Page 80 of Matched with Her Athlete Boss
Brian chuckles. “Ah yes, the matchmaking thing. I’ve heard her rant about that several times. It’s a miracle she decided to do it.”
“That’s true. I’ve learned a lot about her. I’m curious if she’s as good at hockey as she lets on.”
Brian laughs and nods. “It’s always a spectacle when those four get on the ice. If they’re not yelling at each other about something, it wouldn’t be a real game, that’s for sure. And Kenzie still has a lot of that energy from her college games.”
“Aren’t you watching the game?” I ask, pointing toward the ice.
He shakes his head. “In a bit. I can already tell you how things are going to go. That display by my daughter with one of her dates means she’s out for blood tonight.”
I blink a few times. “Do they allow fighting in the adult league now?” I ask with a laugh.
“No, she won’t get into a fight, but she’ll be on her A-game and pulling out all the stops. Sometimes her brothers find ways to get her all riled up so she’ll play better. And since they’re playing the Wreckers, it was one of those times they probably stepped in.”
I glance toward the door where Kurt disappeared. “Wait? You think they instigated that thing with Kurt?”
Brian smiles. “I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“But how would they know who he was? I mean, how would they have contacted him? The show hasn’t even aired yet.”
“My boys are resourceful, if anything.” Brian turns and walks behind the counter to the back room. I turn toward the ice, watching as the two teams warm up. Kenzie’s team is at the other end, but now that I know she’s out there, I keep my eye trained on number eighteen.
The way she cuts through the ice, using the edges to change directions makes me smile. The woman has skills. She was telling the truth when she talked about being into hockey.
I walk over to the stands and take a seat up high enough to see over the glass, trying to avoid the eyes that are staring at me. Sure, this might not be the best place to go unnoticed because these are hockey people, but I would love to have a little more peace.
The game starts and the play is quick for an adult league game. They’re up and down the ice in seconds, battling with the puck.
Kenzie gets it and pulls one of the best fake moves I’ve seen in a while, moving to the one side, pushing the puck through the guy’s legs, and then grabbing it to head up the ice. She flicks it to the right side and the puck is caught by the goalie near the upper corner of the goal but I’m not focused on that anymore.
That move reminds me of someone I used to know. It’s like dejà vu at this rink. I try to remember what she looked like compared to Kenzie now.
What was her name?
Mal? Mar?
Mac. It was Mac.
And now I’m putting all the pieces together. Mackenzie.
Shame washes over me. That must be why she was so mad at me after my game several weeks ago. I didn’t recognize her. I mean, it’s hard after more than a decade to remember every face I’ve ever met, and now that I’m constantly in the public eye, I struggle with names.
I smile, thinking of those summer camps. Mac was a couple years younger than me, but she was always there, trying to learn the moves I was trying out and repeating them. The guys always made fun of her behind her back when we were in the locker room, saying that she had a crush on me. I’d always brush it off and talk about the next thing that would be happening at the camp.
Did Kenzie really have a crush on me back then?
The letters Kenzie found. She’d been so stiff holding them out, wondering if I remembered the girl who wrote them.
Obviously crushes come and go, especially after this long, but now I’m curious about my new friend.
That word sounds wrong. So wrong, like I struck a bad note on a piano.
The attraction I feel toward her, especially seeing her on the ice, taking part in a sport I love, is even higher now than it has been the past week.
Questions circle through my mind as I continue to watch the game. I stay and then wait in the lobby, watching the hallway to the locker rooms.
“Can you tell me one thing?” I ask, as I hand him my card to pay for a bag of popcorn and a box of chocolate candy.
“Sure,” Brian says, pushing buttons on the monitor.
