Page 20 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

“Sure you wouldn’t,” Nate added, chuckling. “Don’t you have his number on your goalie mask?”

“Uh, umm, yeah. So what? He’s a great goalie,” Gabe said. Could his friends hear the stilted his voice sounded?

Fuck. He had my father’s number on his mask. That was full-blown idol territory and the entire situation was fucked up. I could tell Gabe was waiting to see how I wanted to steer this.

Ripped-off Band-Aid was probably best, especially since I wouldn’t put it past my father not to come over here and chat up the table. Hockey players and wealthy people he could look chummy with were his catnip.

I steeled my shoulders and took in a breath. “Actually, he was fine talking to Malcolm, who also happens to be my father.” Then I took the chair Gabe had been holding out for me and waited for the questions that I knew would happen.

At least, as soon as they stopped gaping at me.

“Guess the cat’s out of the bag now,” Gabe whispered, his face way too close to my ear. I tamped down a shudder.

This man wasn’t supposed to affect me, dammit.

Ugh, what a clusterfuck. Why the hell had I agreed to do any of this?

TUCKS

The whole setup felt like I was being punked, and I was still trying to wrap my head around all of it. Dani was Malcolm Albans’s daughter. My idol had fathered my fake girlfriend.

Eww, that sounded weird.

Fuck, this entire thing was weird. I’d been so freaking pumped when Tally told me that Malcolm was going to be here tonight.

I had known he was going to be in town to commentate our game against Montreal in two nights and the Blizzard one after that, but he’d apparently come in early and asked if he could attend the fundraiser too.

I’d hoped to get through the night without the guys saying anything to embarrass me, but I should’ve known better. I couldn’t blame them either; we all took any chance we could to razz each other.

And now I needed to plan how to get my idol’s number removed from my mask.

I hated that she’d thought I’d be upset learning anything negative about her father.

If the guy was a dick, he was a dick. Off-ice behavior mattered a hell of a lot more than his career stats and how well he played the game.

Hockey wasn’t forever, but character was.

I focused on Dani. I could guarantee that she didn’t want to give a complete group of strangers details about her family, so I planned on following her lead. He was her father, after all.

“Holy shit, really?” Timmy said.

“How did you not know that already?” Tally asked me.

Harper stepped up to the table, her gaze darting between Tally and me. “What’s going on?”

“Dani’s dad is Tucks’s idol. Super amazing veteran goalie, who also happens to be here tonight,” Sin replied. “But what Tally said. Dude, did you not know? Ah, don’t worry, Dani, Tucks isn’t the type of guy to just want you for your connections.”

“What the fuck, man,” I bit out just as Tally thumped him on the back of the head.

“Holy shit, really?” Harper exclaimed at the same time, then turned to glare at Sin. “Why the hell would you even suggest that?”

“No, sorry. Aw, shit, I didn’t mean it that way. I just wanted to reassure her that Tucks was one of the good ones, you know?” His backtracking attempt was pathetic at best.

“Hit him again,” Cora said.

Sin held up his hands. “Fine. I’ll be quiet for the rest of the night. And I am sorry, Dani.”

Tally scoffed. “We taking bets on how long he can go without speaking?”

“I’m in for a grand,” Timmy said.

“I’ll go in for two,” Santa replied with a smirk. “The silence will be worth it. We can give the winnings to the hospital.”

His girlfriend Anna smiled from the seat next to him. “You’re so sweet for such a grump,” she said. They rounded out the ten at our table, while my other teammates and their dates sat at the four tables around us.

“Fuckers,” Sin muttered. “I said I was sorry.”

“Just pay up right now,” Micah said.

“Don’t pout. Now hush already, so we can get to the important stuff,” Harper said, a gleam in her eyes as she turned to Dani. “So, really? Malcolm Albans is your dad? That’s amazing. He’s such a legend.”

Fuck. I slipped into my seat next to Dani and reached for her hand. She didn’t pull away, so I took that as a good sign and ignored how just touching her made the heat spike in my body. Instead, I focused on her, giving her whatever she needed for support.

“Yes, he’s my father. But, umm, we’re not really close. I didn’t realize he would be here tonight,” she said.

Harper put her hand on Dani’s shoulder. “Got it. Sometimes legends are shitty. If you want to share more, I’m here, though.”

“Thanks,” Dani said, giving Harper a small smile.

