Page 28 of Face Off
“Not you.” Emerson stands up and nods at Coach, shaking his hand as they pose for a set of photos I know are going to be on the front page of every sports website tomorrow morning. “We aren’t friends, remember?”
“Like I could forget in the five minutes since you last reminded me,” I tell her when the media starts to pack up their things. “We do this team dinner every Tuesday night at my place. Everyone brings a dish and we hang out for a couple of hours.Some people play video games. Some people drink. Some break out the stack of puzzles I have in the living room. There’s no hockey talk. It’s chill. You should come.”
“You like puzzles?”
“Is that your question of the day for our game?”
She rolls her eyes for the hundredth time, and her irritation makes me grin. “I guess.”
“I love puzzles. I did them a lot when—” I clear my throat and switch directions. “My niece loves them too, and when I’m watching her, we always put one together.”
“Thanks for the invite, but I told you I intend to spend as little time with you as possible.” Emerson looks down at me with something I’m going to pretend is a hint of regret. “It’s better for all of us.”
“Wish I could do the same,” Hudson chimes in. “You’re smart to keep your distance, Emmy.”
My insides coil into a tight knot when he calls her that. Like they’ve been best friends for years and I’m the outsider trying to break into their circle.
“The invitation is there,” I add. “This week. Next week. A month from now. You don’t forfeit it just because you don’t come tomorrow.”
“Noted. See you at practice on Wednesday,” she says, slinging a black purse over her shoulder and walking away.
“Put your tongue back in your mouth,” Hudson says, and he smacks my shoulder. “And stop staring at her ass.”
“My tongue is exactly where it belongs, fuck you very much.” I scrub a hand over my face and lean back in my chair. “And I wasn’t staring at her ass. I don’t want to lose a hand, and that woman wouldn’t hesitate to use a buzz saw on me.”
“She seems like the stabby type, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I laugh. “That’s going to work well for us on the ice.”
“You think she has a shot? Simon’s a dick, but he asked what everyone’s thinking.”
“She has a shot. It’s like you said—things can’t get any worse around here. Maybe Hartwell will help light a fire under us. God knows I’ve tried and failed.”
“Are you on her side now?”
I shrug. “I’m captain. I do what’s in the best interest of the team. If that means getting along with the woman who would rather feed herself to the lions than spend time with me, so be it.”
Hudson scoots closer and drops his voice. “I heard what you almost told her about the puzzles. You never go there with anyone.”
“It almost slipped out unintentionally,” I say. “Besides, I don’t think Hartwell is just anyone.”
“Watch it, Cap. Don’t go falling in love with her.”
“Easy, Hud.” I stand up and flash him a grin. “You know falling in love isn’t in my DNA. The same woman every night? Sounds fucking horrible.”
“We have women in the NHL now. Anything is possible.”
I clasp his arm and squeeze his shoulder. “Anything except me settling down. That’s impossible.”
TEN
EMMY
“You can do hard things,”I tell myself in the mirror. I’ve repeated the mantra fifty times, and I’m not any closer to believing it. “This is just another game. Pretend it’s a scrimmage or morning skate. It’s no big deal.”
Except, it is a big deal.
It’s my first game in a Stars jersey, and I’m nervous as hell.
