Page 18

The following day, as Dakota carried Daisy into the arena, he smiled at her excited chatter.

“Look, Unka Dak-Dak! Cwistmas Twee!”

“I see the Christmas tree,” he said. “And look, there’s Santa !”

The family lounge had been set up for the party, with Christmas décor, a buffet of delicious-looking food, and a guy dressed as Santa letting out jolly ‘ho-ho-ho’s’ as he sat on a throne near the tree.

“Cookies!” Daisy said, straining to get out of his arms and to the table set up as a decorate-your-own holiday cookie station. “Want cookies!”

“Uhh, maybe later,” he said, turning back to face Jeff and Violet, who were watching them with amused smiles on their faces.

“Oh, shut up,” he muttered.

Daisy looked at him, blinking her wide blue eyes. “Uh-oh. Bad word, Unka Dak-Dak.”

“Sorry, Daisykins,” he said contritely. “I’ll do better.”

He handed her over to her father, because no matter how much he loved his niece, he wasn’t quite prepared to handle a willful toddler who had her eyes set on cookies.

He perused the buffet, filling a small plate with bites of food. When he turned to grab a cup from the DIY hot cocoa station, he came face to face with Jesse, who shot him an electric grin.

“Your niece calls you Unka Dak-Dak?” he said gleefully, “oh that’s cute .”

He had Connor’s daughter, Maura, in his arms, and she gave Dakota a curious look from under the thick fringe of her dark lashes.

“Hi there, Maura,” he said softly. “I’m Dakota. Do you remember me from Thanksgiving?”

She shook her head, tucking her face into Jesse’s neck. He patted her back. “I think she’s feeling a little overwhelmed by the number of people here.”

“Yeah, it’s packed,” Dakota agreed, glancing around. “I was surprised they invited staff and their families too.”

Jesse nodded. “Yeah, I was too. But Connor explained that because it’s such a young team and there aren’t many guys with kids …”

“Oh, yeah that makes sense,” Dakota agreed. “No complaints here. I know my sister enjoys coming.”

“That’s her, right?” Jesse asked, nodding toward Violet, Jeff, and the kids who were at the end of the line to see Santa. “We’ve never officially met.”

“We can take care of that now,” Dakota offered.

Jesse grinned. “I’d like that. You want to see Santa anyway, right, Maura Moose?”

She giggled, nodding.

Dakota introduced everyone and in no time, Jesse was flirting outrageously with Violet. Dakota might have worried Jeff would be miffed, but then Jesse turned his charm on Jeff, and in no time they were both laughing at his antics. He was fun and harmless, of course. A flirt in the best of ways, charming but unthreatening, and clearly besotted with Connor, if the look he gave him when he sidled up a few moments later was any indication.

“Hey. Is this guy bothering you?” Connor asked, his Boston accent thick as he slid a hand along Jesse’s hip, pressing a kiss to Maura’s head, then Jesse’s temple.

Violet grinned. “Not at all. He’s a delight!”

“Oh, don’t tell him that,” Connor said, sounding disgusted. “He’ll be insufferable after this.”

“After this? Wasn’t he already ?” Dakota joked.

Jesse shot him a fake wounded look. “I resent that accusation. Even if it’s all true.”

They chatted about holiday plans while they inched forward in line, but when the kids reached the front of the line, Dakota stepped back to try to figure out where to put his plate and hot chocolate, intending to get a picture.

“There’s the professional photographer here,” Jesse said, nodding in her direction while holding out one hand to grab Dakota’s plate. “So you don’t have to take pics if you don’t want. Once they’re edited, they’ll get sent to Violet and Jeff directly.”

“Oh perfect,” Dakota said, relieved, taking his food back. “Thanks.”

So he watched from a distance as Daisy settled onto Santa’s knee and a snoozing Lily was tucked into his crooked arm. Something Santa said made Daisy giggle.

Dakota smiled. Damn, he really liked this organization. He’d been wary about working for the Harriers but something told him he’d definitely come to the right place.

