Page 17 of Peach Blossom Hollow

She was silent, her breathing coming hard. She looked as though she was waiting for the floor to swallow her. When whatever bad thing she’d been expecting didn’t happen, she said tentatively, “That’s how crappy my luck’s been. So the Dragon Babes… Trying something new and, um, hoping for different results…”

She looked defeated.

“I’m not giving up, though,” she whispered, that same determination he’d seen at the new-employee orientation peeking through.

“Something good will happen,” Leo insisted, giving her arm a supportive squeeze. He waited until she finally dared to look up at him. “You’ll find what you’re looking for. Just know what you want. Then expect it to happen.”

There was a flash of vulnerability in her eyes. It was quick, but he recognized it. That shadow before she brushed it away. The fear of being alone forever.

“I can help you,” she blurted out. “With Christine. She’s a woman. I’m a woman. I’ll help you win her.”

“And like I said earlier, I’ll help you find someone decent to date from the team. We’ll turn around those bad blind-dating stats.”

Violet was a gem. One who’d been knocked down by life but still refused to call it quits. He’d find her someone good. Really good.

“Deal.” She grinned and put out her hand for him to shake. Just as he reached for it, his phone rang. He froze for a split second. Who would be calling him? Ignoring the call, he shook Violet’s warm hand, savoring the touch.

“You gonna get that?” she asked, gesturing toward the ringing sound.

“Nah.” He was enjoying this moment with Violet. “Oh crap! Sorry.” He fished his phone from his pocket and turned away to answer it. “Hey, sorry.”

“I’m out by the doors.”

“I’ll meet you there in a few.” Leo popped his phone back into his pocket. “Sorry, gotta run.”

“Hot date?”

He shook his head, feeling sheepish. “No. Just an old friend.”

“Who you used to date?”

“A bit.”

“And now that you’re going to be hockey famous she wants a piece of you?”

He laughed. “Maybe. Although she knew me when I was a rodeo star.”

“The one who got away?”

“Our road schedules never lined up enough for us to get serious.” They’d settled in as friends almost a year and a half ago.

“Well, you’d better go.”

He nodded, reluctant to leave. He enjoyed spending time with Violet. More than he’d expected to.

The two of them moved through the doors that led to the public part of the arena, where the crowds were thicker, but not too bad this long after the game. A few people waited hopefully in case playerscame through, and someone asked him for an autograph. Leo signed a notebook and glanced over his shoulder to check on Violet. She’d slowed her steps, watching him over her shoulder as well.

He waved, then turned back, just before a woman in tight Wranglers threw herself into his arms, nearly knocking him over.

His ex.

She still had that same dancing, sparkling smile and that familiar way of wrapping herself around him like she belonged in his arms. It was awkward. Especially since he had a feeling Violet was still watching. And for some reason, that idea bothered him more than he figured it probably should.

CHAPTER 4

During Thanksgiving dinner—held a day later due to a hockey game—at Maverick Blade’s old farmhouse just outside Sweetheart Creek, Leo had been happily seated beside Violet. The guys, Maverick, Dak and Dylan, had teased him, and he’d teased them right back. He’d pushed it a bit too far with Dylan, the team’s injured center, though. At one point he’d sent his own chair crashing as he tried to escape a fake lunge, after ribbing Dylan about being an older-than-average player.

It had been a fun night. Really fun.

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