Page 30 of Puck Happens

“I’m pretty sure you don’t,” he said, crossing his big beefy arms over his wide chest.

I kept telling myself I didn’t like muscles, but my eyes kept lingering on his bulging biceps.

Focus, Liv!

“You’re going to apologize,” I said. “For lying to me.”

“I’m not. Because I already did that. But that’s okay, becauseyouare going to apologize for lying tome.”

“Please,” I scoffed. “It was hardly the same caliber lie. I didn’t tell you my last name. You let me believe you played in a beer league.”

Even saying it out loud I felt stupid. Of course he didn’t play in a beer league. Sitting in this room full of professional athletes, he’d been the biggest, most intense, among them.

“Once I told you the truth-”

“Told me the truth?” I screeched, and then lowered my voice, my face getting hot. “You were outed by the town sheriff!”

He had the good grace to look guilty.

I took a deep breath and got control of myself. This had been exactly the scene I wanted to avoid.

“If you remember, I said this job was temporary. I am mostly an unknown and Coach McKay is taking a risk with me. You can see what I’m dealing with. The guys don’t respect me because I’m a woman telling them this information.”

“Not true,” Dillon said. “They don’t respect you, because you’re a figure skater, not a hockey player, and you haven’t earned their respect.”

“Fine,” I conceded, I could respect that. “But they’re certainly not going to respect me if they think I’m messing around with the team captain, so anything that may or may not have happened between us…”

“Maynot?” Dillon snorted. “Babe, you climbed me like a tree and swallowed my tongue.”

“Shhh!” I hushed him, looking to the door. “My point is, nothing can happen now. I work for the team. And now you understand why I had to put a stop to things.”

“You mean ran away. You could have just explained it all then, but instead you bolted.”

I hated that he characterized it that way. I wasn’t a coward and I didn’t run from difficult things. But the realization of who he was and the mistake I’d been about to make had sucker punched me.

He’d worn me down with that grin and nuclear grade sexual chemistry. I’d made the decision to have sex with him. Sex wasn’t something I took lightly. It required a level of trust I didn’t just hand out to people. That he’d earned my trust over a handful of days felt a bit scary, but I knew I would be safe with him.

However, as soon as I’d made that decision, the sheriff was telling me who he really was and I was instantly pissed.

No, I wasn’t a coward, but I wasn’t a fool either and he made me feel like one.

But I was also…sad.

Sad because it felt like I was losing something I didn’t get a chance to have.

Like treating yourself to an ice cream cone only to drop it on the ground after only one lick.

I gathered myself to every inch of my five foot four height and lifted my chin.

“You lied to me,” I said. “Tricked me. I felt like a fool, Dillon.”

His cheeks flushed. “I am sorry. I just…I really liked you. Things were normal between us. I was afraid if I told you the truth it might change things between us. I didn’t want that.”

“Would you have slept with me without telling me the truth?”

“No,” he said. “I would have told you before we got that far. I swear.”

“Okay. I believe you,” I said, grudgingly.

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