Page 4

Gavin Racine was an interesting man.

A stubborn, bull-headed, macho man. Not exactly a shock in male pro sports, especially one like ice hockey.

But he was going to be a tough nut to crack.

It wasn’t really Dakota’s job to help him. He’d been hired to train the team, not the staff. He didn’t mind offering suggestions to Leah Frye, the strength and conditioning coach for the team, or running through routines with Danny Foley, the goaltending coach.

They all worked together, and he didn’t mind helping people who were slowly becoming friends in addition to work colleagues.

But Gavin was not his friend.

He was Dakota’s boss—the man had his fingers in every pie in the organization from what Dakota could tell—and he was significantly higher up the ladder than Dakota was.

Gavin’s word held a lot of weight around the franchise, so if he ever decided he truly disliked Dakota, he had no doubt he’d be gone as quickly as he’d been hired.

Even if Violet had pulled some strings with Ned to get him hired in the first place.

And Dakota really didn’t want to leave. Despite his initial nerves and the conflict with Gavin, he was enjoying his role with the team.

It was a relief to be doing the kind of work he’d always planned to, not managing a studio in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle and teaching yoga and Pilates to a bunch of rich tech bros and over-educated stay-at-home parents.

The smattering of pro athletes he’d worked with privately hadn’t been enough.

But this … this was the kind of job he’d been dreaming about since he was a teenager.

So if that meant accommodating the Harriers’ GM, Dakota would do it. He liked the organization, the work, and desperately needed the paycheck they provided. He couldn’t risk losing it.

Which meant he had a lot of extra work ahead of him.

Which also meant he should probably head out now. The party was winding down anyway, the number of guests dwindling until it was mostly family.

He’d only stayed this late because he’d had been immersed in an enjoyable conversation with Aubrey—Patrick O’Shea’s wife—who’d appeared genuinely interested in the work he did.

It had been nice of the O’Shea family to host the Thanksgiving open house. It gave guys who lived across the country—or across the world—a place to go for the holiday. And for the ones who had family in the area, they could pop in before or after their own family dinners.

Dakota had been a little surprised to be invited, since he was support staff, but he’d seen everyone from security guards to, well, the general manager and president of hockey ops who stood beside him.

The guest list said a lot about the O’Shea family. Their fame and wealth had made Dakota a little wary, but they were truly some of the warmest, most down-to-earth people Dakota had ever encountered.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I think I’m going to head out.”

“Yeah, me too. Walk out with you?” Gavin offered.

“Sure. Think we should say goodbye to our hosts?”

Catherine was laughing about something as she sat at a table with her daughters-in-law, all of them working on a craft project. Scrapbooking, maybe?

Dakota didn’t have a clue where Declan was.

Gavin shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think they’ll mind if we just head out.”

“Okay. You know them better than I do.”

“They’re great people,” Gavin said as they walked up the stairs from the finished basement to the ground floor.

Dakota studied Gavin’s movements, wincing at how tight his Achilles tendons appeared. He was practically walking up the stairs on his tiptoes. His entire posterior chain was probably fucked.

“Who? Catherine and Declan?” Dakota asked, rather than yell at Gavin to drop his heels, like he was tempted to do. He’d save that for Saturday. They’d start with loosening and stretching his feet and ankles.

“Well, all of the O’Sheas.”

“They seem to be,” Dakota agreed. And there were a lot of them. All four of Declan and Catherine’s sons were hockey players. Kelly was the only one who was with another team, but Dakota had met Finn and Pat, since they were at the arena fairly often. Retired, but unable to leave the team behind completely.

He knew Connor the best, of course, since he was one of the players Dakota worked with regularly. Connor bitched and moaned about Pilates, but he did it anyway, and he genuinely seemed to like doing yoga. He was nowhere near as flexible as his boyfriend Jesse, but, then again, Jesse was a goaltender.

Dakota was quickly growing fond of Jesse. He was funny and irreverent, flirty in a fun, unserious way. Everyone could tell he was crazy about Connor and his kids and the feeling was mutual.

They all seemed very happy together.

Good for them. Dakota certainly hadn’t had any luck in love, but he was glad someone did.

Upstairs, in the hallway, Dakota ran into Luke Crawford. The big-bodied defenseman nodded at him and Gavin, then kept walking.

“Headed out?” Gavin asked as they reached the entryway.

Luke nodded, shoving his feet into a pair of leather boots, his motorcycle helmet resting on a bench nearby. “Yeah.”

He didn’t elaborate, and neither Gavin nor Dakota pressed him on it as they pulled on their own shoes and grabbed coats.

Dakota didn’t know Luke well . And he wasn’t sure he liked him.

He was another player who gritted his teeth through the Pilates workouts, did the same with yoga, and seemed mostly scathing about the whole thing. He hadn’t endeared himself to Dakota in any way and considering most of the conversations he had with his teammates seemed to revolve around hockey, motorcycles, beer, and hookups with women, Dakota suspected they’d have little in common.

