Page 146 of The Maxwell Brothers
I burst out laughing because he didn’t only sound serious but also domineering.
“No, I won’t. Besides, I don’t even know how to do that.”
“What?”
“Tempt you.”
His smile widened. It was confident and sexy and made me weak in the knees. “In that case, I’m more than happy to temptyou.”
“Oooh… should I brace myself?”
“Fuck yes.”
CHAPTER 8
TYLER
"Dude,you're in better shape every day," Donnie, the newest transfer to the Chicago Blades, said on Tuesday.
We were in our team’s gym. Hanging out with the guys was hands down the one thing keeping me sane. I felt I was part of the team just because we were working out together. The guys had lost the first away game, and morale was low. Jett was avoiding conversation.
"I feel great, and my physical therapist says my shoulder is healing." During the session, I was also lifting arm weights, but I was under strict instructions not to do them on my own so I wouldn’t accidentally reinjure anything. Here with the guys, I only did cardio, weight training for my legs, and core muscle building. We had a team trainer, but my PT was a control freak, and until I was good as new, I didn’t mind following the program.
I wasn’t one to follow the rules, but I’d do anything to get back on the ice.
"How is your volunteering going?"
"I like it. Working with kids reminds me why I started playing and loving hockey in the first place: because I liked the game. Winning is just the icing on the cake." I increased thespeed on the treadmill again, thinking about Kendra. Every time I remembered how she grew up, it had felt like a punch to my stomach. I’d always had my whole family backing me up no matter what. I honestly couldn't imagine how it must feel to take the world on by yourself. I had immense respect for Kendra and her sister.
Last night, it had taken every ounce of my self-control to leave Kendra’s apartment. All I’d wanted was to stay. I wantedher. But even though she’d tried to put on a brave face, she’d been shaken, and I wasn’t an asshole. I wasn’t going to take advantage of her.
I had a great plan. I was going to lay the groundwork while she was away, and once she was back, all bets were off.
"Dude, we need to bring the Stanley Cup home this year too," Steve said. He was on the rowing machine. Damn thing was practically a full-body workout.
“I second that,” Bob said. He was closest to us, lifting weights and eavesdropping. Bob was on the first line, left wing—and nosy.
“Hey, why don’t you all stop gossiping and focus?” Steve called out.
“Yes, Captain,” Bob replied.
Once I finished training, I went to our lounge area, where we relaxed after workouts. We also had a huge screen and comfortable couches here. We used the room mostly to watch games and analyze plays, both of other teams and ours.
To my surprise, our manager joined us. He rarely came here. John Daniels was fifty-five and was known as the most business-oriented manager in the league. He had gray hair cropped short, and always wore a suit. I respected him for his ability to bring in the best players. But he saw this as a business only, and I didn’t like it.
“Boys, don’t let me keep you from whatever you’re doing,” he said as Steve pressed Play on the last game. “I only want to talk to Tyler.”
We stepped outside the room.
"How is your shoulder?"
"Didn't you get the report from the physical therapist?"
He nodded. "I did, but I want your take on it. There's a lot of medical jargon in there. I want to know how you feel about it."
"It's solid. In about two more weeks, I'll probably be able to start training with the team again and shortly after ready for play."
He looked at me, nodding and frowning. "Good. Keep up with the physical therapy and the weight training. And the volunteering, how is that going?"
