Page 60 of Slap Shot
"Anyone want to grab lunch?" Kane asked. "That new place downtown?"
"I'm in," Dmitri said. "Need real food after all that exercise."
"Chenny?" Marcus looked at him expectantly.
Oliver was already thinking about calling Heather, about seeing her again, about continuing the conversation they'd started last night about what their relationship meant and how they were going to handle it.
"Rain check," he said. "Got some plans." The less they knew about his life outside hockey, the safer they'd be if his past ever surfaced. Some risks weren't worth sharing.
"Plans," Marcus repeated with obvious curiosity. "Personal plans?"
"Something like that."
Kane was watching him with the sharp attention that made him a good captain. "You've seemed different lately. In a good way, but different. Everything okay?"
The concern in his captain's voice made Oliver's chest tight. These guys cared about him, had his back through everything, and he was keeping secrets that affected all of them. Not justabout Heather, but about his role in the cyber attacks, his criminal past, everything he'd worked to keep hidden.
"Yeah, just figuring some things out," Oliver said, which was as close to the truth as he could manage.
"Good things?" Kane asked.
Oliver thought about Heather's smile, about the way she'd looked at him when she'd said she loved him, about the possibility of building something real with someone who understood both his strengths and his vulnerabilities.
"Yeah," he said, unable to keep the warmth out of his voice. "Really good things."
Kane grinned. "About time, man. You deserve some happiness."
As Oliver gathered his gear, he caught Marcus and Kane exchanging a look that suggested they'd figured out more than they were letting on. But instead of feeling anxious about it, he was almost relieved. Maybe keeping secrets wasn't as necessary as he'd thought. Maybe his teammates would understand more than he gave them credit for.
Walking to his car with Charlie, Oliver pulled out his phone to call Heather. The conversation about their future couldn't wait any longer. Not when everything else in his life was finally falling into place.
Chapter Nineteen
Heather
The Thai food in the containers spread across Heather's coffee table looked more appetizing than anything she'd eaten in weeks. Oliver sat beside her on the couch, close enough that their thighs touched. Charlie had positioned himself strategically between the couch and the kitchen, prime real estate for any dropped food.
They ate while discussing everything except the thumb drive sitting in her laptop bag. Oliver told her about practice, about Dmitri's latest creative interpretation of English idioms, about Allison's new recipe that had the entire team volunteering for dinner invitations. Normal couple conversation that was both natural and surreal given their circumstances.
"This is nice," she said, twirling pad thai around her fork. "Eating actual dinner instead of protein bars and coffee."
"Revolutionary concept," Oliver said, stealing a piece of her spring roll. "Though I have to admit, your ordering skills are impressive. That green curry is perfect."
"Years of practice. When you work late as much as I do, you learn which places don't skimp on the good stuff." Heather leaned into his shoulder. "I could get used to this."
"Eating dinner?"
"Eating dinner with you. Without having to worry about who might see us or whether we're sitting too close." She kissed his jaw. "I like being able to touch you without checking over my shoulder."
Oliver's arm tightened around her. "Me too. It's nice not having to pretend we're just colleagues when we're clearly much more than that."
"Much more," she agreed. “Sneaking around is getting old fast with Ivy breathing down our necks.”
"Let her complain." Oliver's voice carried an edge. “We caught Kai. I think that counts for something."
“Kai, and it looks like Travis was somehow in on it too. What did Kai offer him that was worth throwing away his career?"
"Has to be more than just money. Travis had a good job, steady income." Oliver reached for his beer. "Something personal motivated him to risk everything."