Luke shrugged on his leather jacket as Dakota and Gavin stepped through the door. Gavin left it open, no doubt assuming Luke would be behind them.

It really wasn’t even that cold out tonight for late November, though Dakota still shivered, because he hadn’t quite adjusted to the weather extremes in Boston after living in Seattle his whole life.

“What are you off to do this evening?” Gavin asked as they stepped onto the sidewalk. He tipped his head, like he was listening intently and genuinely curious to know the answer.

“Honestly, more work,” Dakota admitted.

“Yeah?” Gavin frowned. “I’m sure you do a ton of planning and prep for the team outside of the hours you’re at HCI but surely you get some downtime.”

It was true, Dakota did spend a lot of time at the practice facility and a lot of time outside of it preparing, but Gavin didn’t know he had a second job. At least, he assumed Gavin didn’t know.

Maybe he did? Dakota still wasn’t sure if his comment about budgeting had been a personal dig or not. Looking back, Dakota felt less sure that it was.

“Well, I have a VIP client on Saturday morning I have to be ready for,” he teased instead of digging into that whole mess. He’d agreed to help Gavin out—both because he couldn’t stand to see anyone suffering and because it would only help his career.

“A VIP client …” Gavin frowned.

Dakota laughed, touching his arm. “Yeah, a certain uptight, stressed-out GM you might be familiar with …”

“Ahh, yeah, I’ve heard that guy can be real demanding.” Gavin winked.

Dakota was suddenly hit with the full force of his considerable charm. Well, damn .

He’d known Gavin was good-looking, of course. From his short dark brown hair and beard, richly peppered with strands of silver, to his piercing gaze and square jaw, he was as classically handsome as they came.

He carried himself with confidence and even though Dakota wasn’t overly impressed with vanity muscles that did more to throw his system out of alignment than to help him function, he could absolutely admit Gavin wore them well.

Gavin didn’t smile a lot—aside from a slightly knowing smirk—but the wide-open grin he had now was enough to make Dakota’s breath catch. Gavin’s smile showed off even white teeth, eye crinkles, and a warmth that tempted Dakota to linger, if only to see it again.

Dazzling was the only word for it.

But the door slamming behind them broke the spell, enough for Dakota to look away.

“Mmm, good to know,” he said before he got too lost staring at his boss. Oops .

Luke walked past them. “See you at the rink,” he called over his shoulder as he jogged toward a large black motorcycle.

“See you,” Dakota called out, his words overlapping with Gavin’s, “Have a good night.”

A few moments later, the bike started up with a roar, disturbing the quiet of the Charlestown neighborhood filled with historic brick townhouses, then sped away.

“What about you?” Dakota asked, turning back to look at Gavin when the roar had faded to a quieter rumble.

“Well, I have about three weeks’ worth of work I should do in the next two days,” Gavin admitted with a sigh, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his tailored leather jacket, nothing like the beat-up one Luke had worn.

“Are you going to do it?” Dakota asked, because Gavin certainly didn’t sound enthusiastic about it.

“Honestly, I’m considering messaging a guy for a hookup.” He pulled his phone out and frowned at the screen.

Surprised, Dakota laughed.

“I’m sorry. I hope that wasn’t inappropriate,” Gavin said with a little grimace.

Dakota waved it off. “Nah, we’re adults and gay men. I get it.”

Gavin flashed him another quick, dazzling smile.

Shit, that thing was powerful. No wonder he didn’t use it often. It packed a real punch.

“Well,” Dakota said. “Orgasms are good for tension headaches.”

Gavin laughed, a deep, throaty sound that was so surprised and genuine, it made Dakota flush despite the chilly air around them. “I suppose that’s one way to look at it. I was thinking more about other parts of my anatomy, but I’ll take it. Assuming I haven’t pissed this guy off.”

“Oh?” Dakota asked. He probably shouldn’t pry, but now he was curious to know a little more about Gavin’s personal life.

Violet had spilled the tea when they were discussing the possibility of him being hired by the Harriers, and Dakota knew Gavin was gay and had been through a whirlwind marriage and equally quick and messy divorce in the past few years.

He’d seen pictures of the guy too, a striking dark-haired man with some of the most vibrant blue eyes Dakota had ever seen. They’d made a hell of a good-looking couple.

Clearly that hadn’t been enough to sustain the marriage. Then again, Dakota knew better than most that good looks and attraction didn’t mean shit when it came to maintaining a relationship.

“Yeah. You know, I don’t really have time to date.” Gavin shrugged. “So I use the hookup apps.”

“Sure, I’m familiar,” Dakota said drily.

Gavin shot him another closed-lip smirk. “Well, I had things lined up with a guy last night. I was planning to go straight from the arena to his place, but I got caught up in an impromptu meeting with one of the team owners and …”

“You couldn’t exactly tell him you were late for a hookup and duck out quickly,” Dakota guessed.

