Page 146 of Breaking the Pucking Rules

Those men were my idols. I was in awe of all of them. Their strength, power, determination, their resilience—it still blows me away all these years later. It doesn’t matter that the men turning up today are the next generation of players from those I grew up with; they’re still just as incredible.

Most of them bloody well know it, too.

“I needed this,” Freya says as she takes her first sip of mimosa as heavy footsteps rumble down the stairs.

“Ah, you found her,” Dad says, looking between the two of us with a smile.

“Ugh, put it away, old man,” I tease.

“Enough of that,” he chastises as he grabs a t-shirt from the back of a dining chair and pulls it on. “Sorry about that.” He shoots a look at Freya, letting me know that he’s apologizing—and dressing—for her benefit.

I glance over at Freya and unsurprisingly find her ogling him. Not in a blatant puck bunny kind of way—more a “wow, he’s cut for an old man” one. I’m weirdly proud that my dad can cause that kind of reaction still.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me she was back,” I chastise lightly.

“Thought it would be a nice surprise. This all looks incredible. I’ve missed your cooking, Freya.”

Freya’s cheeks brighten at the praise.

“Is it too much?” Freya asks nervously.

“Nothing a team of professional hockey players can’t demolish,” I say with a laugh.

“True that. Right, I’m going to double-check the grill. They should be here soon.”

A bolt of nervous energy races through me, and my gaze darts to the window that showcases the driveway.

No one yet. But there will be. And as much as I teased Kodie last night about keeping a straight face this morning, the closer it gets to seeing him, the more I’m worried about how I’ll react.

Will everyone look at me and know I had a Kodie Rivers–induced orgasm last night?

Oh my god.

I spin away from Freya as my cheeks burn red.

They’re all going to know, and Dad is going to find out and?—

“Casey?” Freya’s concerned voice cuts through my panic.

“I’m okay. Just feeling a little lightheaded. I think I celebrated too hard last night.”

“It was a good game. Dad was going wild for it.” Her father isa massive Vipers fan. He couldn’t believe his luck when we moved next door. He fanboyed for quite a while over Dad.

I chuckle before moving toward the door. “I’m just going to get some air.” But instead of moving toward the backyard, I dart toward the stairs.

I take them two at a time and in less than a minute, I’m in my childhood bedroom.

Walking over to the Juliette balcony, I throw the doors open and suck in a deep breath, staring out at the perfect blue sky.

Instantly, I feel a little better.

Curling my fingers around the railing, I tip my head back and close my eyes. I force myself to breathe and relax.

I can’t influence the people making the decisions about the coaching job. I can’t control Kodie’s reaction to me when he turns up. All I can do is focus on the here and now.

What I can do is catch up with an old friend and hopefully make her see that she can still have some fun while we get Dad’s place ready for his guests. Then I can kick back and enjoy spending time with some of the world’s most incredible people.

With the warm fall breeze flowing around me, I let myself get lost in my thoughts. I don’t hear movement downstairs, and it’s not until there’s a knock behind me that I come crashing back to Earth.