Page 14 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

“Fuck off. I am the best thing for everyone I meet.” I snorted. I never was good at trying to sound cocky. “Yeah, that sounded dumb even as I said it.”

“You’re nervous,” he teased, his hand on the doorknob.

“Am not.”

Dom laughed behind us.

“It’s okay, Tucks. We got you. We’ll make you sound so awesome. Oh wait, we don’t have to because you’re not actually trying to get the girl, right?” He paused and I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Or are you?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.

“I’m telling you, fake dating is a popular trope,” Micah said. At least he kept his voice low so only we heard him.

“Would you shut the hell up about that? You’re supposed to be helping me,” I muttered.

“Ah no, we’re supposed to give you shit. That’s what friends do,” Dom said.

“I mean, we could give him a little support too,” Micah said.

“I never should’ve told you guys the truth.”

Micah chuckled. “Too late for that now. Shall we?”

“Don’t be dicks.” I pulled open the door and walked inside, ignoring their chuckles as I scanned the bar for her.

The place was packed and loud, which was typical for a game night, especially when we won, even if it’d just been a preseason game.

“First round’s on me,” I heard Tally call out.

“Even top shelf, like that game-winning goal I got tonight,” Sin exclaimed.

Laughter was heard through the bar as we moved deeper into the crowd. A few patrons called out to me, saying nice save or good game , slapping me on the back as I went by. I made sure to respond to each of them. I appreciated our fans and loved hearing them cheer us on.

Looking from one corner of the bar top to the other, I finally spotted her.

She was sitting at one end and looking over the crowd, a small smile on her lips.

Fuck, she was gorgeous. Her auburn hair was in a loose braid over one shoulder and she was currently playing with the straw in her drink.

Then she glanced up and, spotting me, gave a little wave.

I chuckled, remembering how I’d spent my time on the ice tonight giving her waves or tapping the glass in between plays.

It was dorky as hell, but it’d felt right.

Sometimes I’d caught her off guard and her cheeks would turn pink. I loved watching her blush and seeing that quirky half-smile, like she was annoyed with me but couldn’t help finding humor in whatever gesture I was making.

I only had eyes for her as I made my way to her seat.

“Hey there,” I said.

“Hi,” she said at the same time.

Then I leaned in and pressed a kiss to her cheek. She stiffened under me, but for only a second.

“For show, remember,” I said next to her ear.

“Of course, right.” Her tone was stilted, but I didn’t read too much into it.

“Should I kiss you on the lips?” I asked, my head still near her ear. I swore she trembled a bit, and it took everything in me not to lean in and nibble that perfect earlobe. Would she push me away or give into it?

Her hand brushed against my stomach and I sucked in a breath.

“Umm, maybe.” Then she sighed. “I don’t know. I guess?”

I chuckled and lifted my head to meet her gaze. “Wow, way to make a guy feel good about himself.”

She rolled her eyes. “This is weird.”

“Not if you do it right,” I teased.

She laughed softly and relaxed, which was exactly what I wanted.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Probably, but if we want this to look real, you have to laugh at me and look happy, so teasing is a must. Fortunately, I’m very funny.”

She chuckled. “I know.”

I held my hand out to her. “Come meet my friends. Kissing can wait.”

I grinned when she shook her head at me like she didn’t know what to make of me when I put on the brakes at kissing her in front of everyone.

We’d agreed to kissing, but I wanted it to feel natural—and maybe I stupidly wanted her to want to kiss me.

Which wasn’t really fair of me, since we had a deal.

Yeah, I was really nailing this whole fake dating thing. Maybe I should get one of those romance books Micah kept talking about for some guidance.

“Hold on, let me grab my drink. I’m probably going to need it.” She slipped off her barstool and reached back to get her beer.

“I promise they aren’t that bad.” I turned, only to spot Micah, Josie, Dom, and Harper already walking toward us.

Harper was never far away from Josie and those two were always up for chaos.

If they’d been NHL players, they would’ve been top pranksters, for sure.

Ally tended to balance them out, but she had probably headed home after the game to put Livi to bed.

Josie was the first to stick out her hand. “Hi. Dani, right? I’m Josie. It’s so great to meet you.”

“Yes. Whatever you need from us, you let us know. Oh, and I’m Harper, Connor’s, aka Timmy’s, girlfriend,” Harper said, a bright smile on her face.

“Ah, hi. It’s good to meet you both,” Dani said. The smile on her face was a bit tight, which was understandable. It was our first true test. Not that we had to fool these guys. I’d already told Dani who knew our ruse on the team.

Dom, Micah, and Timmy, who had just arrived with a round of drinks, all greeted Dani as well.

I kept my hand hovering near the small of her back.

We’d forgotten to work out acceptable levels of PDA, and I wasn’t about to give my cock any wrong ideas accidentally whenever touching did occur.

Fuck, I wanted her. Her cheeks were tinged slightly pink and her smile loosened up as Josie teased Micah about something.

I’d missed what they were talking about, too busy staring at Dani.

“So, what did you think about the game?” Josie asked. “Always great to have a win, even if the points don’t count.”

“Hey, a win is a win,” Micah muttered. “Preseason counts for morale.”

“I know, Micahtron. Just teasing you.”

“Micahtron?” The side of Dani’s mouth quirked up in her most natural smile so far this evening.

Micah groaned. “Can we not announce that name the first time you meet someone?”

Josie shrugged. “She’s Tucks’s girlfriend. She’s gonna hear it whenever she’s hanging out with us.”

“It’s not like it’s my league nickname that everyone knows,” he muttered. “And you don’t have to use it, you know. Harper doesn’t use Timmy’s.”

“But I didn’t give Connor that nickname,” Harper offered. “Josie gave you yours. You should just give it up anyway because I’m pretty sure I heard some fans calling you that tonight.”

“Dammit, Josie.”

“Oh, please. You love it.” Then she leaned in and kissed him, stopping his grumbling.

Harper giggled. “Tamed by some tongue.”

Timmy shook his head. “Fucking hell, Harps.”

“What? It’s the truth. Works on you, too,” she said, and I was pretty sure she pinched his ass if him quickly shifting away from her with a tiny yelp was anything to go by.

Dani chuckled softly, and I was grateful that Josie’s and Harper’s antics made some of her tension dissipate.

I was honestly glad that, out of all my teammates who could have known the truth, it was Timmy and Micah I had trusted.

Josie and Harper could get anyone to laugh and feel welcome.

It wasn’t like my other teammates’ partners weren’t awesome, but Josie and Harper were the funniest.

Dani turned to me and nodded at Micah. “So, are you going to explain the nickname?”

“Not a big Transformers fan?”

“Oh, man. My brother loved playing with them when he was a kid. We used to play with his Transformers and my Barbies together.”

“Apparently, so did Micah and his best friend, who happens to be Josie’s older brother. She gave him the nickname Micahtron when they were kids and then graciously told all of us that when they reconnected last season.”

Dani laughed, her eyes sparkling. I loved the sound of her laugh. It warmed my entire body.

How long would it be until she let me kiss her again?

“Bet he loved that getting out.”

“He might grumble a lot, but I think he secretly loves it.”

“Do not,” Micah groused.

“Sure you don’t, big guy.” Josie patted his chest and just laughed.

“Can we get back to asking Dani how she enjoyed the game?” Micah said, clearly trying to change the subject.

Dom turned to face her. “Yeah, much better than watching a Blizzard game, right?”