Page 118 of Breaking the Ice

“You wanna hear you were right again?”

Zach chuckled. “I wouldn’t be against it.”

“You were right,” Gavin said drowsily. “And you were right about us not talking—or even thinking—about hockey, tonight.”

Zach’s arm tightened around him, nudging him even closer. As good as the sex was, this was almost better. “There’s always tomorrow for hockey,” he said.

Chapter 16

Zachbarelyregisteredhisphone going off, he was concentrating so hard on the video clip on his laptop from the team’s last game—specifically the Evergreens’ first power play unit. He didn’t glance over until the second text came through, his phone beeping insistently.

The first was from Gavin.Picking up a sub at Sammy’s. You want your usual?

Zach sent a thumbs-up.

The second was from Hayes. The Sentinels were on a long road trip west, playing the Kings, the Sharks and the Mavs—the team that he and Hayes had been on together.

Got a free minute finally, want to chat?

They hadn’t been able to do much more than exchange texts since he and Gavin had gotten together over a week ago. This always happened deep in the season, when hockey took over Hayes’ life—and now Zach’s life.

Yeah. In my office. Call my laptop?Zach texted back.

A minute later, his laptop dinged, and then there was Hayes, looking exhausted with dark circles under his eyes and a droop to his mouth. But he smiled when he saw Zach.

“Zachy, good to see you, man.”

“Ditto,” Zach said, leaning back in his chair. “How’s the road trip?”

“Hell,” Hayes said, but he was still smiling. “You know how it is.”

Zach nodded. He knew. It was one of the reasons he’d learned that the NHL was not for him. He’d found zero joy in the endless fucking grind.

“We’re playing the Mavs tomorrow, and that’s fun and also . . .” Hayes winced. “It kinda sucks.”

Hayes had told him once, just once, that he’d imagined playing for them his whole career. Being drafted a Mav and then retiring a Mav.

It hadn’t happened, and even if Hayes was happy as a Sentinel now, even as the Sentinels’ captain, Zach had to imagine the trade still stung, somewhere deep.

“But enough about me,” Hayes said. “How are your boys doing? I caught a game the other day.”

“Yeah?”

“It was some absolutely shitty stream, but yeah. They look good. Solid defense.”

Zach heard what Hayes wasn’t saying. They’d scored two goals in three games, starting with the first after the holiday break. Even though they’d gotten three points—one win, one loss, and an OT loss—everyone on the team was tiptoeing super carefully around words like “problem” and “slump” and “losing streak.”

“Finn looks great,” Hayes continued. “I hate to sayit—”

“No, you don’t,” Zach argued. Hayes would never lay the faults of the father on the son. It was why he’d never worried about the strong possibility that Hayes would end up as Finn’s captain. He’d take care of Finn, even if Finn’s dad had broken his heart.

Hayes sighed. “No, you’re right. I don’t hate to say it. It’s great. He’s great. Coming along really fucking well.”

“He is,” Zach agreed. “Now if Ell and Mal can get their shit together.”

“They’re taking good shots,” Hayes said, “they’re just not going in. It happens sometimes. Don’t let them overthink it.”

“Gavin wants to shuffle the lines,” Zach said under his breath. If Gavin was walking over to Sammy’s and grabbing them lunch, he’d be at least another twenty minutes before he showed up at Zach’s office door, but he wasn’t going to be stupid about this.