Page 143 of Gloves Off

Darcy turns that curious gaze back to me, about to say something, but Tate approaches with his daughter.

I beam at her. “Hi, Bea.”

“Hi.” She gives me and Darcy a shy smile. She has Tate’s green eyes and his dark hair. Ugh. My heart. She’s so freaking cute.

“Look at how much fun they’re having,” Tate says, gesturing at the ice. “You want to play hockey?”

She grins. “No,” she says firmly, and we laugh.

Tate pretends to look heartbroken. “Aw, come on.”

“No.” She shakes her head.

He smiles at her like she’s everything to him. “The queen has spoken.” She tugs him toward the catered food. “All right, I promised her cookies.”

We smile after them but my attention is snagged by my husband, skating to a stop in front of the bench to speak to Luca.

“Rookie.” Alexei gestures to him. “You want to lead them through the stretch?”

“You bet, boss.” Luca grins and the two of them gather the girls into a circle on the ice, Luca sitting in the center, while the rest of the Storm players head over to us at the bench.

Hayden pulls his helmet off and drops a quick kiss on Darcy’s mouth. “Hi, honey.”

“Thanks for coming tonight,” I tell him. “I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t worry about it. That was fun.” He gives me a good-natured smile. “Besides, I didn’t have a choice. Volkov said it was mandatory.”

He wiggles his eyebrows at me before he and Darcy head over to where the other Storm players sign autographs and take pictures with the parents.

Alexei skates to a stop in front of me. “Why are you hiding behind the bench?”

“I was giving you room to coach.”

“You’re the coach. Not me.”

I lift a shoulder, smiling. “I didn’t mind letting you take the lead tonight.”

“Oh yeah?” He arches an eyebrow, eyes sparking. “You don’t mind me taking the lead?”

“Controlling,” I say lightly, but I’m smiling, and from the way his mouth tips up, he knows I don’t mean it.

“Come here,” he says, watching me with a look that makes my stomach dip with excitement.

“Why?”

“I’m going to kiss you.”

Another dip. “Because everyone’s going to see.”

“Sure. We’ll go with that.”

I lift my chin in defiance. “You come here, then.”

He grips the front of my jacket, holding my eyes, slowly pulling me toward him, before he gives me a soft, sweet kiss.

I like this too much. It’s a problem.

“Was that so bad?” His voice is a low murmur against my lips.

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