A weight lifted from his shoulders and his smile widened. Six months ago he’d been reeling from Bryce’s betrayal but now … he had a job he loved, he got to spend a lot more time with his sister and her family, and he was having sizzling-hot sex with a gorgeous man.

Where was that man, anyway?

Dakota glanced around. He’d been a little bit nervous about seeing Gavin today, afraid Violet would figure out who he was sleeping with, but he was nowhere in sight. Dakota shrugged, a little relieved. Maybe he was busy with important negotiations. He was trying to get that player from Minnesota.

What was his name again? Rafael Moon or something like that? Dakota had been a little distracted by Gavin at the time.

Dakota sighed, thinking about the awkward way the night before had ended. Dakota hadn’t planned on staying over anyway, but it had wrapped up as soon as the game was over, Gavin giving him a brief peck on the lips as he practically hustled Dakota out the door.

That was what Dakota got for letting the talk turn more serious. It was better when it was light-hearted banter and great sex. Talking about their pasts was a recipe for disaster.

Glumly, Dakota took a swig of his rapidly cooling hot chocolate.

“Hey!” Leah said in a cheerful tone. “Glad you could make it today.”

He glanced over at her, belatedly realizing the girls were done posing for their photos with Santa and Connor and Jesse were now watching Evie and Maura sit on Santa’s lap while Nolan helped his sisters get situated.

Huh . For as shy as Maura had been earlier, she seemed perfectly comfortable with Santa.

That confirmed the half-assed theory swirling around Dakota’s head that the guy inside the suit probably worked for the organization or was connected to it in some way. It was impossible to tell who it was though when he was swathed from head to toe in red and white cloth, had what Dakota assumed was a pillow stuffed where Santa’s jolly belly should be, and a big white—presumably fake—beard.

He had really wide shoulders and a big, broad build. Declan O’Shea, maybe? Dakota had met Connor’s father a handful of times but he didn’t really know him well enough to say for sure. That would definitely fit with Maura being comfortable with him though, since he was her grandfather.

“Dakota?” Leah said and he blinked, shaking his head.

“Yeah, sorry. I was spacing. What did you say?”

“Oh, I asked if you were planning to get on the ice today.”

“Ugh,” Dakota said. “I say no, my sister says yes, so … probably yes.”

Leah chuckled. “So why don’t you want to skate?”

“Uhh,” Dakota said. “I know we work for a hockey franchise, but I’m really not a good skater. I did a little bit growing up but Violet was more into it than I was. She played hockey for a little while before she switched to soccer and now she does rec league stuff for both.”

“We’ll get you one of those walkers they give little kids learning to skate.”

“Ha-ha,” Dakota said, though he honestly wouldn’t put it past his sister to offer him one. “What about you?”

“Oh I played hockey growing up too,” she said. “It’ll be a blast.”

Great, so he’d be the only one over the age of four flailing around out there.

As predicted, no amount of protestation on Dakota’s part convinced his sister to let him avoid getting on the ice, so half an hour later, as he watched one of the equipment guys measure his feet and pull out a pair of gently used hockey skates for him to wear, he let out a sigh.

So, he was doing this.

He nearly bit it as he carefully stepped onto the ice. It was only Violet and Jeff’s strong grips that kept him upright.

“Really,” he said, “I should turn around. You should be focused on the kids, not me.”

“Not a chance,” Violet said cheerfully. “Besides, look at them, they’ll be fine for a little bit.”

On the bench, Catherine O’Shea was currently making silly faces at Lily, who had woken up, been fed, and was now in a very happy mood as she sat in her car seat while Daisy and a couple of the other kids her age were climbing around on the bench nearby, watched over by a handful of parents.

“Ugh, fine .”

Dakota let Violet and Jeff tuck their arms through his and they took off, towing his awkwardly flailing body along.

“I would have thought your strength and flexibility from yoga and Pilates would help with this,” Jeff said with a barely disguised laugh.

