Page 101 of Grumpy Darling

I knew he was trying to motivate me, but I only felt more pressure. A part of me wanted to stay out here just to spite him. But as much as I didn’t want to let myself down, the thought of letting my teammates and my brother down was worse. It was a big game for him too.

“Okay, okay. I’m coming,” I grumbled. Maybe this was the reason Reed was captain of the team. He always found ways of getting even the most stubborn of us to fall into line.

“But I really was just training.”

“If you say so.” Did he have to sound quite so smug?

When we arrived home, the Raiders game had already started and most of the family were crowded around the TV in the living room to watch it. Given the grimace on my dad’s face, my future team wasn’t playing well.

“You’re back,” Paige said, jumping up from her seat on the floor. The way her deep brown eyes sparkled with warmth as she smiled up at me was like a sledgehammer to the chest. I guess I’d found a better way to punish myself than what I’d been putting myself through on the lake.

“What’d I miss?” I grunted, nodding at the screen.

“Not much,” Paige replied.

“You don’t want to know,” Dad added.

I wasn’t exactly surprised. The Raiders were still having a rough season, and if they kept this up, Reed and I were going to have a lot of work to do when we joined them next year. My knee throbbed, reminding me I might not make it that far.

Parker was sitting on the couch next to my dad and groaned as Ryker missed another opportunity to score. “You sure you want to play for them? I know Dad went there, but the signing isn’t until Saturday, so you could still change your mind...”

Dad whacked him with the back of his hand.

“What?” Parker said. “It’s true.”

“No one’s changing their mind about anything,” Reed replied, giving me a pointed look as he took the free spot on the couch and made himself comfortable.

“I’m going to go hop in the shower,” Paige said, giving my arm a light squeeze as she walked past. “Maybe they’ll be winning by the time I get back.”

I instinctively followed her from the room. She was like a magnet, and I often felt like she could pull me just about anywhere. “How’d it go with Bonnie?”

“Pretty good, actually,” she said as we stepped into the hallway. “She was so impressed by my interviews she wants me to do more.”

“That’s great.”

“She even said she thought I should pursue this further. Like, in college. Or even as a job one day.”

“I’m not surprised,” I said. “You’d be great.”

Her face seemed to glow in response. The lights overhead briefly flickered, but that was nothing new in this house and I barely noticed. I was too busy looking at Paige. She gave a cautious glance upward before focusing on me again.

“It was only one comment from Bonnie. Just because she says one article turned out okay, it doesn’t mean I’m suddenly good at writing.”

“I’d say it means a lot coming from Bonnie.”

Paige shrugged and averted her eyes, but I could tell she was secretly proud of herself.

“I never really considered working in sports,” she continued. “I mean, I can’t shoot a puck to save my life.”

“There’s a lot more to hockey than the players on the ice,” I said. “And I watched you giving your interviews—the guys were so happy to talk to you. If this is something you want, I have no doubt you can do it.”

“Thanks, Gray.” When she smiled up at me, my heart lurched and I couldn’t ignore the sparks flaring between us. Her gaze seemed to intensify as she returned mine, and when she bit her lower lip, I desperately wondered what she could be thinking.

The lights flickered again and Paige glanced upward once more, breaking the moment. “Is your dad ever going to fix the wiring?”

“Probably not,” I replied. “I think he likes to live life on the edge.”

“I think so too.”

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