Page 47 of The Sin Bin

"That's what Jax said," Kane replied, a speculative glint in his eyes.

"Where is Jax?"

"He's getting his ass chewed out for bringing the kitten to practice."

"I see."

"We would have gotten away with it, but Penalty decided to use Coach Vicky's shoe as a litter box."

"Oh dear."

A few minutes later, though, the door opened, and a familiar figure appeared. Jax's imposing frame filling the doorway, his expression shifting from curiosity to surprise as his eyes found hers.

"Lauren?" he said, his voice carrying a note of confusion. "What are you doing here?" He stopped, taking in the scene of his teammates with the service dogs. "Hey, it's the doggos."

"Dog therapy," Kane supplied with a grin. "The arena had a security dog injury, so Lauren here arranged for service dogs in training to help out. I thought the guys might benefit from some canine interaction post-game."

"You did this?" Jax smiled at Lauren.

"It was a practical solution to a staffing problem," she explained, suddenly feeling self-conscious under his intense focus. "The dogs needed the training experience."

Practical and compassionate. Why am I not surprised?"

The simple observation, delivered with such genuine admiration, made Lauren's cheeks warm. "I thought you knew."

"Nope. But it's a nice surprise."

They moved closer together. She put her hand on his shoulder and turned him slightly.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I wanted to see if Coach Vicky chewed it all off."

"She damned near did. Do you know how much Birkenstocks cost?"

"Not off the top of my head."

"Too damned much for a pair of ugly shoes."

She patted his arm consolingly. "The unwritten costs of being a pet owner."

"A hundred and sixty bucks."

"I hate to break it to you, but that's not as expensive as you think it is."

"I mean it's not Nike or Air Jordan expensive, but I wouldn't pay twenty bucks for those shoes."

"Be thankful it wasn't a Jimmy Choo."

"Gesundheit."

Their conversation was interrupted as Scott Greeley appeared in the doorway, camera in hand. He snapped several photos before Jax noticed him.

"Thompson! Got a minute? I'm doing a piece on service animals and hockey," Greeley called out, his tone falsely casual. "Noticed you've got a new girlfriend who's conveniently providing these photo ops. Care to comment on how that arrangement works?"

The room went silent. Lauren felt her face flush with embarrassment and anger.

Jax's entire demeanor changed in an instant—his shoulders squaring, his expression hardening into something cold and intimidating. He stepped slightly in front of Lauren as he addressed the journalist.

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