“Not so much,” Dakota admitted, though his core strength wasn’t the problem. It was his fear of his brains going splat on the ice that made him wobbly.

They managed to make a couple of circuits around the ice, but the moment they let go so he could try on his own, he flailed and went down, nearly taking both of them out with him. Though, thankfully, he managed not to hit his head.

“Nope,” he said laughing as he lay on the ice staring up at the arena rafters and his family’s concerned faces. “This isn’t going to happen. Tow me over there, please.”

He waved vaguely at the visitor’s bench from his embarrassing position on his back and Violet protested but she and Jeff finally got him upright and over to the bench. Dakota hauled himself up until he was perched on the edge of the boards, feet dangling over the ice.

“This will be perfect for getting some video footage of you two out with the kids,” he assured them. “Now go! Have fun.”

He pulled his phone out of his sweater pocket, glad to see he hadn’t cracked the screen. His butt, however, was probably going to be bruised tomorrow. He’d never admit it to the players though, they’d chirp him mercilessly for being such a wuss. He’d seen how black and blue they were after hard hits and blocked shots and the way they treated marks like badges of honor.

Violet and Jeff eventually left, and Dakota shook his head, smiling as they glided away arm in arm, Violet in her hockey skates, Jeff in his figure skates. They’d met in college when Jeff was involved in the figure skating club and Violet played club hockey. They’d met when the clubs did a joint skills night and well, the rest was history.

From his much safer vantage point, Dakota watched kids and adults flying around the ice. He could see Connor and Jesse out with their girls, both of them much steadier on their feet than Dakota had been. He spotted Leah and Danny, skating side by side, not touching, but very much lost in in their own little world as they talked.

Connor’s son, Nolan, was out there, playing keep-away with his boyfriend Kyle. Or was it Kyler? Dakota couldn’t remember, but he’d met them both at Thanksgiving and they looked happy now, jostling and laughing together as they battled for a puck with some of the players at one end of the ice.

He blinked in surprise a few minutes later when he caught a glimpse of Luke Crawford skating with Evie O’Shea on his shoulders. She was laughing and clutching at his hair, yelling “giddy-up, horsie!” while Maura skated after them, the pom-pom on her hat wobbling.

Huh . Crawford was not a guy Dakota would have expected to be good with kids.

Dakota squinted at him. Could he have been Santa earlier? He had the right build.

But a glance around showed a bright flash of red where the guys had been playing keep-away earlier, and Dakota grinned when he spotted “Santa” tearing around the ice, firing pucks to players before high-fiving the team mascot, Blaze, who was also on skates.

Okay, so, definitely not Luke. And no, not Declan either, because he was out there skating with the guys as well.

“Unka Dak-Dak, I skating!” a small, high voice called out and he glanced over to see Daisy making her way toward him on wobbly skates, her hands clutched in her mother’s as they carefully approached him.

“I see you, I see you!” he said, excited for her. “Great job!”

Jeff, who was behind them, had Lily in his arms and he beamed as Dakota held up his phone to record them. “Thanks, Dakota!” he called out. “This is a great moment to remember.”

It really was, Dakota thought, thinking wistfully of when he and Violet and his parents had been that close when he and Violet were little. They’d gone through a really rough patch for a while—when Violet was in her late teens—but after a considerable amount of effort Dakota had been able to bring them all back together. He suddenly wished their parents lived closer to Boston, instead of outside Seattle. That was the only downside to having moved all the way across the country.

He watched Violet and Jeff carefully skate around for a bit, recording it all, before Daisy tugged on her mother’s hand. “Wanna go see Blaze,” she said. “C’mon, Mama.”

Violet shot Dakota an apologetic glance, but he shrugged it off. He was fine where he was.

When the four of them skated off in search of the team mascot, Dakota continued to watch the scene in front of him.

In addition to parents with kids and what appeared to be all of the very large O’Shea family, there were also camera guys and some of the social media team still out on the ice, recording all of the goings on. Dakota caught a glimpse of Thad wearing a backwards baseball cap, his phone out and, presumably, capturing the happy chaos around him.

