Page 13 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

DANI

I bit back a chuckle as Gabe again tapped his net with his water bottle three times, then spoke to his pipes. Goalies were quirky as hell, but when he did it, it was adorable.

I hadn’t been completely truthful when I told him I didn’t like hockey.

I had loved watching it when I was a kid, when my dad was still playing and I hadn’t realized what a dick he was.

He’d soured me on it once I realized he loved the game more than his own children.

His image had always been more important than how he treated his family behind closed doors, especially when we didn’t agree with him.

If I was some place with a TV and a hockey game was on, I’d pay a bit of attention to it, a rare occurrence over the last few years since I’d immersed myself in my work and volunteering.

But I definitely wouldn’t mind watching more games while Gabe and I were fake dating.

I’d always loved how fast the sport was.

“He’s looking at you again,” Belinda said, humor lacing her tone.

My head shot up, and as soon as he spotted me looking at him, he waved again. He truly was adorkable. With every TV break, he would skate behind his net and tap the glass in front of me with his stick.

I’d even snapped a picture of him when he’d removed his mask off during a TV break and raked his hand through his hair. He shouldn’t be the only one posting on social media if we wanted to make this believable. I’d captioned it, “Taking in a game with a nice view.”

My brother had texted me right away, like he had me set on notifications or something. I bit back a snort—we both did.

Mal: I’m gone less than two weeks and you go and fall in love.

Mal: You have some serious explaining to do. I thought you were done with hockey boys.

Mal: Not that I blame you. He’s cute. Not your usual. I demand all the details and you’ve been avoiding me.

I quickly responded and said I’d fill him in when he got home, but that I was happy. That would hopefully appease him for a day or so, but I’d been wrong because he’d immediately texted back, saying he’d call me in the morning.

“Oh, Dani.” Belinda’s teasing voice pulled my attention back to her.

“Yep?” I asked. “What?”

Belinda chuckled. “Are you falling?”

“What? No,” I rushed out.

“Oh, honey, do you really believe that?”

“Yes. It’s just—”

Her hand on my arm stopped me mid-sentence.

“I know. Fake. But you sure about that?”

I glanced around, but thankfully no one was paying attention to us.

“Not so loud,” I muttered. “And of course I’m sure,” I said as play began to start again.

This time they were at the face-off dot just to Gabe’s right, and I was already anxious.

There were two minutes left in the first period and we were tied at one.

She smirked when I finally met her gaze. “Those eyes you’re both giving each other could melt all this ice.”

“That is so not true. And you can’t even see his eyes under his mask right now.” I gave a humph for good measure.

She burst out laughing.

“Why did I bring you again?”

Her smirk barely wavered. “Because Jasper is hanging out with my dad tonight so I could join you so you wouldn’t be cranky and alone in your seat.”

So annoying.

“Fine. But we aren’t looking at each other in any ice-melting sort of way, thank you very much. We know our roles and we are playing them.” That last part was whispered, me being more than aware of the crowd around us.

“Very well, it looks like.” Belinda’s knowing grin was irritating. But at least she kept her voice low.

“It’s just for show. I don’t really want to be dating anyone right now. And this seems to be working. I mean, Roger’s still commenting about what he calls my downgrade, but hopefully me being here and posting a picture of Gabe will make the jerk see that I’ve moved on.”

“Okay, sure,” Belinda said.

“Look, I know it’s a crazy plan, but I lost all sense when Roger showed up at Reilly’s.

And I refuse to let him think I came up with this ruse just to get back at him.

If he thinks this has anything to do with him, he’ll think we still have a chance or some shit.

” I sighed. “Fuck, I don’t even know anymore.

It seemed like a solid idea when Gabe and I hashed it out, but is it? Nothing else was working to deter him.”

“Which is infuriating on its own. And yes, this definitely has the chance to turn into a disaster, but it could also work. Plus, you can have some fun. I mean, kissing for show, with him being all hot and everything?” She waved her hand toward the ice. “Sounds like a good time to me.”

I huffed, but it wasn’t like I hadn’t thought about kissing him again. More than I wanted to admit to. That little peck on the cheek last night after we ended our date had been annoyingly not satisfying. “We are not hooking up. Just acting like we’re dating.”

“Sure you are.”

Just then the crowd started yelling around us and I turned my attention back toward the ice, where it was supposed to be.

