Page 70 of The Flirty Forward

“You didn’t. What was that? Aiden scored on you twice.”

Rico scowls. “I know.”

I frown; he rarely misses a stop. “Everything good with you?”

“Yeah. How about you? I’m sorry about your niece.”

“What? Did they make a team announcement or something?” I frown.

“Gunner told me.” I shake my head. Sometimes these guys are worse than females with all their gossip. “He was worried about you,” he adds.

“I’m fine, and yeah. She’s okay. She passed out and hit her head, earning her eight stitches. But she’ll be okay.”

He grimaces. “How old is she?”

“Eleven.”

“That’s tough.”

“Yeah.” I don’t say anything else as we head to our borrowed locker room. Coach follows us into the locker room and gives us details about tomorrow night’s game. I absently wonder if Keith invited Stephanie over for Sunday brunch and what she said if he did.

The rest of the day passes in a series of scheduled events—press conference, private interview, signing some giveaways, answering questions from Chloe for our fan page. It’s not until later that night that I’m able to track down Aiden’s phone and make a few calls to get Stephanie's car back to her. I send her a text thanking her again for what she did for Kayla and tellingher goodnight. I try to keep it lighthearted, since I won’t have Aiden’s phone to be able to text her again.

I settle in bed that night in my hotel room and stare up at the ceiling. I wish I had my phone to call Stephanie and talk to her again, see how she’s doing. Later, I reach for it to order flowers to send as a thank you before I realize that I don’t it. I grunt in irritation; it’s such a handicap without my phone. It’s going to be a long few days before I can get home and get it. It takes a long time to fall asleep.

The next night, the energy in the arena is palpable. I’ve spent all day thinking about Stephanie, but now my attention is fixed one hundred percent on this game. I skate around the rink, warming up and mentally going through my pre-game warm-up. I scan the crowd, even though I know my family isn’t going to be here. It’s just too far. I pull my gaze away and focus it on the puck at my feet. I’m going to take every ounce of my frustration and pour it out on the ice tonight. I want to be able to sleep as soon as my head hits the pillow tonight.

A few minutes later, we’re lined up and ready to start. The hockey puck is dropped, and Aiden sends the puck sailing to Gunner. And just like that, we’re off. I let the noise around me fade and focus in on the tiny circular disk sliding across the ice. Tonight, it’s just about it and me and how many times I can get it into enemy territory and into their net. The first period is about to end when I get a pass from Gunner. I skate towards the net, the puck nearly attached to my stick. I send it backwards to Aiden, knowing without looking that he’s behind me. He sends it sailing into the net.Score!We huddle together and then finish out the first period.

The second period ends with a score of 2-0. We head into the third period ready to finish this thing. Rico plays a perfect game, and we score one more goal in the third period. We finish the game and celebrate in the locker room. Coach follows us in. “Andthat’s how it’s done.” We celebrate some more before we start showering and changing.

“Dinner at Truckie’s,” Gunner tells the team. It’s one of our favorite spots when we’re here. It’s a hole in the wall that serves the best bbq ribs and brisket in Texas. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I shower quickly, wondering if Aiden will let me borrow his phone on the way over to dinner.

On the bus, I call Keith first to get an update on Kayla. “Congrats on the win,” Keith says.

“Thanks. How’s Kayla?”

“She’s good. We came home last night. We kept her home from school today, but she wants to go back tomorrow.”

I can tell he’s nervous about it, and I don’t blame him. I would be too. “She’ll be okay.”

“I know.” His voice is rough, and I don’t push the issue.

“Did you get a chance to invite Stephanie to brunch?”

“Yes.”

“And?” I prompt when he doesn’t say anything more.

“She said she’d come.”

“Really?” I can’t keep the surprise out of my voice. I didn’t think she would go. I wonder absently if it’s because I won’t be there.

“I think she only said yes because she feels guilty.”

I frown. “She shouldn’t feel that way.”

“I know. I’ve tried telling her that and so has Kristin, but...” His words trail off.

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