Fuck. What the hell was wrong with her?
Heat rushed to her cheeks and pooled deep in her stomach. She took a hasty step back while Gareth continued to force her to dance.
Why the hell didn’t they play a faster song? Why was Ed Sheeran still crooning about how everything was perfect?
Hazel gritted her teeth and ignored the unwelcome images that had forced their way into her mind. She suddenly felt as if thousands of eyes were on her, but she knew most of them were women staring at Gareth. She’d been observing this for the past few hours. There were almost 100 ice hockey players on the beach, and yet, during the ceremony, curious women repeatedly glanced at Gareth.
He wasn’t a player, had never been one, but plenty of women had come on to him. Hazel had always wondered why he didn’t take advantage of that — but never why women wanted him.
His aura was to blame. His cool aura, the ice you wanted to break. If anything, Gareth’s charisma had become even more extreme. He was the epitome of the controlled man every woman wanted to see lose control. And she knew from experience that it was worth it.
“Who’s stiff now?” Gareth murmured.
Hazel gritted her teeth. She hadn’t realized that her entire body had stiffened at the memory. She tried to loosen her muscles and relax the next time the music stopped. What had she resolved to do barely two hours ago?
She wanted to eliminate stress. And Gareth was at the top of her list of triggers to do away with.
Maybe this was her chance to create some normalcy. Fox and Devreaux were right. She had to stop being angry at Gareth, or at least, pretend to be over it. It was damaging her image when players refused to sign with her simply because they were with the Hawks or wanted to be with the Hawks.
So, she took a deep breath, looked up, and asked, “How’s Connor doing? He’s here too, right?”
Gareth frowned. “Are you seriously trying to make small talk?”
“Yes,” she replied curtly because the subject of Connor and Cian was the first she'd thought of that wouldn't make her angrier.
“Connor’s fine. He’s found a woman he likes more than divorces.”
The corners of her mouth lifted. “A real woman?”
“As far as I can tell, but I'm a snowman.”
A short, cheeky laugh made its way out of her throat. “Good for him.”
“He’s pretty happy, yeah.” His gaze slid over her shoulder to the pier, and when it returned to Hazel’s face, he smiled briefly. It wasn’t a completely genuine smile, but it wasn’t as forced as it could have been.
Skeptically, Hazel turned her head and saw Penny standing at the railing, watching them with interest.
“Okay, what’s going on?” she asked, confused. “Why is your sister staring at us like we’re monkeys in a zoo, and why are you beingnice, Gareth?”
That was what bothered her the most!
“I’m not being nice.”
“Not compared to normal people, no. But by your standards…”
“Leave it alone, Hazel.”
“That’s not one of my strengths, I’m sorry. So why the hell is Penny watching us?”
He fell silent.
“Gareth,” she said sweetly. “I’ll tell your sister you’ve been insulting me the whole time if you don’t tell me why you’re acting so strange!”
His expression darkened. Yes, now they were back on old, familiar ground. “Fine,” he whispered sharply, jerking her into a spin. “Your call to my sister inspired her to give me an ultimatum. I have today to prove to her that we can treat each other like two civilized people — otherwise, she won’t let me work with you or any other sports agent ever again.”
Perplexed, Hazel opened her mouth. “But…I thought your sister liked you. You love negotiating. She’d be taking away your favorite task.”
“Yes. So I’m being nice to you.”
