Page 105 of Lucky Laces
“But—”
“Rightbehind you,” he says quietly.
Their gazes connect.
And then Tiff smiles and nods, dropping her hand to her side.“Okay,” she replies just as quietly before she slips away.
Jean-Michel watches her go then turns back to us, staying where he is for a long moment, studying us with unfathomable eyes.
“It’s not like you think,” Dee blurts, stepping out from between me and the wall, positioning herself in front of me.
Protecting me.
Yeah, no.
That’s not going to happen.
I slip an arm around her middle, tug her back into my side at the same time that Jean-Michel’s brows fly up.“What doyouthink I think?”
She pulls at my arm, and when I don’t release her, shoots an annoyed look in my direction, but doesn’t comment on my hold.Instead, she focuses on Jean-Michel.“Hudson and I are not just a quick fling?—”
“I got that from what you were shouting down the hall,” he says dryly.
DeeDee’s cheeks go pink, but her chin lifts.“Right, well, I just?—”
Jean-Michel moves closer, eyes connecting with mine for a long moment before he turns to her.“Do you know why I hired you?”
“Auclair—” She begins, naming the former head coach of the Eagles.
“No,” he says and the word’s sharp enough to stop anything else she might have said.“The reason I hired you has absolutely nothing to do with that asshole.”
Her hand clenches into the waistband of my jeans and I draw her a little closer.
“I hired you because you’re smart as fuck, hardworking, come with impeccable references, and you care about the guys.”His mouth twitches.“Now did I expect you to fall for one”—his smile grows—“even one as great as Huddy here?”
I snort.
He goes on like I haven’t made a sound.“No, of course I didn’t.And I wouldn’t have wanted you to deal with the comments that are going to be coming your way or the trolls or the dickheads who think they get to have an opinion about who you love”—she jerks slightly but doesn’t interrupt (a good thing because Jean-Michel doesn’t stop talking)—“but I have no fucking room to talk either.”
“You don’t?”she asks.
“My daughter is married to our captain, is having his baby.My adopted daughter is engaged to the team’s leading scorer.I’m about to marry a woman who’s twenty years my junior and has deep ties to one of our biggest competitors in the division.”He shrugs.“So, Ireallyhave no room to talk to you guys about appropriate or inappropriate relationships.”
“Oh,” she whispers, relaxing against me.
“The bottom line is that the heart is a strange and complicated thing and—fuck me—but half the time it seems to make decisions that are as bewildering as possible and our brains are stuck just following behind.”A shake of his head.“And I’m guessing it’s the same for you two—your hearts led and next thing you knew…” He juts his chin toward our bodies, pressed tightly together.“And next thing you knew, you werethere.”
I look down, see thetherehe’s referring to.
God, I love that she can be in my arms, love how she feels pressed close against me, love that when she glances up at me and I smooth her hair back, her green eyes darken to emerald and her expression grows soft.
For me.
Mine.
And that thought has me forgetting, for a moment anyway, that we have an audience.I lean down, settle my forehead against hers.“My heart led me to you the first time I saw you kick ass on the ice,” I murmur.
Lush lips curve and she reaches up, touches my cheek, fingertips running through the bristles of my beard.“Thank God that earthquake clued me in to how special you were, huh?”
