Page 102 of Off The Ice

Maggie hit him, but luckily, they were beyond the guy’s notice.

Cassie was blushing as if she hadn’t expected such a reaction from my teammates.

And who could blame her?

For most guys, getting into a relationship was just another part of life—something that happened, something that wasn’t a big deal.

But for me? It was unheard of.

I wasn’t the guy people expected to settle down. I wasn’t the guy who let someone in.

But here Cassie was.

The first. Maybe the only.

The only girl who’d ever called me that in public. The only girl I could picture ever letting.

Even if it wasn’t real.

“Well, we’ll leave all you little love birds alone.” Ryan snickered. “Who knows? Maybe after tonight, half the Harbor Wolves will be paired off, and we can all take cutesy trips together to the mountains or some shit.”

Jesus Christ.

The team was close, but sometimes they were unbearable. I just didn’t have the energy half the time to deal with their back-and-forth banter.

Or maybe I just couldn’t handle all the conversations about my fake relationship when half of me was over the moon that people thought it could be true while the other half of me was torn to shreds, knowing it wasn’t.

Cassie’s hand left my arm as soon as they disappeared.

“You didn’t tell me what a big deal this was,” she said. “Am I going to be the Yoko Ono of the night?”

I arched a brow, laughing at the comment. “What band are you breaking up tonight?”

She groaned. “I just mean, is everyone going to hate me for taking the most eligible bachelor off the market?”

“I’m definitely not the most eligible,” I said dryly.

“Yeah!” she exclaimed. “Not now that I’ve crept in and stole you away from the mass of women who are going to want to murder me!”

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.” I frowned at the thought. “I promise.”

She sank lower into her seat. “I just hate when people are mad at me.”

“No one’s going to be mad at you, Cass.” I tucked my head down to be level with her as she crouched down. “And if they are, I’ll beat them up. Okay?”

She laughed, not knowing how true my words were.

“Can I tell you something?” she asked.

“Anything,” I said.

“I’m a little intimidated being here with you,” she said, making my heart sink. “I didn’t realize how big of a deal you were at first, and I feel like I still don’t have the whole picture of it.

“I’m not.” I shook my head, trying to deny it.

Trying to not let that aspect of my career that I’d always despised ruin whatever precarious thing there was between us.

“You are.” She nodded. “I mean, people I work with actually talk about you in the break room. That’s crazy, right? Everyone in this state knows who you are.”

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