Page 45 of In the Defensive Zone with My Enemy

Once I complete a read-through and edit of the article for Marty, I drag the document and the accompanying images into the folder on the newspaper database.

Before I crawl into bed, I shoot Marty a text to let him know the article is ready for him so he can take a look and let me know if I need to tweak anything. About five minutes later, he replies.

MARTY: Great job, kiddo! I think this is one of your best pieces.

SOPHIE: Thanks. It was an epic game.

MARTY: I knew you’d score on this piece (pun intended).

I let out a soft laugh and shoot back a barfing emoji, then turn out my light. However, my last thoughts are not of the spread in tomorrow’s paper, featuring the Sun Kings and their first victory.

Instead, it’s a sleepy pair of eyes and the lingering sensation of his touch that make me smile as I drift off to sleep.

CHAPTER 14

LUKE

The doc cleared me for practice after a few more days of rest, and now I’m back on the ice, prepping for our next game. For the most part, the team is gelling well. As much as I might not want to admit it, Derek was right. Time definitely helped.

But Jayce is still a bit of a wild card. I haven’t figured out how to get through to him about functioning as a team. The kid is in need of a little humility.

I skate over to the boards where Ethan’s chugging water and snow him. Ice shoots almost to his waist—my best to date.

Ethan shakes his head. “Gee, thanks, Jammer.”

I smirk. “I’m pretty sure I owed you one.”

He gestures toward my leg. “How’s the knee?”

“Good as new.” Which was a relief. When I went down, my first concern landed on what the end of my hockey career would mean for Kinsley’s college tuition. But then my thoughts drifted to the idea of not playing again, and that tightened the fist in my gut even tighter.

“And you and Sophie?”

I shake my head. “Give it a rest, man. We’re not together.” I gave her an opening, and she declared us friends.

But the mention of her draws my attention upward to where she’s sitting with Ethan’s fiancée, Mia, a few seats above the net. Sophie aims her camera at the second line, taking slapshots in rapid succession. Wade’s getting his goalie workout times two today because the next team we play is known for their aggression and speed.

She lowers the camera and darts a glance my way that doesn’t stick. I haven’t seen her much since Jacksonville, and I’m beginning to think she’s avoiding me now that my interview is finished. Probably for the best. Right now, I need my head completely in the game for what’s ahead.

Ethan nudges my arm. “Did something happen between you two after we left your room?”

I swivel toward him so fast a muscle spasms in my neck. “What? No, of course not.”

He holds his hands up in surrender. “Hey, I didn’t mean it that way. Just seems like you two connected on the ride up. We figured you might have had a chance totalk.”

I don’t miss his emphasis on the talking part. “She was finishing her interview with me. That’s it. So you and your cohorts can quit playing matchmaker.”

Although I’ll admit, I keep revisiting how she pulled the comforter from the other bed and kind of tucked me in before she left. And I may have been a little more awake than she thought. Can I help it if my curiosity got the better of me?

I almost wound up like the proverbial cat—killed by the compassion I glimpsed in her eyes. Then she left the connecting doors open, which I assume she did in case I needed help during the night. That right there made something in my chest tighten and grow warm all at once. Her thoughtfulness reminded me of how my mother would leave Kinsley’s door cracked so the hallway night light would stream into her bedroom.

I’m finding Sophie’s compassion even harder to resist than those eyes of hers. By the time I woke in the morning, the doorswere closed. I thought about knocking but figured I’d see her on the bus, but she wound up sitting with Hannah.

“Nope, I fell asleep right after you guys left.”

Ethan lifts his attention to where Mia sits. She smiles and waves at him, and he grins like a lovesick puppy. “Don’t fight it, Jammer. Could wind up being the best thing that ever happened to you.”

“It’s not that. I just—never mind.” I shake my head with my words and pull my gloves off to grab some water. How can I attempt to explain when I’m not sure about what I’m feeling toward Sophie? Every encounter with her tears down my self-protective measures. Up to this point, I’ve seen nothing in her articles that’s concerning. I want to trust her, but that niggling doubt never completely goes away.

---