No judgment. Just a quick, clinical appraisal.
We ride up to the next floor with only the soft instrumental music playing in the background. Every inch of my skin’s humming and I make a concerted effort not to fidget.
She knows.
Maybe not the details, but enough to burn us.
If she flags this, Bennett could be benched. And if my father finds out? I’m not the fixer anymore — I’m the problem.
She exhales, a tired sound, filling me with guilt.
I shouldn’t be sneaking around like this. I’m supposed to be the guardrail, not the cliff.
The elevator stops and Dr. Sparks steps out, her steps steady as a metronome. I follow behind, trying to slow mine down. I’d love to run, disappear into the safety of my room. Forget I ran into the one person the team pays to notice everything.
I’m almost to my room when Dr. Sparks stops at her door, glancing over her shoulder at me.
“I don’t need to remind you that secrets don’t keep in hockey. Not with locker rooms, security cameras, and social media. Even when you’re cautious.” Her voice is low, a quiet warning. “Be careful, Tori.”
She locks her gaze on mine for a long beat, then ducks into her room.
Leaving me alone in the hallway, my hands shaking so hard I drop my room key.
Fuck.
What am I doing? My job’s supposed to be keeping Bennett out of trouble. Not screwing things up even more.
Shoving into my room, I collapse against the door and suck in a huge breath of the cool eucalyptus-scented air.
Dr. Sparks is right — I should leave him alone. Go back to Manhattan and my carefully controlled life.
But after tonight, I can’t just walk away anymore.
Bennett Steele’s in my bloodstream…and I’m afraid I’ll never get him out.
All I can do now is run damage control. I need boundaries so hard they leave bruises.
Because wanting him like this is already making me careless.
And in hockey, careless costs you everything.
CHAPTER 28
BENNETT
Tori’s the first thing on my mind when the alarm buzzes at 7:30 am. Her smile, that glint in her eye when she delivers a zinger.
I reach for my phone and text her one-handed, already hard thinking about last night.
Bennett: Morning, Sunshine
I take a couple long, slow strokes and wait for her reply.
Nothing.
Must still be sleeping.
I climb out of bed and hit the bathroom. Breakfast is until 8:30, then we’re all on the bus to the rink for practice. Zero time to lounge around.
