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Mikael walked in and loaded a plate. He scanned the room, his gaze landing on Ellie sitting at a table near the windows. She sat with Neva, one of the assistant coaches, and Haley. They were laughing, Ellie’s head thrown back, her ponytail swinging.
Mikael grinned and dropped into the chair across from me.
“The new doc is amazing, isn’t she?” he said to the table at large.
Tolrek didn’t look up from his phone.
Fedor grunted. “She’s good at her job.”
Mikael leaned back in his chair, his grin widening. “She’s good at a lot of things, I bet.”
My fork bent in my hand.
Tolrek’s gaze flicked to me, then back to his phone.
Mikael kept going. “I’m just saying, if I had an injury that needed that much hands-on attention—”
“Fucking shut up, Mikael,” I snarled.
The table went quiet.
Mikael’s grin didn’t fade. “Whoa. Protective, are we?”
I stood, dumping what was left of my meal into the trash. My hip protested the movement, a sharp pull that radiated down my thigh.
I caught Ellie’s gaze on the way out. She was watching me, her expression unreadable.
She’d probably heard the whole thing.
Later that afternoon, when I was supposed to be in the auxiliary gym, doing my stretches, I found myself in the hallway outside the treatment room, leaning against the wall.
Voices drifted through the cracked-open door.
Veskar and Ellie.
“So, I was thinking, if you’re free Friday night…” Veskar said. “Just dinner. Nothing serious. I know a great place, and you’ve been working so hard, I thought we could celebrate.”
“That’s really sweet, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Because of the team thing?”
“I don’t date players. It’s a rule I have.”
The breath I’d been holding punched out of my lungs.
“That’s a shame,” Veskar said. “Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”
“I’m sure. But thank you.”
Footsteps rang out and the door opened wider. Veskar walked out, passing me in the hallway. He nodded once and kept going.
I stood with my hands clenched at my sides, trying to process what I’d just heard.
She didn’t date players.
That meant she’d never date me.
Which shouldn’t matter because I couldn’t have her anyway.
