Jesuuus!Get it under control.They had weeks, possibly months, of PT to get through together.In tight quarters.Her hands on his skin.The familiar honeysuckle scent of her shampoo overloading his senses every time she tossed her ponytail over her shoulder.
He pictured grabbing that ponytail and pulling her head back, exposing the column of her creamy throat to his mouth.His cock swelled painfully.
Why was his libido kicking up these scenarios?“Because you two have unfinished business,”the voice inside his head answeredunhelpfully.He didn’t evenlikethis girl.No, that wasn’t true.He didn’t like the snippy way she treated him, but underneath her crusty layers lived a girl he had liked.Once upon a time, he had liked hera lot.He’d been curious about where their attraction might lead back then.But that was before the NHL came calling.Beforeevery waking thought during every waking hour became lasered in on the game.
But that’s what it took to make it at this level.His dad had taught him that early on, when he’d been Sam’s coach.His dad had believed in him, had nurtured Sam’s own belief that he could make it someday.But to get there, you had to eat, drink, and breathe hockey.You had to sacrifice.
And he wasstillhyperfocused.Had to be.And thank fuck for that because it meant working with her wasn’t going to interfere with his first priority.Now if only he could made sure the man in his pants didn’t stand up and cheer whenever she was around, they’d be good.
Yeah, he could do this.
A moment later, an inconvenient truth slapped him across the jaw like the blade of an errant hockey stick.
Shit.He was so screwed.
Angie was staring at her monitor, tapping her pen on the desktop, debating what to write in Sam’s record, when Trevor surprised her from behind.
“You’re working late.”
She whirled so fast she launched the pen onto the floor.“You scared me.”
He stooped, picked up the pen, and handed it to her with a smile.“Sorry.Didn’t mean to spook you like that.”
Angie looked around him.It was well after closing time, but was Celia still at the front desk?“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see if you’d like to grab a drink with me.”
“Oh, I can’t.”She waved at her monitor.“I have a long way to go before I finish up here.”
“Hmm.I didn’t realize they were keeping you that busy.”He leaned forward, startling her.“Whose file are you working on anyway?”
She shot to her feet, blocking his view.Sure, he was one of the trainers, but that didn’t entitle him to revieweveryone’srecords.“Minimum necessary access,” according to HIPAA.Trevor wasn’t on Sam’s case, and this information was private.“Ah, just some different patients they assigned to me.”
He straightened but otherwise didn’t move, and she scooted to the side, her butt practically seated on the desk.One corner of his mouth curled upward.He reminded her of a cat who had just cornered a mouse.“I guess my recommending you for this job has really paid off, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has.Thank y-you again for suggesting my name.”
“Know how you can really thank me?You can grab that drink with me.This stuff will wait.”
Angie’s skin prickled with warning.“Actually, it won’t.Coach is waiting for an update on one of the players.And after that, I’m expected somewhere.”She moved a little farther away, trying to reclaim her personal bubble, but she revealed the screen in the process.His eyes darted there.She slid back, searching for a way to minimize the screen without losing everything she’d just added to Sam’s file.
His gaze moved back to hers and locked on.“Expected where?For what?”
Angie fumbled, accidentally hitting a key, and her stomach plunged when the screen went blank.
“Miss Rossi?”
Angie and Trevor turned at the same instant toward Celia’s sharp bark.The woman stood in the opening between reception and therapy.
Angie wormed away from Trevor’s looming presence.“Yes, Celia?”
Celia came farther into the room, a sourpuss look on her face that she directed at Angie.“What do we have going on here?”
Angie slid Trevor a sidelong glance.“You know Trevor from the team’s training staff, right?I believe he was interested in learning more about one of the players.”Not exactly a lie, but Angiewasconcealing Trevor’s possible skulking.If he saw any of the details about Sam’s treatment and reported those, Angie could lose … everything.Then again, so could Trevor, and there was no guarantee that he’d read any of it.
Trevor shoved his hands into his front pockets.“Yeah, uh, Coach is anxious to read about his progress.”
Celia never took her eyes off Angie.“Well then, I suppose you’d better get to it.”