One of the Utah players was very close to Gabe, and one of the Stampede guys was shoving him away with his stick.

Then Gabe dropped down and covered the puck as the ref blew his whistle, ending play.

How the hell had Gabe managed to see that puck? I had to admit, the guy was good.

And it was stupidly hot. At least the period would be over in twenty seconds and then he’d be at the other end of the ice for the second period. I didn’t feel like getting called out by Belinda for drooling again.

***

“Damn, he’s good,” Belinda confirmed over an hour later.

We were five minutes into the third period, Gabe was back at our end, and he’d just stretched his entire body out like Superman to stop a puck.

It’d been fired at his net three times in the last minute, and I guessed he was done waiting for his guys to clear it out of their zone.

“He’s decent,” I replied.

She snorted.

“Fine. He’s really good.”

“One could even say, not a downgrade at all.”

I chuckled. “Roger is an idiot and what the hell was I thinking dating him?”

“Great ass?”

“Gabe’s is better.”

She barked out a laugh. “I knew you were looking.”

I rolled my eyes. “Watch the game.”

Then I focused on Gabe again. He skated side to side in his crease, scraping up some snow, then dropped back down in position, ready for the face-off that was currently taking place at the dot to his right.

He’d still occasionally managed to tap the glass in front of me and shoot me a look this period.

I enjoyed it more than I should. I could tell myself it was cutesy-annoying and everyone would believe that I felt that way, but it was also sweet.

Ugh. What was my problem?

***

“That game was amazing. I know it was only preseason, but I loved it. Maybe your man could get tickets for me and Jasper?” Belinda asked as we headed up the steps to the main concourse.

The Stampede had won five to two and everyone was in great spirits. I’d overheard some fans saying how good the guys had looked and how they hoped it meant they’d have a strong season.

“Already asking for favors?” I teased.

“There’s got to be some perks for friends of a WAG, right?” She had a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

“Oh my god, I am not a WAG.” My mom had hated that term.

“Uh, pretty sure you are.” She gestured toward my pocket. “Don’t you even have a fancy badge to get you access everywhere in here?”

“It’s just for show,” I muttered. True to his word, two tickets and two family access passes had been waiting for us at will call tonight. The man had thought of everything.

“I’m teasing you. Come on, have some fun with this.”

“I’m regretting my choices daily.”

“Tell me that again after you hang out with him tonight and end up with your tongue down his throat.”

I narrowed my gaze at her. “No tongues. It’s just a ruse.”

“Uh-huh. I’m just bummed I’m going to miss the show.” She was heading home to relieve her dad since it was a school night. “You nervous about hanging out with his friends?”

“Don’t remind me.” Going to a bar and being surrounded by his teammates and their real partners was not something I was looking forward to.

Would they be cliquey? Gabe swore they weren’t, but I’d been around partners of athletes, and they weren’t always friendly to newcomers.

The hesitancy did make sense—some athletes went through partners quickly, and players were traded from one team to the next regularly.

“It’ll be fine. Just get a drink and listen to their stories. Only one drink though, because you have work tomorrow and dealing with our job while hungover sucks.”

I laughed. “Yeah, not doing that again. I like a clear head at work.”

“You’ll do great. Gabe is really sweet and I can tell he’s not going to let you fend for yourself.”

“Yes, it will be fine.”

And I repeated that to myself more than once as I took my time heading over to Tipsy Steer.

It’s not like Gabe would be there right away.

TUCKS

“You ready for this?” Micah asked, punching me lightly in the shoulder.

We were almost at the door to Tipsy Steer and Dani’d texted thirty minutes ago to say she was there and to congratulate me on the win. Gotta say, it was nice getting that message. I didn’t date a lot, but I could get used to this, even if we were just pretending.

I should’ve had her meet me outside the locker room or something so we could have shown up together.

I had a feeling she didn’t enjoy being around a big group of people without knowing any of them.

Maybe Josie or Ally introduced themselves since they knew all about our fake relationship.

Hopefully, she wasn’t ready to bail already.

I settled my nerves and pasted on a nonchalant expression.

“For what? To have a beer and celebrate a win?” I knew exactly what he was hinting at.

“Your first official event with your new girlfriend and your teammates. She ready to act like she thinks you’re the best thing ever?”