Page 81 of Arresting the Hockey Player
Paparazzi and the press were waiting outside the front entrance when we arrived. Did they stick around and are waiting for the Island Bruisers to leave?
She shuffles us toward the back exit.
“Come with us,” I say and brush a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her updo is falling apart, unraveling, which is about how I feel right now.
“I can’t. I have to clean up your mess.”
I don’t force her. If I did, it would mean carrying her over my shoulder and dragging her out. Her dad would call the cops and have me arrested for kidnapping his daughter. I don’t expect him to like me, but after what I did today, undoubtedly, he despises me.
I lean in, press a chaste kiss to Charlotte’s cheek before stepping backward through the open door as I exit last and join the guys outside.
Most of my teammates have scrambled like they came, piling together in vehicles. I didn’t ride with them. I came here on my own.
Jasper and Kyler are waiting for me outside. They are the two who don’t seem the least bit frenzied, probably because they have promising careers, at least Kyler does. Jasper is still fairly new on the team, like me, but he’s got his older brother looking out for him.
“Meet back at my place?” Kyler asks.
“You bet.” His fiancé is watching my son, and as much as I’d love Zayn to experience his first sleepover with friends, it won’t be tonight.
* * *
“How did the auction go?” Emerson asks. She’s in the living room with the kids.
Bristol, Kyler’s daughter, is wide awake, lying on top of her princess sleeping bag, munching on popcorn while watching a Disney film.
My little tiger, Zayn, is sound asleep in his pint-sized sleeping bag, snoring softly.
We take our adult party into the hallway, keeping an eye on the kids but not wanting to wake Zayn, either.
“Perfect,” Kyler says proudly. “We raised well over half a million dollars between all of our prizes.”
“How much did the date for the three of you raise?” Em asks. It had been her idea to include Kyler’s private jet to take one lucky guest anywhere with three of the hottest NHL players.
“Seventy-five thousand dollars,” Kyler says.
Em’s mouth drops. “Who was the winner?”
All of us glance around at one another, shaking our heads. “Some lady with a very generous checkbook?” I quip.
Kyler wraps his arms around Em’s waist, pulling her against him. “I missed you, M&M.”
She wrinkles her nose and growls playfully at him.
He captures her lips with his, one hand on her hip, the other coming up to tangle in her hair as he deepens the kiss, probing her with his tongue.
“I swear, you two get a room!” Amber says. “That’s my sister you’re tongue-fucking.”
“At least someone’s getting some,” I mutter, leaning against the doorjamb. My bachelor days are over, especially now that I’ve got a kid.
Jasper comes up from behind, wrapping his arms around Amber’s waist. She leans into him, tilting her head back for a sweet kiss.
I glance away, awkward. When did I become the guy who doesn’t have a chick? I’ve always found it easy to get girls and get laid, but Zayn complicates things.
Not that I’d do anything differently with him. I’m glad that I won sole custody. I’m grateful that he’s in my life and my focus. But I do miss that warmth, that sizzle between the sheets, the feel of a warm female body beneath me as I kiss and ravish her.
And in that fantasy, I see a flash of fiery hair.
Crisp blue eyes.
