Page 57 of Delayed Penalty

“And that, little flower, is why you don’t need theprince to rescue you. You’re capable of rescuing yourself just fine. Got it?” I tell her as I close the book I’ve been reading for the last half hour.

She nods sleepily. “Got it, Just Quinn.”

I lean over, nuzzling my nose against her forehead. “Good night.”

“Night,” she mumbles back as I crawl out of the bed and flip off her bedside lamp.

I tiptoe from the room, closing her door gently. The house is dark and quiet, the faint sound of water the only thing breaking the silence as I pass his room.

I pause.

Hayes is in the shower.

My mind reels with images of what he must look like under the spray, what shape his body must be in after all the training he puts it through for hockey. I bet his ass is perfectly sculpted, and it probably looks incredible as the water droplets slide over it.

God, Quinn, get ahold of yourself. He’s your boss, for crying out loud!

I shake away the thoughts, pushing them to the dark corners of my mind that I pretend don’t exist, then hurry through the house just as the water shuts off. Hayes finds me ten minutes later, in the kitchen with a mug of tea between my hands while I act like I wasn’t just picturing him naked.

“Just got off the phone with my guy,” Hayes says ashe pads into the room, looking entirely too good in a pair of black sleep pants that leave little to the imagination and a plain gray t-shirt that makes his eyes pop. “That lady at the park today?—”

“Gina,” I provide, taking a drink from my tea.

“—she claimed the tickets. I guess we’ll be seeing them in the stands Saturday night.”

“We’llbe seeing them?”

“Yes. You and Flora are coming to my game, right?”

“I…I didn’t know we were invited.”

His brows are like magnets, always pulling together, inching inward once again. “Of course you’re invited. Why wouldn’t you be?”

I lift a shoulder. “I don’t know. I just thought…”

I don’t finish my sentence because I don’t know what I thought. I figured he’d maybe want Flora there, but I didn’t realize that would automatically mean I would have to go too. I’m not opposed to it. I love hockey, and I’ve watched Brody play my entire life. But being in the stands for him specifically feels… Well, I don’t know exactly how it feels, but just thinking of it makes my lower belly warm.

“It’ll, uh, be a first for me.” He runs a hand through his still-damp hair. “I’ve never had anyone in the stands for me before.”

“Ever?” The question comes out so incredulously,and I hear it right away. “Sorry. I just… We go to all of Brody’s games whenever he comes to town. We’ve even flown out of state for a few. We…”

I don’t finish the sentence because I’m unsure what else to say. I can’t imagine that nobody has ever shown up to support him throughout his career.

“The only person who ever cared about my hockey career passed away a few years ago before I got called up to the NHL, so…” Hayes shrugs like it’s no big deal, but it’s clearly something that bothers him. It’s obvious in how his shoulders slink inward and how he drops his head to his chest.

“We’ll be there,” I promise, and he lifts his head. “We’ll be the ones cheering you on.”

Hayes doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. His eyes say it all, and right now, they’re telling me he’s grateful. I think I’d promise him anything if it meant he’d look at me like that again.

CHAPTER 12

HAYES

“Dude, can you fucking believe this?” Lawson marvels beside me, his eyes wide as he takes in the crowd.

Usually, during warmups, fans are still milling about the arena, most of the seats empty while everyone gets their snacks, souvenirs, and whatever else they need.

But not tonight. Tonight, it’s hard to decipher just how many seats are still empty, if any. They’re feeling it, and I’m glad. We’re fucking feeling it too.

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