Page 75 of The Sin Bin

Jax's jaw tightened. So it was going to be like that.

His apartment was dark and quiet when he finally dragged himself through the door. Both cats were curled together on his bed. They barely cracked an eye as he moved around the bedroom, too sleepy to bother with their human. He took the pills, and tumbled into bed, careful not to disturb the cats.

If only Lauren was here, it would be a perfect night. But as he drifted toward sleep, Rousseau's words and the doctor's warning battled in his mind. Game two loomed just forty-eight hours away, and suddenly the stakes felt much higher than just one playoff win.

Chapter Seventeen

Lauren

"You're humming," Barb observed, looking up from the surgical schedule she was reviewing. "Actual humming. In the workplace. At 7:30 in the morning. Who are you and what have you done with Lauren Mackenzie?"

Lauren paused in her documentation, suddenly aware of the melody she'd been absently producing. "Was I?"

"'We Are the Champions' by Queen, if I'm not mistaken," Barb confirmed with raised eyebrows. "Which coincidentally was playing at the Chill game last night after they beat Montreal."

"The whole team played well," Lauren said. "Montreal has a dangerous top line, and the adjusted coverage system effectively neutralized their zone entries while creating counterattack opportunities through controlled breakouts rather than stretching the neutral zone with high-risk passes."

Barb stared at her for a long moment before dissolving into laughter. "Oh my God," she managed between fits of giggles. "You're speaking hockey. Actual hockey analysis. With terminology. I've lost you to the dark side."

Lauren rolled her eyes, though she couldn't deny the accuracy of Barb's observation. She had, indeed, been paying increasingly close attention to the tactical aspects of the game, her initial dismissal of hockey as "men chasing a puck and hitting each other" completely gone.

"I'm dating a hockey player," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Dating," Barb repeated, seizing on the term with evident delight. "So we're officially using relationship labels now? This is progress."

"It's still evolving, but yes, there are labels involved."

Barb's expression softened from teasing to genuine warmth. "I'm happy for you, Mac. Mountain Man seems like the real deal."

"He is," Lauren admitted, then hesitated. "But sometimes I wonder what I'm getting myself into. Did you see his photo in the sports section this morning?"

"I did," Barb nodded, her tone more serious. "And the sidebar about the 'enforcer's mystery woman.' Someone caught you two outside the arena."

Lauren sighed. "It wasn't even a good picture. Just the back of my head."

"Are you okay with that?" Barb asked, concern evident in her voice. "The public scrutiny, I mean. That's a lot for someone who values privacy as much as you do."

"I don't know," Lauren admitted. "I've spent years building walls after Daniel. Keeping things controlled. Jax is..." she gestured vaguely, searching for words.

"The human equivalent of a wrecking ball to those walls?" Barb supplied with a knowing smile.

"Something like that."

"Is it worth it?" Barb asked, her tone gentle but pointed. "After everything with Daniel, the way he hurt you—is Jax worth taking that risk again?"

The question hung between them, loaded with the weight of shared history. Barb had been there through the worst of Lauren's previous relationship—the manipulation, the subtle control that had escalated to frightening levels before she'd finally broken free.

"Jax is nothing like Daniel," Lauren said finally. "But that's not really the point, is it? The risk is in letting anyone matter that much."

"Yet here you are, humming victory songs and spouting hockey stats." Barb reached across the desk, squeezing Lauren's hand. "For what it's worth, I've seen how he looks at you. And more importantly, I've seen how you are with him—more relaxed, more present. More like the Lauren I knew before Daniel."

Lauren swallowed against the sudden tightness in her throat. "What if I'm making another mistake?"

"What if you're not?" Barb countered. "Look, relationships are always risky. That's the whole damn point. But from where I'm sitting, Mountain Man is the good kind of risk."

"When did you get so wise about relationships?" Lauren asked, smiling despite the emotion tightening her chest.

"I've watched enough rom-coms to qualify for an honorary degree," Barb replied with a grin. "Now, we should check on Whiskers before his follow-up ultrasound. The pancreatic inflammation should be resolving with the new medication protocol."

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