I squeezed her hand gently and was grateful when she did the same in return.

A few of our tablemates looked concerned or curious, but no one asked Dani anything else. And Sin was still silent, which was an added benefit.

***

The rest of the night passed by like a breeze.

I forced Dani onto the dance floor after dinner because I wanted any excuse to hold her in my arms. Dessert had been extra delicious, both of our before- and after-dinner ones.

Dani and Meredith had met and scheduled a meeting for later in the week.

Best of all, Sin had managed to keep quiet for a full hour, thanks to the bulk of that time being during the speeches from various people, and we’d raised a chunk of change for the hospital from our stupid bet.

After all, we wouldn’t be hockey players without a ridiculous wager or two.

By some miracle, Jenzy didn’t hang around long and never came over to our table.

I’d caught a few glares from him, but he’d stayed with his teammates, thank fuck for that.

Dani’s father mingled around the room, and while he politely greeted the team owners and our table, he just wished us well on our game in two nights and moved on.

He had to have been able to read the tension coming off his daughter and I was grateful that he’d done the right thing and left.

My friends hadn’t pressed Dani for any more details about her father, thankfully.

Family dynamics were usually complicated in one way or another, so no one was going to pry into Dani’s.

“We’re taking one last turn around the dance floor and then heading out,” Cora said as she and Tally stood up. “Thank you all so much for coming tonight. Seems like it was a great success.”

There was a chorus of anytime and of course from my teammates. We were always willing to help out a good cause. What good were our super high salaries if we couldn’t use them to benefit our community?

“One last dance?” I asked Dani when a few of my other teammates and their partners also stood up to follow in Cora and Tally’s wake.

“What?”

“One last dance and then I’ll drive you home? I only had two drinks and switched to club soda two hours ago,” I reassured her.

She smiled and patted my knee. “Such a good boy.”

“I try to be.” I sounded raspy for some reason, and I swore her cheeks slightly pinked.

“Umm, I didn’t mean it like that.”

I bit back a chuckle. “Neither did I. So, dance?”

“But this chair is so comfy.” I heard the teasing in her voice.

“No one says that about banquet chairs. Come dance with me.” I batted my eyes at her for good measure and was rewarded with a tiny smile and eye roll.

“I’m kind of tired,” she replied, a smile quirking at the side of her mouth.

“I’ll hold you up. You can even stand on my feet.” Honestly, I just wanted to hold her in my arms again.

She chuckled. “What if I squish your toes? You don’t need any injuries with the season just starting.”

“I’ll survive. Come on, let’s dance. Please?” I tugged her up and into my arms before she could protest again.

“Fine,” she mumbled, but I caught her smile before she managed to school her expression.

“That was easy. I didn’t even have to use my puppy-dog eyes on you. I hear they’re very powerful,” I teased, settling my hands on her waist and slowly rocking with her to the music.

Her hands linked behind my head, her fingertips grazing the soft hair at the base of my nape.

Fuck, her touch felt good. My cock was hard as hell, but I’d been sporting a semi for most of the night anyway, what with her so close to me and me taking advantage of touching her as often as possible—for the ruse, of course.

I tamped down a snort.

“They have no power over me. Maybe Pucks should give you better lessons. His even sucked me in on a few of those videos,” she said.

“You watched all the videos, didn’t you?”

She tilted her head back, a delectable smile on her face. “Not all of them.”

“I taught that pup everything he knows,” I boasted, and she laughed.

Then her fingers scraped along my neck and my entire body tingled.

Was she torturing me on purpose?

Probably my punishment for getting her back on the dance floor, but I’d take it. And I swore there was heat in her eyes. She wasn’t as unaffected by me as she claimed.

Fuck, I wanted to kiss her again.

And since I was her boyfriend for the time being, I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers. Her startled, indrawn breath made me pause, but then her fingers tightened on my neck and she kissed me right back.

Fucking hell, she was perfection, and I couldn’t get enough.

We kept the kiss tame, just a meeting of lips, and a soft swipe of my tongue against hers as we swayed to the music.

The crowd had died down and people were already starting to leave when we’d taken the floor, but right now it felt like it was just the two of us.

I knew with every fiber of my being that I would never get tired of this feeling. Was it stupid to hope that maybe Dani felt a smidge of what I was feeling? It was crazy, we’d only known each other for just over two weeks.

How had I fallen for her so quickly?