Page 3 of Breaking the Ice (Denver Stampede #6)

DANI

A goddamn hockey player—and a freaking goalie, on top of it.

I almost glanced at the ceiling and muttered why . Why me?

And I’d kissed him. I clenched my fist, refusing to touch my still tingling lips.

He had this whole boy-next-door thing going for him with that smile and adorable dimple and how his hair curled over his brow.

And then he kissed like a man possessed and I’d never wanted to be possessed, but I might sign up for a free trial of that.

Fucking hell, my head was foggy.

Asking Gabe—no, Tucks —to kiss me had been completely out of character and, based on Roger’s delusional claims about us not being done, hadn’t completely worked. But at least he wasn’t still standing here and badgering me.

I sucked in a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked again, concern in his eyes.

He leaned toward me, his arm still around my waist and his hand on my hip.

As much as I’d wanted to lash out and try to punch Roger, having Gabe next to me had kept me grounded.

And while knocking Roger out probably would’ve made me feel better, I definitely would’ve hurt my hand. Fucking hockey player strong jawline.

See? Now I was venturing into a rambling brain dump. It felt foreign and irritating as hell.

“Dani? You okay?” This time it was Miranda talking.

I glanced over at her. Her head was tilted to the side and she looked at me with both concern and humor. That last part was definitely because of my enthusiastic participation in kissing Gabe in front of everyone.

Embarrassment washed over me and my cheeks went pink. We’d definitely made a scene, and I hated that type of attention.

“That man is such an asshole,” Miranda said. “I’m glad he’s gone, and he better leave you alone.”

“So you’re one of the goalies for the Stampede? I knew you looked familiar,” Randy said, before turning to me. “Fuck, Dani. What the hell did you see in that guy?”

“A goalie too. What are the odds?” Miranda echoed.

“Are you okay?” Gabe asked again.

Fucking hell, it was extremely hard not to get taken in by his oceanic eyes behind those glasses. I pulled back. He was too close.

“Yes, sorry. Umm…that was awful. Thanks for the whole kissing-me thing and going along with us dating. Not sure it deterred him, but next stop is a restraining order if I have to.”

“It better not come to that. Wait, has he ever hurt you?” His eyes were wide, his mouth tight.

“I know it’s not my business, and feel free to tell me that, but are you afraid he would?

I’ve known him for years because of hockey, though I don’t know him that well.

He’s an asshole, but no one has mentioned violent behavior off the ice to me.

Of course, that absolutely doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. ”

I shook my head. “No, he’s never been like that. He became more of an asshole when I broke things off, but I never feared he would hurt me.” I blew out a breath and glanced around the bar.

A few people were looking at us, and I stiffened. I hated when people looked at me over stupid shit.

“Ignore them,” he whispered.

I stepped out of his hold and immediately both missed his warmth and hated myself for wanting to sink into him. He was nice, yeah, but he was also a hockey player—and a goalie at that. Steering clear of anything to do with that sport was always in my best interest.

His hands fell to his sides, and he took a slight step back.

“Dammit, Dani. I could punch that dick right now. How dare he come in here and act like that,” Miranda said.

“It’s fine. He’s gone and I’m so done with him. I’m blocking his number right now. I thought he could be reasonable, but clearly not.” I waved my hand around in front of me. “Sorry for all this.”

“Pssh, stop. This isn’t your fault at all. He’s an asshole and now I don’t have to pretend to be nice to him if I run into him again. Good riddance.”

“You really okay, Dani?” Randy asked, and I glanced over at him.

He really had looked ready to take on Roger.

The bar owner was tall and lanky, and definitely smaller than Roger, but I bet Randy was scrappy, and I’m glad it hadn’t come to that.

Violence, no matter how much I currently wanted to inflict it on my ex, was never a good idea.

Another reason to not be a fan of hockey.

Senseless violence for entertainment was never warranted when real life had too much of it.

“Yeah, I’m good. Promise. But I think it’s time for me to head home.” I gave both of my friends a smile and faced Gabe again.

He was waiting patiently and hadn’t tried to interject what I should and shouldn’t do about Roger. He just listened. It was… nice.

Okay, stop right now .

“Sorry I got you mixed up in all of this. I hope it’s not an issue when you play against him, although I’m sure you can handle him. Uh, thanks for the kiss and all.”

“Uh, no problem. Anytime. I mean, not anytime, like you want to kiss me again or something.”

“Okay, this is just weird,” I muttered. “Let’s forget all of this happened.”

He looked pinched for a minute before his expression was neutral. “Yep, makes sense. But, uh, I can’t really because we’re playing against him next week.”

