Page 21 of The Puck Stops Here

‘Thanks.’ She was about to say an extra ticket wouldn’t be necessary; she was so used to travelling that she rarely stuck around long enough to form a friendship. But now she had Bella. Would she come?

‘Once you understand our passion for the game, you’ll understand us.’

A passion that left no room for love, he’d all but told her.

And if she was honest, she understood it, even as she hated him for misleading Sienna, making her believe he was in it for the long haul when he wasn’t. At least Chase had never made out he wanted more… no, he’d just been a lying, cheating scumbag with a wife. A poor broken woman who she’d had a hand in breaking.

Not your fault,came the voices of her girlfriends.

‘I’ll let you into a secret…’ Aiden said, leaning in close. ‘It’s better than sex.’

‘You’ve obviously not been having sex with the right person,’ she murmured, refusing to dwell on how great sex could be with the wrong one too, and he chuckled.

‘Come on, you’re shivering, we should get you out of here.’

She was? Shewas.‘It’s okay, I’d like to watch them for a bit.’

‘Maybe you ought to dress for the rink next time you’re here.’

He was right. Why hadn’t she thought about that when the girls had been dressing her up for seduction rather than work?

‘Sorry, rookie error.’

And now her teeth were chattering, and she knew the past was as much to blame as her present environment.

‘Ha! Don’t let the rookies hear you say that. They’ll take it as an insult and roast you more.’

‘Duly noted.’

He shrugged out of his training jacket.

‘Wait, what are you doing?’ Alarm had her thrusting her hand out as she spied his intent. ‘No, I can’t.’

‘You can and you will.’ She stopped fighting as his warmth enveloped her, his scent too – fresh and clean, and all man. ‘Better?’ He cocked a brow over those bright blue eyes.

‘Much.’ She swallowed, hating his thoughtful gesture even as it warmed her. ‘Thank you.’

She looked away from his far-too-charming self to take in the players on the ice. Just because he was thoughtful now, didn’t mean he wasn’t an arse back then. An arse deserving of being taken down a peg or two.

She concentrated on the rookies, most of whom were huge enoughbeforethey donned their protective gear that saw them looking twice as big and twice as menacing and found herself readily captivated. They were as graceful as they were fierce. The way they moved over the ice, backwards, forwards, pivoted, passed the puck, they made it look easy. The clutz in her envied them that ability.

‘Do you skate?’

She gave a choked laugh. ‘God, no.’

She felt his intense scrutiny and flicked him a look. ‘What?’

‘Just the way you’re watching, it’s almost like you wished you were out there too.’

The man was astute as well as charming…Oh Sissi, I can so see how you fell for this one.

‘Do you?’ he pressed.

‘You saw me almost faceplant in my heels; can you imagine what I’d be like on a thin blade of metal?’

‘Have you ever tried?’

‘My nickname was Twinkle Toes back in school, and I don’t mean it in a good way.’

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