Are they all keeping the same secret that I am?
I shake my head.
Surely not.
She’s not like that…is she?
Casey might be a regular at the rink, but I’ve never seen her flirt with any of the guys. From what I can tell, she's always professional, and in turn, they treat her with the respect that she deserves—and Coach demands.
Sure, Linc flirts his ass off, but that’s just who he is. But almost everyone else is too terrified to piss off Coach. Looking at Casey the wrong way is probably the fastest way to get ourselves benched and then traded. Something none of us want.
The LA Vipers are a family.
I’ve been tight with my team before, but the Vipers are different. Every staff member here is a part of the family, whether you’re a cleaner, the Zamboni driver, or work in the ticket office.
It’s a family that I would like to remain a part of, which means it’s even more critical now than ever to put Casey Watson behind me.
My career, my daughter, and my mom are too important to fuck this up.
“Nice work, Rivers,” Coach says, slapping my shoulder as I step off the ice. “You're on post-game press after that.”
“Wonderful,” I mutter under my breath as I walk away from him.
Freshly showered and in my suit, I make my way out of the arena and straight to my car.
Coach likes us all to head up to the friends and family suite after the game to celebrate together, but when Sutton is at home, I avoid it in favor of seeing her.
I know he gets it. He’s been a single dad for years.
Another potent shot of guilt hits me.
Dragging my hand down my face, I continue forward, putting much-needed space between me and the woman who will no doubt be wearing my jersey.
Is she waiting for me up there?
Locking down those kinds of thoughts, I climb into my car and head for home ready to focus on tucking my daughter into bed.
She’s usually asleep by the time I get back, but knowing that I won’t get to talk to her about the game until the morning never stops me from leaving at the first possible opportunity.
The house is quiet when I walk through the front door.
“Great game tonight,” Mom says from her spot on the sofa. The highlights play on the screen in front of her, and I watch the playback of my goal.
I can’t deny that it was a good play. I might have scored the goal, but it was very much a team effort.
“You didn’t even look up,” Mom laughs.
“You say that like I don’t know what I’m doing,” I tease. “Sutton okay?”
“Of course. I’m surprised you didn’t hear her screaming for you when you scored.”
A wide smile spreads across my face.
“I recorded some of it.”
Mom passes me her cell, and I hit play on the video.
“YES, YES, YES,” Sutton screams. “THAT’S MY DADDY RIGHT THERE.” And then she dives right into her celly dance as if she just scored the winning goal.
