Page 17 of Breaking the Pucking Rules (LA Vipers #1)

CASEY

T he arena erupts as Lincoln Storm nets what is going to be the final goal of the game.

Six to one.

The Vipers were on fire tonight.

Lights flash and the goal horn sounds as the floor beneath my feet vibrates, everyone stomping and shouting for their beloved team.

This is what hockey is all about.

The sense of belonging, of family. Of being able to turn to the person sitting beside you and know they’ve got your back.

Parker hollers as Linc laps up the praise in the middle of the rink like the cocky asshole he is.

“Be careful; if he hears, he might think you like him,” I shout in her ear.

She immediately stops, her top lip peeling back.

“I’m not screaming for Linc. I’m cheering for my team. They fucking killed it. All of them.”

“They did,” I say, unable to wipe the smile from my face as the team congratulates each other. “Hayden Monroe smashed it, too.”

“He was a good draft pick,” Parker agrees, watching the rookie get attacked by the others after his kickass performance tonight.

The losing team disappears off the ice, leaving just our Vipers behind. The majority of their fans that came to watch have already left. I get it—it’s disappointing to see your team lose—but I’m always here to the end, no matter the score. Hell, the guys need it more if they’ve lost.

Dad catches my eye from behind the boards, and I give him a little curtsey. He’s buzzing from that win. I can sense it from here. Unable to accept the praise, he gestures to his team, still joking around on the ice.

Glancing back at the team, my breath catches as I find Kodie looking this way.

For a moment, I think it’s an accident, but when he doesn’t immediately drag his eyes away from me, I realize it probably isn’t.

“Casey?” Parker shouts in my ear, but I’m powerless to rip my gaze away.

“Holy shit, Case,” Parker laughs.

But then his eyes drop to my jersey, and he’s gone. Like it never happened.

Only it did.

My body knows it did. And so does Parker.

“Okay, even I need a cold shower after that,” Parker says as the guys finally make their way off the ice.

“I don’t know what you mean.” I try for nonchalance, but I fail massively.

“He wants you,” she states as we begin to file from our row.

“It doesn’t matter if he does. He can’t have me.” I don’t mean for there to be so much bitterness in my tone, but it’s there, and there is no chance of Parker missing it.

“But what if you can?” she asks, playing devil’s advocate.

“There are a million reasons why I can’t.”

She steps beside me as we make our way to the friends and family suite. “But are they really good enough? The way he looked at you, Case. That was…” She fans herself with her hand. “So fucking hot.”

“All of them are good enough,” I force out, hating that my words might be true.

Would I like the chance of a repeat and then to maybe see if things could go anywhere? Sure. I’d be an idiot not to.

But we can’t.

That night has to be enough.

He has other things that need his attention, and I…I have a life that I love that doesn’t involve getting hot and heavy with one of the men who’ve been warned off me.

But doesn’t that only make it more tempting to break the rules?

We step inside, excited chatter about the win filling the room.

“We need drinks,” Parker says immediately, dragging me to the bar.

“Okay,” I laugh, happy to follow her lead.

She orders while I’m looking around the room.

I recognize almost everyone, and more than a few wave and smile at me in greeting.

I’m about to spin around when a slightly older woman catches my eye. But it’s not her who really captures my attention; it’s the little girl she’s leaning down to talk to.

Sutton Rivers.

I swear to God, she is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen.

She isn’t just wearing her father’s jersey but the whole uniform, and she’s clutching a bear stuffy to her chest that’s in a matching outfit.

Her eyes sparkle with excitement. Looking at her, you’d have no idea that it’s more than likely past her bedtime.

“She’s cute, huh?” Parker muses, having seen who has captured my attention. “Looks like us as kids.”

She does. “Nah, she’s cuter than you ever were.”

Parker gasps, and when I turn toward her, I find she’s got her hand over her heart.

“Brutal, Case. Brutal.”

Laughing, I turn to get our drinks.

“Uh…shots?” I ask, staring at the four small glasses in horror.

“Yep,” she agrees, lifting her first one. “Tonight, we’re letting go and having fun.”

“Sounds dangerous,” I tease, hesitantly eyeing the two shots before me.

“We haven’t had a good night out in forever. Come on.”

She gives me her best puppy eyes, not that I really need convincing. She’s right. We are long overdue a night out.

Without saying a word, I reach for the first shot.

“One for fun,” I say, holding it up.

“And one for luck,” Parker says, lifting her glass to tap mine.

“Ugh,” I complain after swallowing. It burns all the way down to my stomach. “I think we might be too old for shots.’

“Bullshit. No one is ever too old for shots.”

“I’ll remind you of that in the morning,” I tease.

“It’ll be worth it,” she says, reaching for the second.

“Really?”

“Really.”

I can’t lie; the second one goes down a little easier. The buzz it gives me only adds to that from tonight’s win, and I’m on my way to being ready to dance the night away.

I t’s a little over thirty minutes later when the team begins to join us.

I know he’s coming—his mom and daughter are here. But this time, I don’t stare at the door, waiting for him to appear like a lost puppy.

That eye contact earlier was enough for me to handle.

Anymore and I might end up really embarrassing myself.

The image of me humping his leg appears in my head, and I can’t help but laugh.

