A yelp escaped her lips as I drove us back toward the boards behind the net. “Hi,” I whispered against the soft skin beneath her ear. “Hello.” I buried my nose in her hair, inhaled. “Howdy.”
That made her laugh—loud and booming—the sound warming me from the inside out.
She spun out of my arms and skated backward while facing me. “Get it together, Valentine. Pick up those feet. No room for lazy fuckers out here.”
“Me? Lazy?”
“I said what I said.”
I’d show her lazy. Racing after her, I caught her easily, even with my knee hurting like a motherfucker. She wasn’t trying too hard to get away. And this time, when I kissed her, we had an audience.
Sullivan yelled something like “get a room,” and Sydney hit him, shutting him up. I smiled into another kiss and heard Griff grumble something I couldn’t make out.
But he wasn’t my coach anymore, and I could do this as much as I wanted to.
Ryder, ever the thorn in my side of a best friend, skated toward us and cleared his throat. “Um, if we don’t get this done, Griff is going to have a heart attack.”
Frankie pushed me away. “Go. Do your thing, Valentine. We have time.”
Time.
Something I hadn’t been sure I’d get with her. A thousand kisses. More. Mornings of waking up in bed beside her, burying my face between her legs, and showing her what she did to me. Nights arguing and making up. Days filled with her. With us.
“Coach,” I called toward her one last time.
“What?” She planted her hands on her hips. “What do you want now?”
God damn. Everything. “Nothing.” Lies. “I’m good.” Flashing her one last grin, I turned and skated toward where Sydney waited with her phone. We were doing this as un-produced as possible, so it looked natural. Just a conversation between me and the millions of people who’d fallen in love with the Guardians over the last few months.
I was ready.
Sydney held up one hand, counting down. Then, she pointed to me, and I began.
“Hey there.”There were no nerves now. Just me, and them—the people who supported us. The ones who kept the Guardians in San Francisco when we were in danger of being sold. I pasted on my patented Teddy Valentine smile and pulled out all the charm I could muster as I leaned against the half wall. “I’m Teddy Valentine, but you already know that.” Laughter. Mine. All for the camera.
“If you’ve been paying attention, you saw my announcement last week. I’m officially retired from the AHL. This game has been my dream for as long as I can remember. It’s all I ever wanted, and playing for the Guardians over the last five years has been the highlight of a career I’ve loved.” I paused, taking a breath, then continued. “Three years ago, my team hired a new coach—an assistant who specialized in power plays. Frankie Holloway. For three entire seasons, she’s ridden my ass. She yells at me. A lot.”
Pause. Another breath.
“And I have loved her from the moment she first screamed, ‘Valentine, get off your lazy ass and play some fucking hockey.’” I glanced at Sydney. “Am I allowed to curse?”
She shrugged. Guess so. “To be fair, I was goofing off with my teammates during her first practice, which wasn’t unusual for me. But with those words, I wanted to be better. I worked hard for three seasons to become the player she expected of me. I didn’t know what these feelings were. This drive to be better… for her. Not until the moment it all became clear.” I smiled, remembering. “We were playing a game in Vancouver. During the second period, I was exhausted. Just beat. And she comes to me, looks me straight in the eyes, and tells me to fuck off with my tired play. This was hockey, she said. I either wanted to give everything I had out on that ice, or I should just call my mom to come pick me up.”
God, that was a good game. I’d gone back out to score two goals in four minutes. When I sat on the bench, turned, and smirked at her, she smacked me on the side of the helmet and said,“You smile when you get a third.”
It was the fourth hat trick of my career.
And I couldn’t stop thinking about how competitive she was, how my smiles didn’t work on her. She couldn’t be charmed. She couldn’t be won over. I realized then that I wanted to win her over, make her see me for something other than just a playboy with a trust fund.
Looking into the camera, I gave the fans what they wanted. A lovesick sigh. A small smile. “I fell in love with my coach, and I’m not sorry. She tried to resist it, but I’m persistent. Frankie Holloway is a great coach, but she’s not my coach anymore. Instead…” I lowered my voice, moving closer to the camera. “She’s just mine.”
A beat passed, and I straightened, leaning against the half wall again. “Thank you for supporting me and the team.”
“And cut!” Sydney yelled. “Teddy, what the fuck was that?”
I was about to defend myself, but she jumped forward, wrapping her arms around me. “Gold. That’s what it was.” Her voice softened. “I’m so proud of you.” When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.
“Okay.” Ryder put an arm around her. “I’m going to take my girl away right now before she starts sobbing.”
