“Thanks.” He nods at me like he’s truly appreciative.
“But…”
“Uh-oh. I hate buts.”
“Really? But I pegged you for an ass guy.”
He’s in the middle of putting the pump into the truck, and he fumbles it.
He recovers, though. And comes back at me with, “I never pegged you for having a dirty mouth, Ms. Laine. First, you tell me your bedroom secrets, and now, you try to delve into mine.”
“Hey, I call it like I see it.”I just cannot shut my damn mouth.
I leave Liam standing there staring after me as I rush off with the excuse I need to call into work.
* * *
Liam
Well, what in the hell was that?I stare after Haley as she hustles toward the store. Her combat boots clash with her tiny black skirt that leaves little to the imagination, and yet somehow she makes it all work.
Haley’s hot as the Louisiana sun, and I can hardly keep my eyes off of her. She’s also hilarious and fun, and I want to fuck her badly.
I need to remind myself again why I won’t.
Because having sex with Haley would get messy fast.
And I can’t do messy. Outside of hockey, I can’t do anything other than be the best dad to Lulu possible.
But just because I won’t, doesn’t mean I don’t want to.
God, do I want to.
And she was just big-time flirting with me. If it were any other woman, I wouldn’t be surprised in the least. I have to fend women off after games—groupies and fangirls who just want a piece of fame, a piece of that elusive so-called power that they can’t have for themselves but want to touch for a night.
They don’t understand the grind to get there. The hours of work and sweat put in to reach the mountaintop. The level of pain after games that we endure from the hits and the physical exertion. And what no one understands is the level of mental anguish I go through every single time I step onto the ice and remember that Dad isn’t here to watch me.
What I wouldn’t give to hear his voice just one time once I turned pro. To hear him tell me he’s proud of me. To hear him say, “We did it, son. We did it.”
Because each time I celebrate a win or a personal success in my career, I send up a silent greeting to my father.
We did it, Dad.
I wouldn’t be where I am today without my father’s dream for me. For all of us. But it started with me.
I had his unconditional love and attention and focus before any of my brothers were born. Maybe that’s why I hurt so much each time I think of what he’s missing.
Itshouldbe enough that I know he’d be proud.
But what does a person do when it’s not?
* * *
Haley
I fled the scene of my flirtation with the excuse I needed to call work.
So call work is exactly what I do. I head for the picnic table off to the left of the convenience store and swipe Ashley’s name. I need a mental distraction so I don’t keep up the heavy flirting with a guy who should have the word danger written on his forehead.
