"I have some idea."
She pulls back just enough to look up at me. Her hands are still on my chest. "Wait. Your shoulder. You're not cleared for contact yet."
"It's a charity game. No checking. Just light skating."
"Ryder." Worry creases her forehead. "What if you re-injure it? What if this sets back your recovery?"
"Then it sets it back." The words come out before I can think better of them. "Some things are worth the risk."
Her breath catches. We're staring at each other, and the air goes thick with everything we're not saying. She's close enough that I can see the gold flecks in her eyes. Close enough to count her freckles. Close enough that all I'd have to do is tilt my head and I could taste her mouth.
Her breath catches. Her fingers curl tighter in my shirt. We're staring at each other, and the air goes thick with everything we're not saying. Everything we want. Everything we can't have.
"Ryder," she whispers.
"Lucy."
She rises on her toes. I lean down. The distance between us shrinks to nothing.
"Hey, you two—"
Connor's voice hits like cold water. We spring apart. Lucy stumbles back. I shove my hands in my pockets. By the time Connor appears in the doorway, we're three feet apart and trying to look casual. Failing spectacularly.
Connor's eyes narrow. Bounce between us. Land on Lucy's flushed face. My probably guilty expression. The tension humming through the room.
"Everything okay here?"
"Fine," Lucy says too brightly. "Ryder just got NHL players for the charity game."
"Three of them," I add, aiming for normal. "Cade Sterling, Alexei Petrov, and me."
Connor processes this. Evaluates it against what he walked in on. Doesn't look convinced but can't pin anything concrete.
"That's great." His tone says it's not great. Says he knows something happened. Then his expression shifts. "Wait. You're playing? What about your shoulder?"
"It's non-contact. Just light skating."
"And if someone forgets it's non-contact? If some local hero decides to take a run at an NHL player?" Connor crosses his arms. "You could blow out your recovery. Miss the rest of the season."
"I'll be careful."
"For a charity game." He's watching me too closely. "You'd risk your career for Lucy's fundraiser."
The way he says it makes it clear he's not talking about hockey anymore.
Before I can answer, he shifts his attention to Lucy. "Lucy, Emma needs you upstairs. Gift emergency with Maisie."
"Right. Yes." She grabs her phone. Heads for the door. Pauses to look back at me. "Thank you. Really."
Then she's gone and I'm standing in the kitchen with Connor blocking the exit and suspicion radiating off him in waves.
"You want to tell me what that was about?" He crosses his arms.
"She was upset about the game. I helped."
"By calling in professional favors. For a small-town charity event."
"It's for sick kids. Why wouldn't I help?"
