Page 45 of Ice Contact

Olivia

It’s one of my many skills

Hayes

You do have some amazing skills . I gotta get up and get going for the day. I’ll call you later.

Olivia

Can’t wait to talk to you again. And can’t wait to see you later this week.

“Excuse me, Miss ‘I’m too busy to talk to my work bestie but can text for five minutes’…I’m assuming Larsy said good morning over there?” Maggie asks, hovering over me as I hold my phone close to my chest and away from her.

“Yes,” I reply, trying to play it cool. “He wants me to go over to his place and watch the game so I can be there when he gets home.”

“Girl. I swear you won the man lottery.”

“I certainly feel like I hit the jackpot with Hayes. Cayden would have asked me to avoid him for three days if he got back from a road trip. Ugh…I have to stop comparing them. But…Cayden was just so…so...”

“Douchey? Selfish? Narcissistic? Egotistical?” Maggie suggests, offering several options as she ticks down her fingers.

“All of the above?” I say as we laugh. “Hayes just makes me so comfortable in my own skin. I’ve never had anyone make me feel this special. I mean, he probably has ulterior motives for asking me to come over, but…I can’t say I’m mad about it,” I say as we exchange a high-five.

“Liv, I’m so freaking happy for you! When can I meet him?” Maggie asks, walking backward back to her desk.

“The team schedule is so crazy right now, but I promise I’ll find a time to introduce you. Just, you know, not Wednesday night.”

“Yeah, so I love you, Liv, but I don’t love you enough to be there when your hot hockey player beau comes over to slam you into the headboard.”

Okay, now I am having a problem thinking about Hayes slamming me into the headboard while I scream his name until my throat is hoarse.

How is it possible I am in Hayes Larson’s bed, watching him on TV, in his jersey, knowing in a few hours he will be flying home to be with me? He was joking about making sure I was real, but I’m the one wondering how this isn’t a dream. I bite the inside of my cheek, the pain reminding me thisisreal.

The deepest corners of my mind keep whispering this is too perfect to last and that, one day, I'll wake up to the same recurring nightmare of being alone. I’m a thirty-one-year-old woman from the Midwest, and he is an insanely hot hockey god. What would it even be like to be married to a hockey player who is on the road a lot?Am I capable of handling that?He’s got to have girls coming out of the woodwork to be with him. Ladies handing him hotel room keys at all the away games. Women much prettier, thinner, and more famous clinging to him as he walks down the street.Why would he want to stay with me?

I flop back on the bed, rubbing my eyes until I see stars.Geez, Olivia, calm your tits.I’m acting like I’m already engaged to this guy, and we haven’t even defined this relationship…or whateverthis is.Take a breath and relax.Sitting up, I settle against the headboard. I should simply enjoy this and see where it goes. Although now that I think about it…Olivia Larson does have a nice ring to it.

My stomach twists into knots, and my nerves are a hot mess. Hayes is playing great tonight, but we are still down 2-1 with two minutes left at the end of the third. Hayes is flying down the ice with the puck, passing it to Johansen, who is waiting in the slot. He takes the shot, but Columbus’ goalie blocks it. The rebound comes out, and Hayes is right there to grab the puck again. He’s surrounded by the opposing players, all of them pushing and shoving, trying to get the puck away. Hayes thrashes around, and suddenly this has turned into a full-on brawl between him and two of the Columbus players. I pop up to my knees in the bed, my hands flying to cover my face. My heart is pounding.Oh my God, please don’t get hurt, Hayes.One of the officials blows his whistle, trying to separate all the players and figure out who started what. My heart freezes as they skate Hayes over to the penalty box for instigating.

“What kind of bullshit call is that?! No penalty for the other team?” I scream at the TV.Fuck!Now Columbus is on the power play for the last minute and a half. Hayes slams his helmet and stick inside the penalty box. Shit, he’sclearlypissed. I jump out of bed, pacing in front of the TV. The teams face off, and we spend the last minute and a half trying to keep the other team from scoring instead of pulling our goalie to try and tie it up. The game clock ticks down to zero, and the horn sounds. I collapse back on the bed, a weight pressing into my chest. Milwaukee suffers another loss.

I run my fingers along the seam on the sheets, a dull ache in my heart for Hayes and his team. Hockey is a long season. You can’t win every game, and I’ve seen our team lose plenty of times. But…it’s different now.

Cayden was horrible when one of his teams lost. It was like he went into a depression, and he wasn’t even playing.

Olivia,I force a deep breath;Hayes isnotCayden.Hayes is a professional athlete. He can handle a loss. Cayden is a fucking tool who acted like he had a stake in the game. Hayes is different. Cayden’s entire personality depended on something outside of his control. Hayes’ doesn’t. Hayes is better.

For now, I shoot him a quick text…

Olivia

You played great tonight! Sorry for the loss. Refs are blind . I’ll probably be asleep when you get home, but wake me up when you get in. Can’t wait to see you

Normally, I have a hard time sleeping in a strange place by myself. But it’s been such a long week. My head hits the pillow, the nicest, most expensive pillow I’ve ever slept on in my life, and I quickly pass out.

I stir in my sleep as warm hands wrap around me, my neck tingling from soft kisses as a spicy, musky scent washes over me.

“I missed you, Olivia,” a deep voice whispers in my ear.

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