Page 15 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

DANI

I absolutely didn’t want to talk about Roger tonight, but it would’ve been stupid of me to think he wouldn’t come up. They all knew why I was fake dating Tucks. Hopefully, not all the details, but enough to assume why we were playing this game.

“Uh, I didn’t go to that many of his games, but I really enjoyed tonight,” I said.

Harper grinned. “We’ll make a hockey fan out of you in no time. It’s the best sport ever.”

I laughed. “It’s okay.”

“Those are fighting words to Harper. She’s been a hockey fanatic since we were kids,” Connor said.

“That’s how I met Connor. Knocked him on his ass playing pond hockey when I was, like, six,” she said.

Her boyfriend shrugged. “It’s the truth. We’ve been besties ever since.”

“And now I get to stick my tongue down your throat whenever I want,” she said with a smirk.

“You are very fixated on tongues tonight, Harps,” Josie said. “Oh my god, Timmy’s so red.”

“You two are a complete menace together,” Timmy replied, but humor laced his tone.

It was honestly wonderful to see how playful and happy they all seemed to be. I didn’t know anything about their actual relationships, but they obviously had fun together. Plus, they cared about helping out Gabe and, by extension, me.

“How about we don’t scare Dani away when we just met her?” Timmy said.

“Oh, please. We are all a friggin’ delight. And no matter what happens with Tucks, she can still be friends with us,” Josie said.

“And you definitely need to join us in the family suite next time. The owners went all out and it is a sweet suite,” Harper said with a laugh.

“Umm. Yeah, maybe,” I replied.

“Okay, even I think we’re coming on too strong now,” Josie said.

I chuckled. “Nah, it’s fine. This is just a little weird. I don’t typically find myself in this kind of situation.”

“Fake dating a hockey player to get another one to leave you alone? Yeah, I get that’s not your norm.” Josie grinned but kept her voice low.

I snorted. “Yeah, that. Wow, it sounds extra ridiculous when you say it all together out loud.”

“It’ll all work out. Tucks is one of the nice ones,” Harper said.

“I try,” Gabe said, his hand grazing my lower back. His voice warmed me in ways it had no business doing.

Dammit.

“And it’s also my fault for running my mouth with Jenzy the other night,” he muttered.

“Fuck Jenzy. That guy can be a total dick,” someone said.

I turned to see another player join our group.

“What the hell were you two arguing about the other night anyway?” The guy paused and flashed me a smile, holding out his hand.

“Hello. I don’t think we’ve met yet. I’m Tally—well, Nate Talbot—but everyone calls me Tally. ”

The man was attractive, with warm, brown eyes. Not nearly as warm as Gabe’s, but they were kind. I shook his hand.

“Tally, this is Dani, my girlfriend.”

I didn’t miss Tally’s quirked brow.

“Dani, this is our team captain, Tally.”

“Oh yes, Tally. Hello, it’s nice to meet you,” I said, hoping I sounded normal and not on edge. “Gabe told me all about his teammates, but it’s a lot of names to remember.”

Tally laughed. “There are a lot of us. But welcome to the group. We’re mostly fun. Well, except Sin. He’s a pain in the—” Tally paused and looked over his shoulder. “Oh, hey, man, didn’t see you there.”

“You’re such a dick,” the other man muttered.

He turned his attention to me, and holy shit, he was stupidly gorgeous, with black hair that had a slight curl to it and piercing blue eyes.

Gabe was adorably hot boy-next-door, but this guy was way too gorgeous for anyone’s own good, and by the look in those eyes, he absolutely knew it.

He was one of those pretty to look at but definitely don’t be interested in anything else from him kind of guys.

Then he held out his hand to me. “Harry Sinclair, but you can call me Sin.”

I almost laughed at his smolder. He clearly had that line down and no doubt used it a lot. I couldn’t have stopped my next words if I’d tried.

“Does that usually work for you?”

Laughter and snickers echoed around me.

“Ooh, she’s got a bite,” he said. “Tucks, are you sure you can handle her?”

“Dude, not fucking cool at all,” Tally said.

“Yeah,” chimed in Josie. “Don’t be an ass just because she called you out.”

I sank back into Gabe’s body, hoping it looked natural. My entire body was on edge, but we needed to sell this to everyone. “He can handle me just fine, thank you very much.” My voice probably had too much bite in it, but this man had irked me.

Gabe chuckled, his breath caressing my ear, and I tamped down the need to shudder. His fingers tightened on my waist, and I felt his touch all the way down to my toes. Why was he so warm and comforting? And why did I want to sink further into him?

Then the cocky man grinned. “Good to hear. Tucks is a good guy but a bit too sweet sometimes.”

“Why are you such as ass?” Gabe said to his teammate.

