He laughed. “Since you walked through that goddamn door, you’ve acted like someone stole your damn puppy. I mean hell, you won a game last night that people will continue talking about for weeks. You put the Gators back on the map, man. On top of that, you’re a social media darling. Every guy wants to be you.”
“So the fuck what?”
“So you got your willy wet last night, didn’t you?”
I lifted my head, narrowing my eyes with a hard glare. I couldn’t understand what the hell had happened from the time she’d fallen asleep in my arms and when she’d been jarred awake. Unless she’d spend the night fuming over how her parents had handled the engagement announcement.
“Geez. Testy. But it’s true. Right? I saw that gorgeous girl on the jumbotron. She’s a hottie. If you don’t want her, I might take her out for a swing.”
My reaction was swift and without thinking, using the kind of anger than I’d been successfully reserving for the ice. I shoved back my chair until it was slammed against the wall, taking one long stride and driving Tony into the edge of the counter. I even wrapped my hand around his throat. “Don’t you talk about my… About her like that.”
“God! Okay. I’m sorry. I’m fucking sorry.” He threw up his hands, terror lingering in his eyes.
I’d been about to call her my mate. That was the entire problem. I was a furry creature. She couldn’t tolerate that I was a shifter. Suddenly, I hated myself for several reasons.
Including having my teammate in a choke hold. I backed off, turning away and shoving my hands into my pockets. “I’m sorry.”
“Wow, you care about this girl.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Tony coughed and I would think he’d run far away from me or toss me out on my ass, but he remained. “So what the fuck happened last night? The jumbotron caught you racing after something and maybe you don’t know it, but people were cheering you on, hoping you got to the girl. Christine. Right?”
“Yeah.” I could barely speak at this point, I was so damn gutted. It was crazy to feel the way I did about someone. She was totally unlike me yet she fit perfectly.
And she was my mate.
Nowhere in any rule book was there documentation on how to fix a broken… whatever the hell this was. What did an alpha male do when his female mate tossed him to the curb? Maybe I’d write a book after my hockey career was over. Depending on what Ansley had to say, that could be sooner versus later.
I wasn’t certain I gave a shit either. I’d lost her. I’d lost the woman who was not only my mate, but who’d somehow managed to snag my heart.
“You were chasing after her.”
Shrugging, I moved toward the window, staring into space more than anything. “I was. I took her home and spent the night there. Now she doesn’t want to see me. The crap from last night was too much.”
“Wait. Hold on. You’re engaged, but she broke it off. Maybe that was just too fast. You’ve been in town less than two weeks.”
“The whole engagement wasn’t real. It was fake. She blurted it out because her parents were giving her crap. Plus, lying to her about who I was came back to bite me. I can’t blame her.”
“Wow, man. That’s just shit. You do know all about her father and his hatred of shifters.”
Now I laughed bitterly. “Oh, he was gloating about how he’s going to fix the influx of shifters at dinner, glaring at me the entire time. See? Not a match made in heaven, but I kind of thought so.”
He put cream and seven teaspoons of sugar into his mug of coffee all while staring at me. “You really do like this girl.”
“Yeah, more than like.”
“Then you need to keep letting her know.”
“I tried. I planted her entire yard full of flowers since I ran hers over. What else am I supposed to do?”
“Whatever it takes. But I’d give her some time. If there’s anything I’ve learned about women, it’s to give them time. If not, she’ll likely cut your balls off. At least that’s what two former girlfriends tried to do to me.”
With the coffee in his hand, he walked from the kitchen and I resumed sulking.
But maybe he was right. I wasn’t going to take this sitting down. She was my mate and no one else was going to claim her.
Damn it.
