“Great.” Lake backed off. “I have a date to get to. Don’t get too drunk!”
She spun around and sashayed away.
As soon as she was out of sight, Tally drained the rest of her cocktail.
“Do you mind if we go back to our room?” she asked.
“Not at all.” I stood and pulled her with me. Her palm was warm and soft against my larger, rougher one. I expected her to let go as we started walking toward the main resort building, but instead, her fingers remained linked with mine.
“You don’t have to come with me,” she said, glancing toward me, her expression strained. “I don’t feel in the mood to be socialtonight, so I’d understand if you’d rather explore the resort and see who else is around.”
I smiled. “I’d rather be with you.”
Her nose scrunched. “Sorry for being a killjoy.”
“Don’t be. Like I said, none of this is your fault.” I’d repeat it however many times were needed before the message sunk in.
In the lobby, we passed Jackson and Ben, and I couldn’t help the smug curl of my lips as Jackson’s gaze lowered to our joined hands. Still, he gave a friendly dip of his head as we entered the elevator, swiped a card, and pushed the button for our floor.
I checked the time. “There might be a hockey game on.”
The elevator doors opened and we made for our room.
Tally propped her sunglasses on the top of her head. “I think the Chaos were playing tonight Do you think we could find a replay?”
“I’ll check.” I unlocked our door and held it open while Tally entered. She switched on the TV and I grabbed the remote and scrolled through channels until I found one with a hockey game underway. Sure enough, the Chicago Chaos were playing Washington.
I watched as Austin Harris, the team’s best scorer and my younger sister’s boss, glided up the center of the ice toward the goal, the puck on the end of his stick. He tried to flick it past the goalie but it hit the goalie’s glove and deflected. The defense were on it immediately, sending the puck back toward the other end of the ice.
Tally flopped onto the bed and sighed. “They’re not having a good season.”
“Do they ever?”
The team might have some decent players, like Harrison and his fellow first line forward Nick Kelly, but there was absolutely no cohesion. They were like a bunch of strangers forcedtogether. Or worse, colleagues who actively disliked each other forced into a team bonding activity.
I lay down alongside Tally, propping myself up on the stack of pillows so I could watch the game. One of the men in the Chaos’s distinctive blue and silver uniform yanked his gloves off and rounded on an opposing player.
“There goes Taggert,” I said.
Tally snorted. “I’ll never understand why they made him captain. He has too much of a temper.”
She wasn’t wrong. Taggert was a mean player, and he lost his shit easily.
“Could be worse though,” I pointed out. “McKinley is a complete loose cannon.”
She nodded. “But he’s in the second line and only a couple of years into the league. Taggert is a veteran. He should know better.”
Warmth bloomed inside me. Fuck, I loved that Tally and I could talk hockey together.
“I still can’t believe that Jane is working for Harris after that big song and dance about making her own way,” I said.
Because of our father and uncle playing in the NHL, Jane and I had been raised in the public eye, but while it had never bothered me too much—beyond teaching me to watch what I said and did—Jane had hated it.
She’d turned down our parents’ offer to pay for her to attend a nearby university, instead opting to move to Chicago and support herself by working as a personal assistant. I didn’t understand her need to put distance between us or her insistence on not letting Mom and Dad make life easier for her when they were desperate to help. I respected her need for independence though, even if I didn’t fully agree with her choices.
Tally’s head moved closer to mine and I found myself subconsciously angling my body toward hers. She shuffled over and rested her cheek on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and breathed in the fruity scent of her shampoo combined with a lingering saltiness from the ocean breeze.
We watched Washington decimate the Chaos. Taggert threw more fists. Harris was blocked from scoring another three times. While Taggert was in the penalty box, his replacement, McKinley, went ballistic and had to be pulled off one of Washington’s wingers by his own teammates.
