Page 177 of Face Off
“I love that man too.” Hudson kisses the top of my head, and I smile. “I should head to the locker room. It was good to see you, Emmy.”
“Come by this week. I’m learning to make cheesecake, and I need a taste tester.”
He groans. “Don’t tell Mavvy, but you’re my favorite.”
“I’m definitely going to tell him. He really needs to bring his ego down another notch or two.” I lean in for one more quick hug “See you on the ice?”
“You’ll see me.” He gives me a mischievous smile. “Real soon.”
“Okay, weirdo.” I laugh and wave, turning for the visitors’ locker room.
I can’t make it ten feet before Piper comes charging toward me, waving her hands above her head and looking like a bird.
“There you are,” she says, and she tugs on my sleeve. “I need you on the ice.”
“You know I’m not with the Stars anymore, right?”
“Of course I know that. The media wants a photo of the two Mid-Atlantic teams doing a ceremonial puck drop before they open the doors to the fans,” she explains, hustling me toward the rink I know so well. “It’s sold out tonight.”
“I’m not even dressed. I’m in street clothes.”
“That’s okay. It’s just a quick photo op, then you can get back to it.”
“Fine,” I sigh. “But only because I love you.”
When we get to the ice, I spot Maven sitting on a piece of rolled out carpet, her camera in her hands. Maverick stands next to her, his hair slicked back and the ink of his tattoos visible under his short-sleeved shirt. He’s not in his jersey yet, and he looks up when he hears me approaching.
“Hey, Emmy girl.” He grins and holds out his hand.
“Hi.” My eyes bounce to his chest where his newest tattoo is hiding. He got it done two weeks ago,Emmy’s pretty boyspanning across his heart in my handwriting. “What are you doing here?”
“Promotional photo. They thought it would be good press for us to pose for a face off photo, and clearly they wanted the most attractive people to participate.”
“I don’t see Grant anywhere,” I tease, and he kisses my forehead. “And I’d kick your ass in a face-off.”
“You’re so goddamn cute when you don’t know what you’re talking about, Red.” His thumb strokes the waistband of my slacks, and I shiver. “You having a good day, baby?”
“Better now. I heard you were singing karaoke in the locker room.”
“I was. I’m in a good mood. It’s a beautiful day. I get to play an exhibition game against my favorite girl in the world and spend the rest of the time on the bench admiring her ass. What can beat that?”
“Not a lot of things.” I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest. “I guess we should get this photoshoot started.”
“Any time you’re ready would be great,” Maven calls out, and I laugh.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Mae.” I pull away from Maverick and grab two sticks, tossing one to him. “How do you want us?”
“If you’ll stand over there, Emmy, and face the scoreboard, that would be great. And Mavvy, over here, please. We’ll do a back-to-back photo first.”
She puts us in the positions and clicks her camera. Maverick pinches my ass and I laugh, batting his hand away.
“Thanks for that cute PDA. That’s perfect. If you’ll face each other, I’m going to add the puck.”
I turn around and find Maverick on his knee. “Why are you tying your skate? Don’t tell me you ruined a good photo.”
“I’m not tying my skate.”
“What are you doing on the ground?”
