Page 90 of Puck Happens

“Fuck. Liv-”

“Cheers,” I said, cutting him off, and tapped my glass against his. “To me.”

I sucked back half my drink while he just stood there.

“Drink up, buddy. I’m going to Montreal for that interview. On the team jet, no less. If you can stomach the sight of me for two more weeks, I should be out of your hair permanently.”

He lifted his glass but set it down again.

“Novek said what?”

“Everyone sees the way you look at me. Which I’m going to assume is like a goddess you’d like to worship.”

“When did he say this?”

“He was waiting at my car when I left. He’s asked for some one-on-one time.”

His eyebrows lifted like he was impressed.

“Yeah,” I said, on a roll. “So when your hot shot forward gets better, you can thank me while I’m in Montreal making sure everyone else on that team is faster than you.”

God, I loved trash talk. It was like armor when you were in pain.

Dillon turned his glass on the counter. Very precise quarter turns. “I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “Don’t be sorry. You were my mistake and I own it.”

His face flushed and those ice blue eyes of his went glacial. Okay. Maybe too far.

“You done getting all your shots in?” he asked.

“My parents and brother are coming out for the first preseason game. They wanted to see…well, I guess what I was doing. Just stay away from them. From all of us, okay?”

He knew what I was asking. I didn’t want them to know anything about him, and in turn, us. If they saw us together, they’d be able to see what he meant to me all over my face.

Maybe over his face, too. Since he was so shitty at hiding it, apparently. Which I also secretly loved. I meanloved. He should be hurting. He should understand I could have been the best thing to happen to him.

C’est la vie, Le Coeur.

“Sure,” he said. He took another sip and I finished off my drink. I drank it too fast and on a stomach full of anger and pent up longing, so the gin went right to my head. I had to get out of there before I made another stupid mistake.

“That’s it. That’s all I came to say. I’ll leave.”

He pushed off the island towards me. “You don’t have to.”

“I told you I’m a one and done girl. I need to drive.”

“Then have a second drink and stay the night.” Dillon said. “With me.”

He didn’t corral me, but his presence was so all consuming. Like he took up all the space and oxygen in this big empty apartment.

“I didn’t come here for that,” I said, but I didn’t make a move to leave either.

“I know. But stay for that anyway.”

I sucked in a breath, the air between us sizzling and hot.

“We already did the crappy goodbye thing back in Calico Cove. Do you really want to go through all that again?”

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