Married?Jack?
Hell, the concept still scrambled my brains.
They watched me with resigned expressions. Because I slammed Cal into the glass?
I shrugged and picked up the puck. Though my friends knew some of the shit that had occurred in my past, they didn’t know the darkest part—one I was forever trapped in with no way of crawling out of it. And now those fucking texts dragged up everything again.
About to skate off, movement in my peripheral view snagged my attention.
A girl with golden brown skin and waist-length spiral hair sprinted up the steps, her short, pleated skirt revealing a sexy expanse of toned legs as she joined Ila and Ray.
Charlotte Jones.
Or Charli, as she preferred to be called. Best friends with Max’s wife and totally off-limits to me. She dropped onto the seat next to Ray, plunging into a rapid conversation. I hadn’t seen her since the wedding weeks ago.
She’d been…unexpected.
Women hit on me all the time, but Charli? She would put the Golden Gate Bridge between us if she could. However, during the rehearsals and wedding, she’d lowered those mountain-high shields she wore like armor just enough to reveal the funny girl with a sarcastic sense of humor. And it wasn’t because of my devastating charm. I had none.
She didn’t treat me like some mega hockey star, and didn’t seem to care about my bad boy rep, or me at all.
I frowned, watching her.
Sure, she had killer legs and a smile that could make me forget my name, but something beyond that sparkling surface stuck with me—
“Hey, Warrick?” Cal slid back to me again, his skates spraying ice everywhere. “There’s a party tonight, and those chicks,” he nodded to the now vacant back row where the clutch of groupies had gathered during practice, “want you to join us.”
“No.”
He stared like he’d never seen me before. “You gotta be kiddin’ me.”
“Why?” Hell, I felt burned out and needed a break from everything. Even though it was already the middle of off-season, I still couldn’t seem to focus on anything. And why I’d hauled Cal in for practice, needing to work off the funk.
Snorting, he shook his head.
Charli’s light laughter had me glancing back. I don’t know what it was, but once again, she pulled me out of my own murky thoughts.
“What’s got you so riveted?” Cal drawled. “Ah, the Logan girls are here.”
“The Logangirlsare now those hotheads’ wives,” I retorted.
“Man, I sure missed out on Ray.”
“It seems you do want your face rearranged. Go ahead, tell Jack what you just said.”
“Nah. I’m good.” Cal grinned, then he stilled. “Who’s the chick with them?” His stare fixed on Charli like some horny fucking rooster. “She’s hot.”
“We man-hos don’t feature on her to-do list.” I skated off the rink, needing to get out of here and back to my apartment to change and meet up with the guys at the bar. And just maybe my little nemesis would be there, too.
“She hasn’t met me yet.” He glided after me.
“Cal, go find another groupie to screw. Leave her the fuck alone.” Or I’d probably end up breaking his jaw and losing everything I worked so hard for.
As I trudged into the locker room, a thought had me slowing down. Hell, I’d forgotten about that convo Charli and I had during the rehearsal dinner.
We had a little wager to settle.
Suddenly, my day looked so much brighter.
