Page 51 of Ice Contact

“Hayes should be out in a minute.” He glances behind me, leaning in a little closer, and whispers. “If you tell him I said this, he’ll kill me, but that man has it bad for you.” He smiles and winks at us as he walks away.

I cannot imagine how red my cheeks must be at this moment, and from the look on Maggie’s face she’s about to explode with excitement.

“I told you, Olivia! Hayes has it bad for you. Even the captain agrees!” Maggie shouts as she pats my arm in excitement.

“Okay, yes...you were right, Mags. Just be cool about it, okay?”

“When have I ever been anything but the epitome of cool?”

I roll my eyes, the back of my neck prickling. Looking over, I see Hayes heading our way. I swear to all things holy, this man in a suit has my knees weak and he’s not even touching me. It’s like a slow-motion scene in a movie, and he’s walking towards me with the songLet’s Get It Onplaying in the background. When he’s finally close enough, he pulls me into a hug. His hair is still wet, and whatever shampoo he has in the locker room smells like mint and cedar.God, that smell is intoxicating. He pulls back from our embrace, giving me a quick kiss. The sound of a fake cough pulls me out of my trance.

Okay, maybe it wasn’t a quick kiss.

“Hayes, this is my best friend, Maggie, who apparently needs a cough drop,” I snark giving Maggie some serious side-eye. “And Maggie, this is Hayes,” I say introducing them, my cheeks hot.

“I have heard so much about you, Hayes; it’s nice to finally put a face with a name.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Hayes smiles, shaking her hand.

“But just know, if you hurt Olivia, I will literally murder you.”

“Maggie, oh my God, stop it,” I shout, punching her arm.

“I see your friend watches a lot of true crime shows too.” Hayes laughs giving me a wicked side-eye. “Don’t worry, Maggie. We’re on the same team here. No one will hurt Oliviaeveragain.” Warmth surrounds my heart, my thighs squeezing tight as he pulls me closer, his arm wrapped around my waist. I’m not a damsel in distress by any means, but the thought of him being protective over me is surprisingly hot.I would totally bail this man out of jail for defending me.

“I like this guy, Liv,” Maggie says with a wink. “One hell of an improvement compared to the last one; I can’t wait to get to know you better. But I need to be going, so I’ll leave you two love birds alone.”

“Thanks for the ride to the game, Mags, and for helping me brave the WAGs.” I hug her goodbye, thankful to have someone like her in my life.

“Anytime I get to help you with something that involves free food and alcohol, you have my number. Love you, girl! Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Hayes and I wave goodbye to Maggie as she walks away.

“Let’s get out of here,” he says, taking my hand and walking me toward the players’ parking lot.

“Sorry you lost. That last goal for the other team was such a fluke,” I say, bumping into him with my shoulder. “But you looked great out there. Thanks for inviting me; I loved watching you play.”

“Thanks, sweet girl. Losing always sucks, but I feel like I played my game tonight. I wished we could have pulled out the win for you.”

“Do you want to know what my favorite part of the game was?”

“Harley throwing free t-shirts?”

“No,” I say with a laugh, rolling my eyes. “My favorite part was watching you slide down the bench between shifts.”

Hayes gasps, a baffled look on his face. “Thatwas your favorite part of the game? Not watching me sprint down the ice trying to beat a guy to the puck? Or slamming someone into the boards? Or my assist? My goal?”

“I mean…those were all great, but watching you slide down the bench is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You scoot your butt down first, then shift your upper body to meet it. All the other guys slide down in one motion. But you go ass first. And for some reason, I couldn’t wait for you to get off the ice so I could see this little moment only I was noticing.”

As we reach his spot, he crowds me against his car and tucks a curl of my hair behind my ear, giving me another one of his smoldering smiles. “I never realized I scooted differently than my teammates, but I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He brushes his thumb across my lip, tingles racing across my body and pooling in my core. “My favorite part of the game was knowing you were in the stands watching. Wearing my jersey. Screaming my name. I felt like I was on fire knowing you were here.”

“I’m glad I could help. You were a force to be reckoned with tonight.”

Leaning down, he growls, “I’m going to be an even bigger force to be reckoned with once I get you home, just you wait, siren. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

34

hayes

The energy I have after a game is hard to get rid of. My adrenaline runs at full speed for hours during the game, then it’s over. I shower and rest, but my mind is wide awake, replaying every moment of the game, and my body jitters as if I just shotgunned three energy drinks. It’s a high that’s hard to come down from. The team nutritionists give us supplements for better sleep, but with just a short practice tomorrow, I’m not taking any of those tonight.I want this energy for Olivia.I don’t think she has any idea what she’s in for with post-game Hayes Larson at the helm.

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