Page 118 of Pucking Around

“It’s beautiful,” I murmur, fighting the urge to reach out and touch it. For some reason, it’s making me emotional. This means something to him. It matters so much, he doesn’t want sun to touch it. He doesn’t like sharing it either. It’s art not meant for consumption. It’s a piece of his soul he wears on his skin.

And I suddenly know without doubt that he didn’t show it to us because Tess teased him to take his shirt off. He’s showing it to us because he knewIwanted to see it that day on the plane.

Hewantsme to see it. He didn’t before. Now he does.

Fuck, I am in so much trouble.

53

“You want me to go to Cincinnati?” Ilmari is standing in the beach parking lot next to his big blue truck, arms crossed over his barrel chest. I followed him over here, leaving the rest of the group behind. This has been our only chance to get a real moment alone all afternoon.

I wrap the ends of my white sweater tighter around myself. “I have a specialist at my residency clinic in Cincinnati. You and I go, we get our scans, we keep it private. It will be off the NHL’s radar. Off the FIHA’s radar too, which matters more to you, I think.”

He gives a curt nod.

“Please,” I beg. “I’m asking you trust me here. Just come to Cincinnati with me.” I hold out my hand, waiting to see if he’ll take it.

Slowly, he unfolds his arms, dropping them to his sides. Then he raises his right hand and shakes my hand. “I trust you.”

I sigh with relief. “Thank you, Mars. God, I was so afraid you’d say no. Okay, well it’s all set up. We’ll leave tomorrow, yeah? Our flight goes out in the morning, and we’ll go straight to the clinic. If the scans are clear, and you respond well to rehab, you should be back on the ice for the week the FIHA scouts come.”

He’s quiet for a moment, his expression still unreadable. I go to drop my hand, but he holds onto it. “Rachel…Doctor Price,” he corrects. “I’m sorry.”

I gaze up into his rugged face.Oh, shit.He’s talking about the kiss. I can’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses. My gaze darts down to our joined hands. “It’s fine—”

“No, it was unpardonably rude,” he says. “It won’t happen again.”

I nod, trying to control the confused fluttering of my heart. Unpardonable is such a strange word choice. Passionate. Possessive. Those words better describe our kiss. Maybe it really meant nothing to him…

Yesterday I would have believed that. Today, I’m not so sure.

“So,you’re going to Cincinnati…with Mars Kinnunen?” says Jake, setting his fork down atop his massive bowl of spaghetti. Beach day is long over, and Jake, Caleb, and I are eating take-out spaghetti in the kitchen. Caleb and I sit at stools, while Jake stands across the island, waiting while a few more pieces of garlic bread reheat in the oven.

Tess is out for the night. A friend from college just picked her up and they took themselves down to St. Augustine for dinner and a ghost walking tour. I’m sure booze will be involved. I imagine she’ll call around midnight expecting a ride home from one of us.

“Mhmm,” I say, taking a bite of my salad.

“What’s in Cincinnati?” says Caleb.

I pause, looking down at my food. I don’t have permission to discuss Ilmari’s medical history with his teammate.

“Oh, shit,” Jake murmurs, getting there on his own. “This is about his groin pull, right? Is he gonna be out for rest of the season? Does it need surgery? Did it happen during the last game?”

“Stop,” I plead. “Jake, I can’t discuss his medical status—”

“What about your relationship status?” Caleb presses. “Are we allowed to know about that? Or is that confidential too?”

My gaze shoots over to him. “Okay, that’s the second time you’ve made a snarky comment about me and Mars. Just ask me what you want to ask.”

“Fine.” He rattles his fork down. “Are you fucking him?”

My eyes go wide. “What?No!”

“Do you want to?” he presses.

“Caleb—”

“Because he sure as hell wants to fuck you,” he adds.

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