A sudden pang went through Dakota at the memory of Gavin’s hurt expression last night. God, to be estranged from not only his brother but his parents … that was so painful.

The sudden sound of skates on ice and a shower of snow signaled someone’s arrival and Dakota turned his head to see Santa skate to a quick stop in front of him.

“Want to come sit on my lap and tell me what you want for Christmas?” a deep voice asked.

Dakota jerked in surprise, glaring at the guy dressed as Santa. Whoever he was, he was a creep. “I absolutely do not— Gavin ?” he asked when he realized he recognized those gorgeous hazel eyes. “Holy shit. I thought you were some pervy old man hitting on me.”

Gavin chuckled, leaning against the boards near Dakota. “Well, I kinda am. But you seem to like me being a pervy old man, so …”

Dakota lightly thwacked his pillow-stuffed belly. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. So, are you having fun?”

“I am,” he said honestly. “What about you?”

“Honestly, I’m sweating my nuts off in this costume and it’s itchy as hell but the kids seem to enjoy it so sacrifices must be made.”

“Very good of you,” Dakota teased, surprised but pleased to see how happy he looked today. Such a change from his mood last night.

Gavin grinned at him. “So, I’m serious. You wanna come sit on my lap later?”

“I’ve been at your place the past two nights!” Dakota hissed, because he wasn’t sure how well sound traveled on the ice.

“Third time’s the charm?”

Dakota snorted, because he was finding it harder and harder to resist Gavin’s cheesiness. Even when he was dressed like Santa Claus. “Something like that.”

“Seriously though,” Gavin said. “Yes or no?”

“I’m tempted,” Dakota admitted. “But truthfully, I need to get more sleep. The nap yesterday was a good start but I’ve been running on fumes lately and we’ve got a road trip coming up in a couple of days.”

“Ugh. I know.” Gavin sighed. “Though that’s honestly a selling point as far as I’m concerned.”

They’d both agreed it was too dangerous to get caught coming in and out of each other’s rooms in the hotels, and that they should be careful about any public hookups.

Dakota pondered the idea. “Okay, but I can’t stay late.”

As disappointing as the end of the evening had been last night, he’d made it home fairly early and since he hadn’t had to be at the arena until the afternoon, he’d slept in late. A long stretch of deep sleep had felt decadent and he was tired of, well, being tired.

“Or you could spend the night,” Gavin offered.

“You’re the one who kicked me out of your place last night,” Dakota pointed out. Although, to be fair, he hadn’t exactly been planning to stay over anyway. Things had ended on such a weird, awkward note after Gavin’s confession about his family.

Now, Gavin winced. “Fair enough.”

Dakota bit his lip. “Sorry. I didn’t mean?—”

“No, it’s okay. Honestly, you’re right. I was rude. I just don’t talk about Rory or my family much.”

“You think I talk about Bryce a lot?” Dakota asked, his voice filled with disbelief. “Trust me, I don’t. Violet and Jeff are the only other people who know all the details of what he did to me.”

Well, he’d had to explain it all to the police, the debt consolidation person he’d worked with, and the human resources person he’d interviewed with, but he’d kept that dry and a hell of a lot less personal.

Not that the police had done anything about it, he thought bitterly.

“Hey, I’m honored you trusted me enough to tell me at all,” Gavin said softly. “I want to get to know you better.”

“Have you thought more about what I said?” Dakota asked, searching his face. Or what he could see of it when it was covered in a fake thick white beard anyway.

“About inviting Thad to do something for the holidays?”

Dakota nodded.

“I did,” Gavin said slowly, rubbing his chest. “Not sure how I feel about it but … I’m considering it.”

“Okay. Well, I won’t push.” Dakota shot him a small smile. “Now, you should probably get going before people start wondering what we’re talking about.”

“Santa can’t get yoga advice from the team expert?” Gavin teased, but he was already straightening.

“Let’s save that for at your place.”