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COLBY
ONE YEAR AGO
Walking up the steps toward the large front porch of my friend’s—and teammate—new lakeside Minnesota cabin, I glance around, admiring the place. I’m flanked by two of our other teammates and note how huge the wrap-around front porch is, with plenty of space for three large, professional hockey players. Not an easy feat.
“This place is nice!” I say to Bruce and Remy.
Ford Remington, the team captain of the D.C. Eagles, but just Remy to me and the other guys on the team, nods his head in agreement. His close-cropped dark hair barely budging in the evening breeze.
My other teammate—and the best goalie in the NHL, in my opinion—Bruce McBride, grins and dances along to the music we can hear coming from inside the house. Unlike our captain, his hair is blond and messy. Blowing around his perpetually rosy cheeks with each burst of night air.
My phone pings with a text and I pull it out of my jeans pocket to read it.
Unknown
Hey Colby! This is Laci. Want to meet up later?
I hum to myself as I type out a response to the gorgeous redhead I sat next to on the flight here. And here I was worried Minnesota would be boring.
Colby
Yeah, what hotel are you staying at? We could grab drinks. *wink emoji*
Laci
Drinks would be great. *wink emoji*
This is honestly too easy. Women don’t even make it a challenge for me.
When I look up from my phone, Bruce and Remy are staring at me. Bruce is giving me a you’re the man look, whereas Remy just appears irritated. I grin apologetically, then step forward and tug on the doorknob.
Remy nudges me with his elbow… hard, and I jerk my hand away from the door.
“Ow! What was that for?”
Bruce chuckles from my other side. “I think that’s Remy’s way of telling you to ring the doorbell instead of barging in.”
“Were you raised by wolves, Knight?” Remy asks me, his arms now crossed over his chest. He’s peering down his nose at me in a fatherly kind of way.
I want to remind him that I was raised by my strict, Italian mother, but instead, I throw my hands up dramatically. “Sheesh. West texted that she said yes to his proposal and that we can all join the celebration now.”
We hear laughter from the other side of the door, making it obvious that the party is going on without us. I raise my brows and gesture toward the sounds coming from inside the house. “See?”
Remy ignores me, steps forward, rings the doorbell, then falls back in line to wait with me and Bruce. If the music and noise are any indication, no one can even hear the doorbell. Slowly, I swivel my head to level an annoyed glance at Remy.
He groans and rings the doorbell again. We wait another minute, and no one comes.
From the corner of my eye, I see Bruce’s hand come up to scratch the back of his head. “Uh, cap’n. I don’t think anyone’s coming.”
Remy settles his hands on his hips and stares at the door. “I feel weird barging into someone’s home.”
With a sigh, I lean forward and knock on the door as hard as I can. This time, the door flies open.
It’s dark outside, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to the bright light filtering through the doorway. But when they do, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. There is a literal angel in front of me. Easily the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. And I’m a professional hockey player, so trust me, I’ve seen a lot of beautiful women. Her short hair curls around her delicate face in perfect, golden ringlets. And the light coming from behind her outlines her head, and figure, with an angelic glow.
I will remember this moment for the rest of my life. The first time I saw her. The moment I knew love at first sight was a real thing.
She smiles and I almost fall over. Those perfectly pouty lips spread over a set of flawless white teeth. Because I’ve seen my fair share of teeth knocked out in my career, they’re something I always notice. If it wasn’t for modern dentistry, I’d have several gaps in my smile. But I’m shallow and fixed them with dental implants. This face is my moneymaker.
