Page 19 of Hot Damn
“That’s not my experience with journalists.”
“But Cami…wait. You don’t know?”
“Don’t know what?”
“Um, well, she’s um, one of?—”
“Bran!” Coach Watts sticks her head in the door. “Five minutes before we need to go.”
“Shit!” He launches to his feet. “Sorry. I’m ready. Coming. Two seconds.”
I have to hide my smile when Coach sends him a scowl before disappearing.
“Sorry, the wife calls. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”
It’s amazing to see Branton and Coach Watts working together. If you didn’t know anything about them, you’d never guess they were married. They keep their personal life personal and their professional life professional.
Come to think of it, so do Coach Alcott and Oakley James.
I really need to do more research on the team I play for. Find out all the connections within the team because if I’m going to be more involved in the Rogues, I should know who’s who and what’s what outside of the men I take the ice with.
I’ll start by getting to know Noah and Mikel.
Cami
The second Beckett Higgison enters the suite my whole body goes tense. In spite of the success of last night’s interview, he still emanates hostility whenever he looks my way.
I don’t know what I did that would cause his dislike—and let’s be real, it’s more disdain than dislike—and for some reason my natural instinct to duck and run isn’t there.
I’ve thought about it for the last hour. The presence of Noah Hubert and Mikel Vinter hasn’t helped temper Beckett’s distrust.
And that’s it in a nutshell. He doesn’t trust me.
I can’t blame him. He barely knows me and our first introduction was at the press conference where Draper attempted to tear him down. Even with my treatment of our casual interview yesterday, Beckett shouldn’t blindly trust me.
I respect that.
Even if I want to do everything in my power to change his mind about me.
The aversion I have toward athletes isn’t throwing up the usual red flags or walls. And where I’d normally keep my distance, especially from the ones who are contracted to represent Rogue sportswear and now the Rogues, I find myself wanting to get closer toBeckett.
I don’t understand the draw. He’s good looking, I can admit that, and he seems like a nice guy, hell, the man has protected his daughter from the spotlight for seventeen years. Maybe that’s it.
Maybe, the fact he’s done his best to shield Whitney, to keep her from being the center of scandal, is what has me wanting to get closer.
Whitney is the other reason I want to get to know this man. His daughter is intelligent, brave, not above standing up for her mistakes even if the one she made isn’t really one.
I like her. And if I like her, then it would stand to reason that I would like her father.
If only her father would give me more than heated glares.
He’s been nothing but polite to me, but the two men he walked in here with have received smiles, conversation, laughter. Neither Noah or Mikel seem to notice the barely veiled indifference Beckett sends my way and I’m glad for that, because while I’m upset by his behavior toward me, I’m thrilled with the way he’s brought both men out of their shells.
Especially Mikel. The big blond man struggles to speak English, and obviously feels out of his depth with the way he fidgets in his chair, and without Beckett I doubt I would have gotten more than a few words out of him.
Noah was easy enough. He’s like a new puppy. Excited to talk about this amazing experience he’s been given. Even before he revealed he’d grown up in a small town with only his grandparents to support him, I’d have said he was sheltered. I hope playing in the NHL doesn’t tarnish his boy-next-door persona.
After I film both ten-minute conversations we play them back and I make small adjustments but like Beckett’s last night, neither needs more than a little sound tweak and the addition of the intro and end credits. I’m more than pleased with what I’ve got and both men are happy as they head out the door.