“Ahh, no.” Gavin huffed out a laugh. “I’m grateful they’ve been on board with having a gay GM and are supporting Connor and Jesse’s relationship but …”

“I get it,” Dakota said.

Because he’d been worried about even being hired by the franchise. Violet had assured him the organization was accepting, and finding out Gavin was gay had relieved a lot of those worries too, but it was still something they both had to carefully navigate. No matter how far hockey had come in the past few years, it wasn’t the same as being straight. A guy never knew when he’d run up against a pocket of homophobia where he least expected it.

Gavin continued. “So the guy was understandably pissed. He said he might have some free time today, but I have a feeling he’ll leave me twisting in the wind for a while, to pay me back.”

“He can’t possibly be the only guy in the greater Boston area who’s willing to suck your dick,” Dakota said, because Gavin was exactly the sort of man who would do numbers on a hookup app. Shit, it was probably a miracle they hadn’t accidentally matched on there already, since it was proximity based.

He imagined both their phones pinging as they passed in the hallways of HCI and stifled a smile.

Gavin laughed. “No. Probably not. But I think I might be developing a bit of a reputation for being unreliable. I can’t tell you how often I have to cancel.”

“Damn, that sucks.”

“Or, not as the case may be.”

Dakota laughed because, to his surprise, he was actually enjoying this conversation. Either the Irish whiskey had loosened Gavin up or they were actually starting to build some sort of camaraderie.

Maybe both.

“Well, good luck tonight,” Dakota said. “And for what it’s worth, I wholeheartedly support you doing whatever it takes to get rid of that headache.”

“Do you tell the guys on the team that?” Gavin smirked.

Dakota recoiled. “No! Of course not. They’re … you’re a colleague , that’s different. Uhh, well, maybe that’s overstating my role in the organization since you’re my boss, but …”

Gavin’s smirk turned to a look of chagrin.

“I was kidding. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you were anything less than professional. And yes, we are colleagues. I—” He ran a hand through his short hair, letting out a sigh. “I’m not always great at knowing where that line is, I suppose.”

“What line?” Dakota asked slowly.

“The one between work colleagues and bosses and actual friends.”

“Ahh.” Dakota nodded. “It can be tricky. I feel like hockey—maybe all sports—make that especially hard. It seems like every guy has played with someone else within the organization or their brother and there are all these connections and …”

“Yes, exactly.” Gavin looked relieved. “You get it.”

“I do,” Dakota said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but his phone buzzed in his pocket, demanding his attention.

He fished it out and saw it was a text from his sister, asking if he’d be home for dinner. She and Jeff and the kids had done a Turkey Trot 5k race in Franklin Park that morning, then had an early meal with Jeff’s family after.

Dakota had been invited to both, but he had no desire to get up early or run, and he’d thought it would be a good idea for at least one of them to put in an appearance at the O’Sheas’ event.

But he’d had a surprisingly nice time and stayed a lot longer than he’d expected.

He fired off an answer saying he’d be home soon, but he wasn’t interested in eating. In fact, he might not need to eat for three days after how well the O’Sheas had fed them at the midday meal.

Gavin touched his arm. “I should let you go now.”

Dakota glanced up, realizing it had nearly grown dark, most of the light coming from the streetlamps or ones on the row houses they stood in front of.

“Yeah, no problem. Just my sister though.” He shoved the phone into his trench coat pocket. “Wondering if I’d be home for dinner.”

“Oh, you live together?”

“For now. Still getting settled in Boston,” Dakota said tightly. He wasn’t about to talk to the handsome, successful man in front of him about how broke he was. In debt up to his eyeballs, in fact. “Violet and Jeff have been really generous to let me crash in their guest room.”

“I’m sure Daisy and Lily love having you there too.”

Dakota smiled at the thought of his nieces, then realized Gavin really had made an effort since their encounter in Dakota’s studio, if he knew the girls’ names. “It’s definitely great to see them so often now.”

Dakota hadn’t only fled Seattle because he wanted to leave his past behind him. He’d also run toward family. To a safe haven where he could lick his wounds.

“I thought maybe you had someone special waiting at home for you or something,” Gavin said quietly. “Though, I suppose you do. Just of a different sort.”

Dakota smiled at the latter part, then scoffed at the thought of his love life. “It’s certainly great to be around family. But, like I said earlier, I’m more than familiar with the hookup apps. I don’t really date either.”

Gavin shot him a wry, closed-lipped smile. “Hookups do the trick.”

“Except when you have to cancel on the guys you’re trying to hook up with. So go already,” Dakota urged him. “Get that headache taken care of.”

Chuckling, Gavin nodded. “Wish Violet and Jeff a Happy Thanksgiving for me, then.”

“Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.”

“G’night, Dakota.” Gavin touched his arm briefly, then stepped back.

“Night, Gavin.”