Anything.

The door closed behind her.

Chapter 2

“You didn’t quit.”

It was Monday afternoon and Chadwick Mullens stood in Athena’s office doorway, one thick, muscled shoulder pressing into the doorjamb.

Athena’d had a feeling he’d appear at some point today, but not to apologize for Friday’s drinking at the gala. Any time a player missed an appointment with her—or the team’s physical therapist—the managers and coaches heard about it. As a result, she had very few no-shows, even if the men didn’t always follow her advice or their personalized meal plans.

And since Chad was no longer in her calendar—thanks to her removal of him—the word had likely reached their head coach, and therefore gotten back to Chad.

You mess with the bull, you’re going to get the horns. Merry Christmas, Chadwick.

Athena continued working, ignoring the sting of guilt she felt for her bold move in having him taken off her roster. A few years ago she’d never have had the guts. But now that she was in her thirties? Well, she had a new confidence in herself, her skills, and also in how she expected to be treated.

Living with a hockey player—even for only five months—had taught her a lot.

She studiously kept her focus on tweaking the formatting for a gluten-free recipe, ready to defend her position on removing him from her appointment book. Unlike Chad, the player who’d requested the recipe was fully on board with taking care of his health and building his strength in order to contribute to the team. No matter what.

Maybe it was because he was responsible for a family. Or maybe his wife figured that, for the sake of sanity, the family of five would all eat the same meals. Which meant they ate gluten-free to accommodate their seven-year-old celiac son, something Athena was more than happy to incorporate when sharing recipes to go with the man’s dietary plan.

Maybe that was what Chad needed to whip him into shape—a family. Things changed when you were responsible for others, and a wife and kids might offer a little motivation to alter his self-centered actions and toe the line.

“What are you snorting about?” he asked.

“Imagining you as a dad.”

She adjusted the spacing on the digital document and sent it to her printer.

“What? Why?” He jerked upright in the doorway.

She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her sweetened huckleberry tea.

“You pregnant?” His tone went softer, more seductive, undoubtedly with the intention of melting her undergarments. Little did he know hers were made of high-quality steel and were unmeltable by the likes of him. “Because I’ve heard I can get a woman in the family way with just one look. Never had a chance to prove it until now.”

She sprayed the mouthful of tea back into her cup and started coughing.

Grinning, Chad took that as an invitation, entering the room and settling into the chair opposite her desk.

Eyes watering, Athena spun in her chair to grab the papers from her whirling printer. A stack of boxes was in the way, so she stood and moved a heavy carton of books aside, then snatched the recipes, tucking one into the player’s folder and the extra into a folder for her NHL cookbook project.

Chad had made himself comfortable and was grinning at her confidently while man-spreading in the chair across from her desk. Worse, he sported that wicked, unpredictable twitch of his lips where she never knew what he was going to say next.

“Did you need something?” she snapped. It was becoming clear that he hadn’t heard from the coach. Which meant he’d be visiting her office a second time this week. And that was twice more than she could handle.

“Maybe you did quit.” He leaned forward, squinting at the text on one of the boxes taking over her space. “Moving out?”

“You wish.”

She dropped into her chair, guiltily silencing her cell phone, which chirped with an incoming call from her mom. Darianna was having another tough day, her multiple sclerosis flaring up, and Athena had promised to get a grocery list from her. Her dad could run out, but Athena felt better having him at home when her mom was going through a rough patch. Plus she quite enjoyed grocery shopping, and her father always forgot one or two key items on the list.

“New cookbooks for us to take home?” Chad asked, gesturing to the boxes.

“To use as doorstops? Not a chance.”

“Coordinating another food drive for hungry kids?”