A grin flashes across his face before he wraps an arm around me and guides me toward the arena entrance.
Warmth floods me all over again. Not from the coat, either.
Inside, the rink smells like ice, rubber, and faintly of hockey equipment.
A few of the players are already skating warm-up laps when we step into the arena. Music echoes softly through the nearly empty rink while pucks crack against the boards.
Daltyn sets his hockey bag near the bench, then looks down at me. “Stay here with Harper and Allie. I’ll be back.”
And then he disappears through a door near the tunnel leading to the locker room.
I exhale slowly once he’s gone.
“That look on your face is priceless,” Harper says from beside me.
“What look?”
“The one where you just realized hockey players are terrifyingly attractive.”
Heat floods my cheeks. “I did not make a face.”
Allie snorts. “You absolutely did.” She beams at me. “I’m glad you’re here. Your boyfriend was being grumpy about bringing you.”
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend.”
Allie and Harper exchange a look.
“Yeah, right,” Harper says.
“You’re forgetting I was in Key West with the two of you,” Allie says.
I blush. “No, I’m not forgetting that.”
“So, just selective memory.” Allie grins. “Got it.”
Before I can defend myself, the locker room door opens again.
And out strides Goalie Daltyn.
The man walking toward the ice barely resembles the one who took me coat shopping an hour ago.
Massive leg pads hug his body while Avalanche colors flash across his chest protector and painted mask. His blocker and catcher glove look enormous beneath the arena lights, making him seem even bigger somehow.
He’s intimidating. Untouchable. Dangerous. Like a wall no one can break through.
And somehow, watching him glide across the ice with effortless control makes him even more terrifyingly attractive.
My pulse stutters. “Oh,” I whisper.
Harper grins beside me. “Yeah. That’s usually everyone’s reaction the first time.”
“Impressive, huh?” Allie teases.
“That’s one word for it,” I murmur.
The players scatter across the ice, skating easy warm-up laps while music pulses softly through the arena speakers.
Daltyn stays near the crease.
