Page 1 of No Pucks Given
Chapter 1
Siobhan
Life had been crazy, and until last week, it made my character’s life on Shady Oaks look boring. Then again, Celia was the good twin, and she kept herself out of trouble. But now my twin sister was poisoning me so she could steal my baby. But everyone promised that I wasn’t being killed off, so I didn’t know what the writers had in store for Celia next.
Got to love soap opera storylines.
Still, I loved being home with my girl. Sadly, tonight wasn’t a night when I could try to be the best mom possible.
Instead, I rushed around the house trying to gather everything Stephanie would need to spend the next three days with her grandparents.
Stephanie sat at the island, chewing on her pencil rather than actually doing her homework. As I passed by, I said, “Focus. Your nan will be angry if you don’t have it done.”
Like any unhappy eight-year-old, she pulled an angry face before whining, “Why can’t I be with you or Dad?”
I forced a smile. I swear, I had to explain it to her every other week whenever there was a custody swap. Too bad I couldn’t tell her the truth. That her dad was a selfish asshole who couldn’t be bothered to spend any time with his daughter after he insisted custody be split. On top of that, he was so petty that if I didn’t drop her off at her grandparents, he would drag me to court.
Instead, I would tell his amazing kid a lie.
“Maybe your dad will show up, but don’t hold your breath. He’s filming.”
Well, rumor had it he was just shacked up with his latest girlfriend in California. He hadn’t had a proper acting job in months, but he loved to act like he was working.
“But I always see you, and you have to film every day.”
I sucked in my breath and tried not to look at her. There was a reason I loved working for Shady Oaks. They were so family-friendly, and with such a large ensemble cast, I rarely had to film super late. Even weeks like this, when I was in the main plot line, they did a great job of filming most of my scenes early in the day.
I kissed her forehead and tapped the counter. “My job is special. Come on. Do your homework. Then we have to get you dropped off.”
I always missed Stephanie when she wasn’t with me. I was grateful that Natalie invited me to a girls’ night out not too long after the drop off.
Natalie had been a godsend in my life. Not only was she doing a great job promoting both me and my fashion line, but she’d also been a really good friend and always seemed to know when I needed a night out.
Getting to the bar, I looked for her and her friends. I didn’t spot Natalie, but her friends JillAnne and Rory were in a corner booth. I was surprised she wasn’t here yet, since she was always on time. As soon as we ordered chardonnay and some appetizers, Natalie walked into the bar.
Rory called out, “Oh my god, Nat. Where have you been?”
“Dealing with hockey player crap,” Natalie said as she flopped onto the sofa and immediately reached for the menu.
Natalie helped a few of the Vancouver Legacy hockey players with their social media and did personal assistant stuff for a few of them. That included her brother, Carter Carmichael, and his best friend, Spencer Suzuki. There were a couple of others on her client list, but I wasn’t sure who they were since she never mentioned them.
I had to ask if it was her brother. “Oh, it better not be my guy.”
He was one fine hockey player. I wanted to meet him so badly, but thanks to being a single mom, I didn’t have time to date, and our charity work never seemed to line up. It hadn’t worked out yet, but Natalie kept swearing we would be a good match.
Natalie was quick to say, “No. Carter is still the boyfriend of your dreams.”
The conversation turned toward Natalie’s dating life and how hung up she was on Spencer Suzuki. I felt dumb for not picking up on that crush sooner. I blamed myself for not paying better attention.
But the more I thought about everything, the more I realized she and Spencer would be so cute together. If things worked out with her hooking me and Carter up, I could totally set her up on a double date. All she needed to do was introduce me to her brother, and then I could get to work. Then we could all live happily ever after together.
Thank God, Natalie said she would do the introduction tomorrow. All I had to do was show up at a place called Jokers.
Chapter 2
Carter
Winning the opening game was the perfect way to open up the season. But just as much fun was winning the first darts tournament of the season.
