Page 20 of Stick Side
“Unless you want it, would you mind asking Sam to put the Pad Thai in the staff fridge for me on your way out?” she requested, angling her head toward the unopened dish still on the table.
“No problem,” Ben said with an easy smile. It brought him an unfamiliar sense of satisfaction to discover he’d somehow managed to order three dishes she actually liked.
Because he knew time was short and she had to get going, he wasted no time in stepping toward her. The loose wisps of hairthat always seemed to escape her ponytail gave him the perfect excuse to touch her. He would have preferred something a little more intimate, but he would content himself with the innocent touch that could be found by tucking her hair behind her ears.
Melody’s breath seemed to catch as his fingertips grazed her ear. He craved the feeling of his skin on hers but, for now, this simple touch would have to be enough.
He didn’t want to break their connection, but he understood work commitments. As loathe as he was to step away from her, he wouldn’t be the one to mess with her schedule.
“Have a great day, beautiful,” he said.
“Have a great day, Ben,” she answered. “Thanks for lunch.”
“My pleasure.” He smiled. “I’ll be in touch.” He jiggled his phone back and forth to indicate how he planned to reach out to her.
With one last smile, Ben picked up the Pad Thai and exited the room. He was already wondering when he might be able to see her again. He was a busy man, but he had a feeling Melody was worth making time for.
Chapter 8
Ben
Benbreathedheavilyasthe whistle blew, signaling the end to a grueling practice. He bent at the waist and rested his forearms against his thighs before pushing off from the inside edge of one of his blades and skating off the ice. The muscles in his legs burned as he made his way to the changing room alongside the rest of his teammates.
“Man,” Richie groused, “I knew Dodds would be on a rampage after that last game against the Blue Jackets, but I didn’t think he would be this much of a sadist.”
“Me neither,” Volkov seconded. “If sore muscles do not keep me up tonight, I will be having nightmares about that last puck-handling drill.” He punctuated his statement with a shudder.
“I don’t know about you boys,” Richie said as they made their way through the tunnel and into the locker room, “but I could use a nice, cold beer to wash away the taste of that practice.”
A few of the guys grunted their agreement.
“Are you finally going to come out with us, Phillips,” Richie egged their captain, “or does the wife have you on too tight a leash?”
Phillips took the ribbing in stride. “As it happens,” he declared, “I have a date with three beautiful little ladies tonight. Pam is taking a night off to go out for drinks with the girls, so I’m on Papa Patrol.”
Richie’s mouth gaped open. “And that doesn’t bother you? It doesn’t freak you out to imagine other dudes hitting on your wife?”
Phillips crossed his arms over his chest and smiled confidently. “My Pam is a beautiful woman. A man would have to be blind not to see that.”
“Or miss the large diamond you put on her finger,” Volkov remarked.
“That, too,” Phillips added with the possessive gleam of a man who is confident in the strength of his marriage.
“My girl is still a stunner after blessing me with three beautiful babies. If she wants to go out and knock back a few cocktails with some friends, I can’t fault her for that. She needs a break and the opportunity to let loose as much as anyone.”
“But does she have to drag Mel along with her?” Cassidy griped.
One of Ben’s brows drew up in surprise.
“Why would Melody going out with Phillips’ wife bother you?” he inquired as casually as he could.
Melody had assured him there was nothing romantic going on between her and Cassidy, but that didn’t mean that his teammate didn’t want there to be.Damn. He’d conveniently overlooked that possibility.
Cassidy rolled his shoulders backward as if trying to dispel their sudden tension.
“Mel is sweet and kind and entirely too trusting for my own good. That’s why,” Cassidy groused.
“Too trusting foryourown good?” Ben sought to clarify.
