Page 9 of Not the Puck Bunny

The room itself had gray carpet, the logo of the Sea Dragons on the wall, and more chairs than I could count.

If I had to guess, I'd say the entire roster was here in the room, not just the first line, and all of the coaching staff, from the head coach, to the goalie coach and strength and conditioning coach.

There was more testosterone in this room than there was in Shells Bar the other night. More testosterone than in my father's office building. A couple of the coaches were women, but the rest, and all the players present were men.

That was another order of business. A women's hockey team for the Lowball Bay Sea Dragons.

For now, I'd deal with what was in front of me. If I could.

Wait.

Shit.

I stared in disbelief.

The asshole from Shells leaned his hip against the table in the corner. He looked at me with those same cold, brown eyes. This time, they were laced with a measure of confusion.

“Take a wrong turn?” he asked before anyone else realized I was there.

“I don't think so,” I said as brightly as I could manage. “I'm the team's new owner, Andi Welling.”

Chapter Four

Cam

Shit.

Shit.

I recognized that pale skin. The wild, red curls. The curves now clad in a pencil skirt that fell halfway down shapely calves. A bright blue sweater covered her perfect breasts. In heels, she didn't come up much past my chin.

Those same brilliant blue eyes, so warm and apologetic before I shot her down the other night, were now colder than the ice on the rink. Her tone was smoother than after the Zamboni did its magic.

Her plump lips set in a line upon seeing me. No chance she didn't remember me.

Zack Reed snorted loudly. “New owner's secretary?”

I bristled at his derisive suggestion. He hadn't evolved far from Neanderthal in his thinking. The team worked on that with all of us. Some of us even pulled it off once in a while. Zack refused to try.

Andi turned that ice cold gaze on him, before smiling in a way that made me glad she wasn't looking at me. “The word you're looking for is personal assistant, and no, I assure you, I'm the team's owner, Mister—?” She cocked her head.

Zack grunted, irritation flashing across his face. He was used to people knowing exactly who he was.

Did Andi really not know, or was she trying to bring him down a peg or two? Had she recognised me at Shells? I assumed she had, and had walked into me on purpose. But now… I wasn't so sure.

She blinked at him a couple of times, her long lashes almost brushing her cheeks.

Zack stood straighter than the blue line. “Zack Reed. Winger.”

“Ah, I see.” She straightened her head and nodded, like she didn't have a clue about any of the five positions on the ice. The keen intelligence in her eyes said otherwise. She was humoring him, but making him look like an idiot at the same time.

Like he needed help with that.

Beside me, it was Flynn's turn to snort. He wasn't fooled either.

Zack shook his head as if he didn't know what was going on, but didn't like it. He shot her a dark look, then lounged back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. His gaze followed her every move as she spoke to the head coach.

“Brian Lampton.” He offered her a smile and his hand. He actually winced at her grip, but nodded his approval. “The team's been curious to meet you.” He raised an eyebrow, adding further meaning to otherwise benign words.

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