almost laugh, because our teammates aren’t wrong—he’s clearly head over heels for his fiancée. “Yeah, it is.”

“I could use a drink,” Theo declares, stretching out his shoulders as he glances around the room. “Who’s down to hit The Hideout on the way home?”

“Sounds good to me,” Noah says.

Theo glances my way. “You coming too, rookie? Or is it past your bedtime?”

“Don’t make me drink you under the table, old man,” I fire back, my words eliciting hoots and laughter from the rest of the team. Chuckling, Theo throws one arm around my shoulders and pulls me into him to mess with my hair.

“I think you need to learn some respect for your elders, kid.”

“I’ll start learning as soon as you have something to show me.”

Wearing a wide smile that makes his dimple pop, Theo gestures at me then throws his hands in the air. “Listen to the mouth on this one. I swear, I don’t know what they’re teaching kids in schools these days.”

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