“Is this a private joke, or can anyone join?” Parker quips.

“It’s nothing. I just…” My words trail off as tingles run down my spine.

“Just what?” she pushes.

He just walked in.

Inhaling through my nose, I try to focus on Parker, but I can barely even remember my own name .

“Daddy,” ripples through the room, and I lose my fight to keep my eyes off him.

My head twists just in time to see her jump into his arms.

He engulfs her small body in a hug and presses a kiss on the top of her head.It’s adorable.

“You were amazing tonight.”

He whispers a response, but his voice is lower and less excited, stopping me from hearing his words.

“That final assist was incredible. But not as good as your first goal. That play was perfect. Monroe is good, too; he was a good choice. I’ve already told Coach.”

Parker snorts a laugh. Apparently, she’s listening too.

“She’s you fifteen years ago,” Parker whispers.

“Uh…I don’t ever remember giving Dad’s coach advice.”

“Something tells me he might say otherwise,” she counters.

Turning away from father and daughter, I start to argue. “I did—” But the second I look into Parker’s glinting eyes, my words vanish. “Fine, maybe I did once or twice. I was right, though.”

“James always said you should have become a coach,” she says as our fresh drinks are placed before us.

I smile, although I can’t deny the desire to coach isn’t there. “Maybe in a different life. I’m happy with what I’m doing.”

“Yeah,” she agrees. “Same.” It’s bullshit. Parker might have the career she always wanted, but she isn’t happy with her current job. She really wants to be here on the Vipers’ medical team. But positions are like gold dust.

It’ll happen. She needs to be patient.

It’s another thirty minutes before Dad and Fletch appear. Fletch is fresh from the shower and as per usual, the second he spots Reese in the crowd, he walks straight into her arms.

“Care Bear,” Dad calls—a little too loudly, considering we’re surrounded by people.

“Great game, Coach,” Parker says. “Casey and I were just talking about when she was little and used to tell your old coach what plays to run.”

Dad’s face lights up with a wide smile before a chuckle erupts. “You always had a good eye,” he tells me.

“Exactly.”

“You still do. I’ve made use of your ideas in the past.”

Pride swells in my chest. I know he has; I’ve seen him call plays that the two of us have discussed over the kitchen island.

“Breakfast tomorrow morning?” he asks, as if I hadn’t already agreed to it.

“You got it, old man,” I tease.

“Coach,” someone calls, making him look over his shoulder.

“Gotta go. Be good tonight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he warns before stalking off.

“Oh, Casey is definitely imagining doing things you wouldn’t do with your number fifty-five.”

“Shut up,” I hiss before grabbing my vodka and Coke and swallowing a large mouthful.

“I bet you that by the time this season is over—hell, by the end of the year—you’ll have gotten up close and personal with him again.”

My cheeks blaze red hot.

Fuck. I really hope she’s right.

“ P arker,” I groan as she pulls me toward The Fractured Compass.

The drinks we’ve already consumed have left me with a nice buzz, but I’m not drunk enough to happily go along with her wicked plan.

“Casey,” she states authoritatively. “I’m not about to line up the entire team and ask you to blow them.”

“I should hope not.”

She pauses for a moment as if she’s considering the thought herself.

“You don’t want a hockey player. They’re all egotistical jerks, remember?”

“Still a hot image, though.”

“Jesus,” I mutter.

“Anyway, what I was trying to say is that you’re allowed to go to a bar where they might be, Case.”

“Where they are,” I correct. There is no might about it.

“So what? You’re a grown-ass woman. It’s not like you’re going to work your way around the team and make it hella awkward for everyone. You’re as much a part of the Viper family as they are. You’re allowed to celebrate a win with them.”

I think back to all the warnings Dad has given me over the years.He’s trying to protect me and stop me from getting my heart broken. I respect that.

But also…

Parker’s right. Those warnings are old. I’m a fully grown adult who can make my own decisions.

I internally cringe.

My heart isn’t getting involved in this.

I was just ticking off a bucket list item before I find “the one,” settle down, and never get the chance.

It was a one-off.

Something that won’t be repeated, and certainly not with another member of the team.

“Okay, fine. But if Dad has something to say, I’m sending him your way.”

She waggles her brows. “Oh, you can send Daddy Watson my way any day.”

My top lip peels back.

“Gross,” I mutter, shoving her out of the way so I can get to the door. I need a drink to help me forget that comment.

“What? He’s got that hot older thing going on. And he’s no longer a player, so…”

“Just for that comment, you’re buying the drinks.”

“Atta girl,” she says excitedly as she follows me into the bar.

Music and loud chatter hit my ears the second I step inside, and as I round the corner, my eyes immediately land on the booths filled with hockey players.

It’s not like they’re hard to find. They’re all stacked with muscles and unbelievably hot.

I don’t know what it is about hockey players' DNA. They’re not only gifted on the ice, but they’re always ridiculously good-looking.

It’s really not fair.

I scan the faces, mentally ticking off who’s here and who’s not, when my eyes snag on a face I was not expecting to see.

Kodie Rivers doesn’t go out drinking with the guys after a game.

He goes home and tucks his little girl into bed.

But not tonight.

He’s...here.

And he’s looking right at me.