Page 21 of If You Love Me

“Together.” Her hands stay clasped in her lap.

“How did that go?”

“Not fantastic.”

“Elaborate, please.” I don’t mean for it to sound like an order.

A tiny sound escapes her, and she tips her chin down, while her eyes lift to mine. For a moment, the air is electric with tension, and I’m sure we’re both suddenly lost in a not so safe for work memory.

She swallows thickly and her cheeks flush. “Neither of them were interested in sharing and they were insistent that they were fine, which we both know is bullshit.” She punctuates the statement with a roll of her eyes.

There’s the sass I remember. I can’t help it, I laugh.

She crosses her arms, clearly annoyed. “I’m glad this amuses you.”

“You amuse me, not the circumstances.” I refocus and explain. “I understand wanting to get to the root of the problem, but they need time to get to know you before they’ll feel comfortable with an intervention.”

She sighs. “I can’t afford to have them going after each other on the ice when it’s game time. I can’t afford to fail this team.” Her eyes fall closed. “Oh my God. Why am I saying this to you?”

There’s so much on the line for her. It’s her first season and my last. We both want it to go well. It certainly takes a spine ofsteel to sit across from me and expose her vulnerabilities after the way I shut her down last night. “Because whether we like it or not, we have a connection.”

“Goalie.” There’s warning in her tone.

I arch a brow.

She crosses her legs and exhales through her nose, as though she’s working to maintain her composure.

I get it. I’m struggling not to reach out and touch her.

I save her from the awkwardness. “Tell me what you know about those two, apart from their stats.”

She flips the pen between her fingers. “Madden’s program at the Hockey Academy was fully subsidized.”

I know some things about Madden’s childhood, thanks to Peggy and Rix having lived together for a few months. “The Hockey Academy does that for a lot of their players.”

“It’s the best program of it’s kind, and they’ve produced some of the most stand out players in the league,” Lexi—Coach Forrester, I remind myself—agrees.

“Our team is proof of that.”

“It absolutely is. The way Bright and Madden and Stiles are on the ice together is sheer magic. Those boys have a long history. They play like an extension of each other.”

“They do.” I cross and uncross my legs. This conversation is stimulating in ways that are becoming awkward and uncomfortable. She wears her passion for hockey on her sleeve. And that, along with my knowledge of how she sounds, tastes, and feels when she comes is a lethal combination for my hormones.

“From what I understand, Madden, Stiles, and Bright were well liked by the coaches and their teammates,” I add evenly.

She leans forward. “But Grace wasn’t.”

“It doesn’t seem that way, based on conversations with the other guys, but they’re also biased and have a longer history together.”

She taps her lips with her pen. “Grace is flashy and cocky.”

I wish she’d stop drawing attention to parts of her body I’ve previously enjoyed. “He is.”

“Grace has two sisters, but his grandmother is the only member of his family who appears on his social media,” Coach Forrester shares. “And she’s the only relative who attends his games, as far as I can see.”

“I didn’t realize that.”But it sure raises a lot of questions.Connor comes from money. His family owns some of the most prestigious hotel chains in the world.

“Mmm… I noticed it when I did a social media scan. He clearly thinks highly of his grandmother, like Madden thinks highly of his sister.”

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