Page 24 of Claiming Her Cougar (Shifting Pines #2)
MALLORY
My phone flashes with a text notification from Trevor.
He better not be saying he’s not coming home for Christmas.
It was hard enough to be without backup for Thanksgiving.
I don’t want to do Christmas on my own too.
Okay, that’s not fair. Thanksgiving was better than usual, all things considered, but I miss him.
Trevor: Hey, Lory. Everything good?
What has he heard? Who told him?
Me: Hey, Trev, yeah, everything’s fine. Why?
Trevor: Just asking. Would it be okay if my friend uses the rink for skating and shooting drills?
Me: Sure. Have they been there before? Do they have the code?
Trevor: He’s been there, and I’ll give him the code.
Me: As long as he locks up, cleans up after himself, and doesn’t need me for anything, I don’t care.
Trevor: Thanks, you’re the best.
Me: You’ll be home for Christmas, right?
Trevor: Of course! I’ll be home on Wednesday.
Me: Good. Go back to studying.
Trevor: Yes, ma’am.
Looking out the window, I see the touch of frost on the windowpane.
It’s one of those sunny days that doesn’t look cold, but it is.
My favorite kind of day. I don’t have anything planned for today.
Daphne’s going Christmas tree shopping with Logan.
I could go over to my uncle’s Christmas tree farm to join them or just to help.
They can always use extra hands, but I can’t deal with the crowd I know the farm attracts.
Things are always crazy in the two weeks leading up to Christmas.
Even if a family already has their tree, they’ll return to the farm for the other events or to pet the reindeer.
I wonder if Trev’s friend is coming by today or not.
I could text him back and ask, but it doesn’t really matter.
I should’ve asked who it is, but that doesn’t really matter either.
I should go for a run. Yeah. Maybe some fresh air and physical activity will get me out of this funk.
It’s been forever since I’ve run outside.
I normally just use the treadmill in the rink’s gym.
Okay, I know what physical activity would really get me out of this funk, but no chance for that now because I told Liam there was no chance for us.
* * *
The rink lights are on, and an old SUV is parked alongside it as I approach the barn rink after my run.
Trevor’s friend must be here—I should peek in and make sure everything is okay.
I let myself in the door that enters directly into the gym portion of the building so I can grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
I take a sip as I walk to the doorway to look out over the rink and… promptly start choking.
What the hell is Liam doing here? Is he the friend Trevor told me about?
Since when are they friends? This makes no sense.
He glides over the surface beautifully, his feline grace clear with each long, smooth stroke and the flexing of his powerful thighs.
I remember other long smooth strokes and flexing of thighs, and my core tightens with longing.
He moves the puck with ease as he does a drill, guiding it through cones effortlessly.
I’ve tried this same drill before while playing around with my brothers, and it’s not as easy as he makes it seem.
I understand why his mom misses seeing him on the ice.
If he can move like this after not playing for years, I can only imagine the force he was on the ice in his prime.
“Mallory? What are you doing here?” Liam asks.
Did I unknowingly sigh and alert him to my presence? Or was it my choking half to death on my water? Or did he sense me in the doorway?
“This is my rink,” I say, approaching the boards. “I should ask what you’re doing here. Since when are you friends with Trevor?”
“You’re Lory?” He looks at me quizzically. His eyes widen as realization hits. I could drown in their clear blue depths. “Oh, short for Mallory.”
“Yep. How do you know Trevor? Did you play hockey together? He’s a few years younger than you. I wouldn’t think you were on the same teams.”
“We met at Thanksgiving. He’s friends with my sister Kendall.” He skates over to the boards where I’m standing. “We got to talking hockey, and he helped me and Logan put up the lights at their house. We came here to skate while we were waiting until the girls finished shopping.”
“Wow, small world.”
“Yeah.” Liam leans on the board in front of me.
In his skates, he’s at least a full foot taller than I am.
I feel tiny, not a feeling I get to enjoy that often.
That’s why I feel that thrill. It’s not that Liam is close to me, flushed with exertion and smelling deliciously manly.
I’ve smelled way more sweaty hockey gear than any woman should have to in her lifetime, but for once, I’m not gagging.
He flicks the end of my ponytail playfully. “You realize even if we hadn’t met in Vegas, we would have met each other eventually with all the connections we have? It’s fate.”
His grin is a mixture of boyish exuberance and sexy man.
It’s not fair I have to resist the tug I feel when I’m near him.
Is it fate that we found each other that night six months ago?
Twenty-five plus years here in South Jersey without our paths crossing.
It’s crazy, considering how many of our orbits intersect.
It’s amazing we haven’t been tripping over each other our entire lives.
“Yeah.” I look up into his gorgeous eyes. “I’m glad we met then and had that night without knowing how complicated things are.”
“They don’t have to be complicated. We like each other, we do our own thing and live our lives.”
That could work, and it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. “Friends with benefits? We’d have to keep it just between us. No telling Daphne or Logan. Trevor can never know. Nothing at work.”
Liam nods. “Friends with benefits.”
Now that we have that settled, I can’t wait to reap some benefits.