Page 146 of Pucking Strong

DeGraw smiles. “There is no replacing you.”

Fresh from my shower, I’m slipping back into my suit when Teddy appears in the doorway of the changing room. He looks around before rushing over to my side. His anxiety instantly sets me on edge. “Teddy, what—”

“Help me.”

My heart stops as I reel him in. “What happened?”

“I need you to help me. Now. Come on.”

He tries to pull me forward, but I twist my arm free, reaching for my dress shirt. “I’m half dressed, mitt hjärta. I will come,” I add. “But just tell me what’s wrong.”

He lowers his voice, clearly trying to avoid being overheard by the other men in the changing room. “Okay, so Poppy totally just screwed me over. I need you to come run interference for me with Novy.”

“What?”

“She’s in early labor, and she took his keys so he can’t chase her to the hospital and, like, get in an accident or park his car in the ambulance bay,” he explains with a wave of his hand.

“Well, that sounds sensible.”

“Yeah. Only she gave his keys tome.” Reaching in the pocket of his jacket, he pulls out a set of car keys.

“Shit.”

“Right? Apparently, I’m the only one on staff she trusts to handle him.”

I shrug into my dress shirt and work the buttons closed. “What do you need from me?”

“Help! Hold him back if he tries to hit me. Or, you know, get between us and take the hit for me.”

My fingers pause on my middle button. “You want me to fight Novy because his partner is in labor?”

“God—no—I want you to stop him from fightingme.” He presses a hand to his chest, fingers splayed. “I am your husband, Henrik. For better or worse. That was in our vows, right? They were in Swedish, so I don’t even fucking know. But you should know that most wedding vows come with a ‘for better or worse’ clause. Well, this is the ‘for worse’ part.” He shakes the keys at me. “You can protect your teammates out on the ice all you want. Off it, you have to protectme.”

His panic is charming. It’s all I can do not to sweep him in my arms and kiss him right now. “Novy is a grown man,” I say with a shrug. “Surely he’ll see reason.”

“He’s Lukas Novikov! Did you see him out there? You punched a man once, Henrik.” He holds up a single finger to emphasize his point. “Novy tackled a man to the ice, straddled him, and wailed on him for a full sixty seconds before three grown men had to pull him off. If he’ll do that to protect a teammate, what do you think he’ll do to get to Poppy St. James?”

I consider for a moment, arms crossed in my half-open dress shirt. “Fair point.”

“Thank you.” He drops his hand to his side. “Now, finish getting dressed, and get ready to defend my honor. I know I look tough, but I bruise like a peach.”

I smile as he hurries away. If I weren’t already married to Teddy, this outburst would definitely convince me to give it a try.

Heart in my throat, I stand just inside the doorway of the changing room. Most of the guys have cleared out. The rest are toweling off from their showers and dressing back in their suits. Novy stands across the room at his stall. He’s all but dressed. Only thing left is to slip on his shirt, button it, and grab his jacket.

My gaze darts left, and I give Henrik a nod. He’s already dressed and ready, his arms crossed as he leans against his stall. Fighting a smile, he nods back. Whatever. He can think this is funny all he wants. For as much as I tease Novy and put him in his place, I’ve never really had to stand up to him. Not about something that mattered.

“Novy,” I call out. “I need to talk to you.”

He pats down his pockets, not turning around. “Uhh … can it wait?”

Oh shit, he already knows.

I step fully into the room. “Novy, this is important.”

His head swivels, his gaze locked on the ground. “Has anyone seen my goddamn keys?”

“Novikov,” Henrik shouts.

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