Page 56 of Hot for the Hockey Player
I glanced at the clock on my laptop; the hour had flown by.My palms were sweaty, and an anxious tingle raced up and down through my arms.I knew what I had said was controversial and would undoubtedly wind me up in hot water, but I didn’t care.Protecting predators needed to stop.And if I was the one to shake the tree so the bad apples in the NHL fell to the ground for the bears to feed on, then so be it.
Jasmine wrapped up our conversation with a few lighter questions that I answered.Just before she ended the recording, I snapped my fingers.“Hey, a new friend of mine is ahugefan.Do you think you could give a shout out to Jillian Sharpe?”
Jasmine’s dark eyes lit up.“Jillian, girl, I hope your day is going great and I want to have you on my show too.Pester Maverick to give you my number.Thanks for being a fan and listening.”
“She’s going to lose her mind,” I said with a smile.
“I can’t wait to meet her.”She ended the recording, and I closed my eyes and pressed the heels of my palms against my forehead.
“You did great,” she said, still on the screen.“Regret anything?”
I removed my hands and shook my head.“No.”
“You’re a good man, Maverick Roy.We need more like you out there.In a world filled with red flag guys, you’re a green flag hero showing us all that your kind still does exist.We just have to dig through the red flag rubble to find you.”
Even though I hadn’t moved from my seat on the couch, I was exhausted.My smile remained small as I thanked Jasmine for having me on.
“I’ll send you a copy of the recording, hopefully tomorrow night.If I can’t get it up Monday, definitely Tuesday.”Her lips twisted in thought.“You know … you should consider hosting your own podcast.Be theanti-Germaine Pratt.Talk about healthy masculinity and respect.Be the antidote to Pratt’s poison.Unbrainwash the lost boys out there.”
I huffed a laugh.“That’s a good term for them, ‘lost boys.’”
“Feel free to use it on your podcast.”She bobbed her brows playfully.“All right, I gotta get editing.Chat soon, Maverick.Keep doing rehab and hopefully we’ll see you back on the ice during the playoffs.”
“Take care, Jasmine.Thanks again.”
We signed off, and I closed my eyes once more, scrolling through our conversation and knowing that as soon as it went live, my life, and my career, were absolutely going to change.
Maybe it was time to shake things up.
Maybe, just maybe, my time in the NHL was coming to a close.
The big question was: how did I feel about that?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Gabrielle
Wedidn’tseeMaverickon Saturday or Sunday.I know Damon texted him to see if he could come over, but my son never told me Maverick’s reason for saying no.
The breathing room was welcomed.
Not that Maverick was smothering us or anything, but I needed to clear my head and not be so flustered by his …everything.
Was I continuing on my cowardly path of avoiding him?I sure was.But for now, I couldn’t think of any other solution.
Sunday night, I cooked an enormous roast with all the sides, even Yorkshire pudding, and had my cousins, their kids, and Jagger over for dinner.
Of course, Damon asked if he could invite Maverick too, and while I didn’t say no, I exhaled a deep sigh of relief when Maverick said he couldn’t make it.
Damon, unfortunately, pouted the entire night, barely engaging with his cousins, or Jagger, as they played video games in my living room before dinner.
“So, how goes things with the hockey stud?”Naomi asked as she stirred the gravy.Danica was busy pushing the Brussels sprouts around the cast-iron frying pan, and Raina—who had freaky good knife skills—carved the roast.I’d just finished mashing the potatoes and was now transferring them to a smaller bowl.
I glanced at Naomi out of the corner of my eye.“Nothing ‘goes.’”
Her brows climbed until they hid beneath her dark, swoopy, wavy bangs.“Touchy.”
“I’m avoiding him,” I murmured, dropping my voice low so nobody in the living room could hear me.
