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Pulling off my helmet next, I nod and move to walk past him toward the locker rooms. “Sure,” I reply.

He grabs my arm again. “Why do I get the feeling you’re holding back on telling me something?”

I smirk at him, knowing this is absolutely not the right time to tell him about the offer I made Kendra. He’s my stepdad, and I trust him, but he’s also my coach, who just asked me to try and rub along with Tyler.

I tip my chin at his dark hair and blow out a mock sigh. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Coach.”

“Tell me what?” Jon’s face turns serious.

I reach out and ruffle a hand through his hair, pealing away and making for the tunnel. “You’re turning into a silver fox.”

I’m halfway to the locker room and fighting back laughter when I hear him grumble, “Cocky bastard.”

“I think you’ve just gotta give her space, man,” one of our defensemen says to Tyler as I push through the doors.

Tyler drops to the bench and starts pulling at his pads, throwing them onto the floor in the process. “I don’t like thefact that she’s ghosting me. I got, like, a one-worded answer last night when I asked if I could collect my stuff from hers.”

As I unlace my skates, I casually zone in on Tyler’s response, trying to make out their conversation above the noise. I can’t help but wonder if Kendra has told Tyler about her apartment.

“She said she’d get it back to me ASAP,” I catch Tyler say.

“That was it?” one of our defensemen replies.

“Yep. I just don’t like being ignored.” Tyler pulls his phone out of his bag, checks it for a second, and then throws it back inside. “I think she’s seeing someone else.”

The moment the words leave his mouth, his eyes flick to mine, and we hold contact for a beat before I’m looking back at my laces.

If Tyler found out about my proposal to Kendra, there’s no doubt his fist would be in my face at any second. I knew when I put it to her that I was treading on dangerous ground. But even if I wasn’t attracted to her, I couldn’t leave her with the options she had when I have two unused bedrooms and bathrooms in my place.

“For someone who just scored in his NHL debut, you’re really fucking quiet.” Sawyer breaks me from my thoughts. He’s standing directly in front of me, a towel wrapped around his waist.

I rise to my feet and pull my jersey overhead. “Just processing it all, I guess.”

“Hmm …” He scratches his bare chest in thought. “Your pensive attitude has nothing to do with the conversation going on behind us then?”

“Nope.” I speak as quietly as he did, preventing eavesdroppers.

“But you’re sweet on her, aren’t you?”

I can’t put my finger on what it is when it comes to Sawyer Bryce. Despite what the media says, I like him. Granted, he’s the captain, and you’d expect him, at thirty-four, to be using his experience to make rookies feel welcome. But he was also theonly guy who made any kind of effort with me back at the training center, and somehow, I know he’s got my back.

I nod my head and figure that’s enough to answer his question.

He crosses his arms over his chest, tipping his head toward the ceiling. “Fucking knew it. It was written all over your face that night at Lloyd’s.”

I pull off my Dri-FIT shirt and grab my wash bag before facing my captain. “Nothing is going on between us. You couldn’t even classify us as friends, to be honest.”

From behind Sawyer, I watch as Tyler and a couple of other guys head for the showers.

“I can trust you, right?” I ask. “Outside of hockey?”

Just like I did before, he nods once, and I take a deep breath.

“I’ve known Kendra for as long as I have Tyler, and let’s just say, I don’t blame her for ending it and ghosting him afterward. Plus …” I sigh.Here goes fucking nothing. “She’s kind of got a lot on her plate right now.”

Sawyer quirks an inquisitive brow, but doesn’t speak.

“She’s basically homeless. A few days ago, I ran into her in a café, and we got talking. I’ll spare you the details, but she’s in a tough spot, trying to find somewhere to live since her ceiling fell in and now her building is condemned.”