Her laugh dances over the tile walls, echoing in an almost maniacal way. I never should have broken my resolve and told her about that. “We need a new plan.”
“Come down with a bad case of the flu?”
“No, those two will just play nursemaid.” I prop one hand on my hip and run the other through my hair.
“Love the new look.” She eyes me suspiciously.
“You know I don’t drive with a ponytail.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say.” Her teasing tone tells me she’s not letting this go.
“You’ll have to cover for me when I’m with them.”
She pushes off the wall. “No worries. I brought my bag of tricks.”
I point to her blonde wig. “Might want to go with something less obvious. Hockey players have a type.”
She dons an innocent expression and shrugs. “Maybe that’s part of my plan.”
“Sounds like trouble to me.”
Del shoots me a toothy grin. “When have I been anything but?”
Chapter Sixteen
PAYTON
A large crowd fills the arena tonight, but there’s only one face that interests me at the moment. Following Luke, I leave the ice while the next line jumps over the boards to take their turn. As soon as I sit down, I’m searching for her. Even before I grab a water bottle to slake my thirst, my gaze makes a hungry sweep to find her.
And there she is, sitting by Sophie, smiling as she talks while her head moves back and forth, assessing everything that’s happening around me. Our gazes lock, and, even though ice separates us, there’s no mistaking the fire zinging between us.
A winded Ethan drops onto the player bench to my right and swats me on the arm. “If you stare at her any harder, your eyes are going to pop out and freeze into little round balls.”
I grin while the others laugh. He’s right, but I can’t look away. She’s wearing my jersey again, and after her teasing yesterday—all for the sake of believability, of course—she’s occupied my head space nonstop. I want this to be real more than anything I’ve wanted before—except for hockey. But it’s a close match.
She has to feel something for me. No way can someone fake a kiss like that. She blindsided me with that one. Here, I thought I had the upper hand, but she out-maneuvered me.
I’m just not sure she’s willing to explore a real future with me. Lily’s like a wild horse who belongs to no one. She’d more likely buck against all the “rules” as a hockey wife than go with the flow.
That thought freezes me in my mental tracks. Where did that come from? I haven’t even dated her, and I’m already imagining what she’d be like as my actual wife?
I rip my gaze from where she’s sitting with Mia and Sophie behind the net. “Then I’ll die a happy yet sightless man.”
Ethan snickers. “Just remember why we’re here. We have a date with destiny and two teams to annihilate.”
I shake my head. “You sound like Wade.”
Elias leans across Ethan. “Did you see that last shot he blocked? Didn’t know our T-man could bend like that. He pissed Jennings off good.”
Sitting on my left, Luke joins our convo. “That guy’s a goon. Don’t let him get to you, right, Pay?”
“How can I forget?” I tap my side. “But I do plan to return the favor.”
Luke bumps me with his shoulder. “Keep it friendly, man. We need you on the ice, not in the sin bin.”
“Noted, Cap, but I’m not letting him do that to me again.”
He raises his brows at me. “Wewon’t let him do that again, right boys?” He makes eye contact with Ethan and Elias, our E-team, as we call them, for emphasis.