I tilted my head back and took in a breath. Just my dumb luck that I would ask another hockey player to fake-kiss me—except that, yeah, it wasn’t a fake kiss.

No shuddering, dammit.

“Maybe he won’t bring it up,” I muttered.

“After that kiss? Oh, you better believe he will,” Miranda said, grinning.

I was exponentially regretting that kiss. Well, maybe not completely. It had been amazing.

Not the point.

“How about I just say that we’re dating if he asks me within the next few weeks? Then, after that, I’ll say we broke up,” Gabe said.

“Seems reasonable.” Miranda smirked.

“Dammit, this is going to come back and bite me in the ass, isn’t it?” I dropped my forehead to my hand. “Wait, you probably have social media, don’t you? He’s going to look us up.”

“Eh, it’s possible. I don’t really have a huge following though. Pucks’s is larger.”

“Pucks?”

He grinned. And it was fucking adorable.

Nope .

“Pucks is my dog. I made him an Instagram page last year, Tucks and Pucks. It’s just stupid videos of him being silly, but he’s more popular than me, which just makes sense. He’s the best.”

“Just wonderful,” I muttered.

“I’m sure it will be fine, but I think we should exchange numbers if something comes up.”

“Just to be clear, I’m not interested in actually dating you.” I paused when his mouth tightened. “Sorry, that sounded bitchy. What I mean is, I’m not in the mood to date anyone right now.”

“And especially hockey players, from the sound of it?” One side of his mouth quirked up.

“She has a history,” Miranda said, and I shot her a glare.

“Hey, I get it.” He waved his hand. “Season’s starting soon anyway, so I’m too busy.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nice save.”

He shrugged, tucking one hand in his pocket. “What can I say? I am a goalie.”

I groaned. “Just give me your phone.” Snagging it from his outstretched hand, I sent myself a text from his phone and then handed it back. “There, all done. Now, I’m heading home, So, uh, thanks for helping tonight. Sorry if it causes you any drama.” I grimaced.

“It’ll be fine. No worries.” He pulled out his wallet. “Well, I’m just going to settle my tab and head out.”

“Oh, you don’t have to leave. Again, I should probably head home anyway.” I was feeling discombobulated and it was making me itchy.

“Nah, I finished my meal and I have training in the morning, so I need my sleep.” He looked over at Miranda and Randy, who were both, annoyingly, watching us.

“It’s on the house for helping deal with that douche. Right, Randy?” Miranda said.

“Yes, of course. Totally on the house, but promise to come back,” Randy said. “And really, man, thanks for doing Dani a solid.”

“It was nothing.”

He said it so nonchalantly that I wanted to bristle. He wasn’t wrong though. Right? I mean, I wanted it to be nothing. Just over and done and hopefully managed to get Roger to back off permanently. Win-win and all that shit.

“And I’ll definitely be back. That burger was something else, man.

” Then he dropped a few bills on the counter.

“Have to tip my server, of course. Nice meeting you both.” He turned to me.

“And if you need anything, just call, okay? I’ll keep up the ruse with Roger as long as you want. It really isn’t that big of a deal.”

“Uh, yeah. Sure thing.” Then he gave me one last dimpled smile and walked out of the bar.

I would not look at his ass.

Okay. I would. Hockey players were known for those bubbles and it looked like Gabe was sporting a nice one.

“You have some drool,” Miranda said, lifting her hand toward my face.

I jerked back. “When did you get so close?” She’d moved closer to Randy while Gabe and I had been talking, and now she was almost on top of me.

She chuckled. “While you were staring, I moved in. I wanted to make sure you’re okay. Maybe give you a hug.”

“Ugh. I’m fine, thanks,” I grumbled.

“Are you really okay?” she asked.

I sank onto the barstool next to me. “What the hell just happened?”

“You kissed a super-hot hockey goalie to convince your ex-boyfriend, also a hockey goalie, that it was over?”

I glared. “I didn’t need all that detail. Shit. I mean, of all the people to kiss. And to even suggest a stranger kiss me. Like my day wasn’t rough before I walked in here.”

“You did share fries with him, though, and he was really kind about everything. And phew.” She fanned her face. “Damn, that kiss was fire. I thought I was going to need to get the soda hose out so the whole bar didn’t combust.”

“Very funny. It was just a kiss and completely out of character for me. I’m blaming the vodka sodas.”

“Looked like you were completely out of body, too. Damn, girl. And your drinks weren’t even that strong.”

“At least Roger left. God, what a fucking disaster.”