“Just looking out for you, buddy,” Sin said.

“Damn, your arrogance is annoying,” Harper said.

He winked. “You mean charming.”

This guy was beyond over-the-top.

Both Harper and Josie rolled their eyes, but Sin just smirked.

“So, how did you two meet?” Sin asked.

“Uh, you know, just at a bar one night.”

Sin put his hand on his chest. “You cheated on Simone with another bar?”

“Dude, why are you so fucking dramatic?” Tally asked.

“I know, right?” Josie said, giving me a wink. “But I’ve come to terms with his cheating because I can already tell Dani is awesome. Just promise you’ll come by on my next shift so I can treat you to a burger.”

Micah just shook his head at his girlfriend. These people were a lot, but also entertaining, and I appreciated Josie fully embracing our ruse.

“If you’re done?” Tally shot Sin an over it look.

In response, Sin slung his arm over Tally’s shoulder. “Never. I’m never done. Part of my charm, remember?”

“Don’t worry. He’s all talk, but he’s harmless,” another woman said, nudging Sin’s arm away from Tally and snaking her own around Tally’s waist. Then she held out her free hand to me.

“Hi, I’m Cora, Tally’s girlfriend. It’s very nice to meet you.

And sorry if we’re a bit overwhelming.” She shot Sin a glare.

“The boys just can’t help themselves sometimes. ”

I shook her hand. “Nice to meet you. And, uh, everyone else, as well.”

Gabe’s hand lightly squeezed my hip. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to reassure me or look flirty, but it didn’t help calm me down; instead, his touch frustratingly made me want to kiss him.

Fuck it.

I tipped my head back and kissed his jaw. He froze behind me, and I tried not to gasp when he dragged his thumb across the small of my back.

“So, you’re coming to our charity event tomorrow night, right?” Cora’s voice broke through the lust-fog I was currently experiencing.

“What?”

“Shit. Sorry, Tucks,” Cora said.

Gabe straightened up behind me. “No, I just forgot to ask her.”

Cora shook her head. “Oh, Tucks. Seriously?”

Gabe shifted us so he was facing me. “Hey, Dani, you up for a team charity event tomorrow night?”

“We’ll all be there looking dressed up and hot,” Sin interjected. “You’ll love it.”

Tally groaned. “You are not helping, man.”

Sin shrugged. “We’re always an incentive.”

They continued to go back and forth, but I kept my attention on Gabe as he leaned closer.

“Sorry. I should’ve brought it up when we were doing our parameters, but it slipped my mind. It’s for a good cause.”

“Of course. I should be able to make it. What’s the charity?

” I asked. I wasn’t a huge fan of schmoozy events, having been to a handful over the years, but as long as it was something I could get behind, I was willing to attend.

Plus, I didn’t mind the idea of staring at Gabe in a suit. Or maybe a tux.

Geez, how shallow did that sound?

TUCKS

Shit.

I definitely should’ve told her about the charity event already, along with figuring out what our PDA rules for different situations were, but I was still trying to navigate what we were doing. Obviously, we’d missed a few things when we’d set it all up.

I knew tonight had been overwhelming with everyone bombarding her and wanting to meet her. And fucking Sin being his usual over-the-top self. It shouldn’t have surprised me that I’d completely forgotten about Cora’s event. It was our first one for the Denver children’s hospital.

“I know it’s super last minute.” Cora quirked her brow at me even as she spoke to Dani.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled, but Cora kept going.

“It’s through our Stampede Foundation. We’re trying to do more and more for the community, and this event is to support the local children’s hospital. I do a lot of work with them personally, so the event is very close to my heart,” Cora said.

“That’s awesome. I’d love to attend,” Dani said, a genuine smile in place.

Damn. That smile could light up a room, and I much preferred it over the tighter one she usually had. To be fair, I knew she was on edge with our ruse, so the tension-laced one made sense.

“Dani works with kids. She’s a child and family therapist and volunteers with at-risk teens. She’s amazing.” I had obviously never seen her in action, but I couldn’t imagine her being any less than fantastic at her job.

I caught her staring at me, her lips slightly parted, as I talked about her. Would she pull back if I leaned in for a kiss? I was dying to taste her again.

Focus .

“Wow, that’s amazing. I bet it’s stressful and rewarding all at the same time,” Cora said.

Dani nodded. “Very much so, but I like helping kids and their families.”

“Where do you volunteer? Maybe we could do something to help. Or at least send a bunch of the guys over to hang out with the kids,” Cora said.

“I was already planning to talk to Meredith,” I replied.

“What? Who’s Meredith?” Dani asked.

“Head of PR. She’s great to work with,” Cora explained. “Yes, let’s do that. Whatever you need, Dani, let us know.”