Page 124 of My Best Bet

“C’mon, Bennett, you know you don’t wanna go back there and stay all alone. Stay with us, save your money and do what you want with it.”

I rolled my eyes, but that did sound kind of nice.

“Ahh, you like that, eh?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Even better, go crazy and spend all that rent money on Christmas shopping. Iknowyou love Christmas shopping, don’t even try to deny that, Bennett.”

“But-”

“No buts,” he groaned. “You haven’t even slept there in weeks, babe.”

“Maybe I will tonight,” I said stubbornly.

His head dropped back and he grabbed the bill of his hat. “Please no.”

“Why?”

“Youwon’t be able to sleep without cuddles andIwon’t be able to sleep because I’ll be too worried about you.”

He was kind of right.

“Please?” he asked, pouting out his bottom lip.

I rolled my eyes and covered his mouth with my hand. “You are just as bad as Lucy.” I felt him crack a grin under my hand. “Fine.” I pointed a finger up at his face. “But don't make me regret this.”

“Definitely not,” he swore, grabbing my hand and pulling it to his lips to kiss. “Besides, it’ll be good for you to save money.”

I pulled back to give him a skeptical look.

He slowly grinned. “Hundred bucks, baby.” He dipped to kiss my neck. “I’m gonna want that back,” he growled in my ear and roughly grabbed my ass, making me yelp.

I swatted him away, feeling shocked and turned on all at the same time.

Without another word, he intertwined his fingers with mine and pulled me out of the office. As we walked across the lobby, I caught Colt giving Hans a thumbs up. Hans went back to mopping with a grin on his face.

“Cahoots,” I whispered, shaking my head.

Colt just laughed.

________

Over the next couple days, we slid back into our new normal, but I still felt tense at the rink. In the back of my mind, I couldn't completely erase the fear of running into Andy.

This was a much different feeling than when I was nervous to run into Colt. Back when I was on the lookout for him, I had a secret longing in my heart. With Andy, my stomach was filled with pure dread.

The ball finally dropped that Thursday.

I was unlacing my skates alone in the locker room when the door popped open. I thought it was Piper, but when I glanced up, my stomach dropped. He looked almost the same as he did ten years ago, just with more wrinkles around his cold eyes and a bit of salt-and-pepper hair at his temples.

I immediately reached for my phone. “Don’t come near me.”

He snickered and held his gloved hands up. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Don’t,” I warned.

He cocked his head to the side and stared me down. “Why would I go anywhere near you? The person who single-handedly wrecked my career?”

My rebuttal was on the tip of my tongue. With pairs, it was never just one person’s fault. It was a concept I thought he once understood. I really hoped he wasn’t coaching with that mindset because the blame game was a wicked one that could go round and round forever.

“Besides,” he sighed, “you’re looking rather… healthy.” He smirked at me.

---