Page 27

CHAPTER 27

FROST

F rost glared at Rocky when he took his jersey off and sat down in front of Hel. He scowled even more when she touched the other man’s bare skin, and his first reaction was to storm across—well hop across—pull her away from the young player and into his arms, then not let her go.

Glancing over, he saw Greg filming him and averted his gaze from Hel, sure they caught something on camera he probably didn’t want them to. Instead, he hopped over to stand next to Coach Morgan. Wincing as the crutches pinched and pulled at the material of his suit jacket.

Frost made sure he didn’t look over at Hel, didn’t watch her hands as they touched another man.

Going into autopilot, he gave the team a pep talk for the next period as Coach Morgan looked on, nodding his approval at Frost’s words as he mixed in encouragement and praise with suggestions for how to improve things and play better.

Even as he was talking, he had to fight to stop his eyes from straying to Hel.

Only when the players cheered to pump themselves back up again at the end of his talk did he allow his eyes to find her. She was laughing with Rocky. Her hair was escaping from the ponytail she had scraped it back into. She wore a big jacket zipped up to the neck to fend off the cold in the arena, jeans, and trainers. She was the most stunning woman he had ever met.

Frost was leaving in a couple of months, but maybe they could make things work long distance, or maybe she would move to Canada? He didn’t know how it would work out, but he needed to try. As if he didn’t ask her on a real date, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Although, maybe she didn’t want to. Since their almost kiss on the sofa—which he was still annoyed with Aiden for interrupting—she had been avoiding him, even if she claimed it was just work.

Where previously she held his eyes and touched him at every opportunity. Now, she dropped her gaze the instant it met his, and he couldn’t recall the last time she touched him.

Shit. Maybe he shouldn’t ask her out. Maybe she wanted nothing to do with him, and she thought almost kissing him was a mistake.

Glancing across at Hel, his eyes met hers for a moment before she dropped her gaze, a small flush rising up her cheeks. He stared, willing her to look at him again, but she didn’t.

He huffed a deep sigh and followed the team back to the rink. He spent the rest of the game desperately trying to concentrate on the action on the ice, but as the time ticked down on the clock, his mind went backwards and forwards between asking her out and not wanting to ruin their friendship if she didn’t feel the same way he did.

When the final buzzer sounded, Frost had finally come down on the side of nothing ventured, nothing gained.

He started to hop towards Hel, when an announcement came over the speakers of the arena.

“Ladies and gentlemen. If I could have your attention for another minute. I have a lady here with me who has a special announcement to make.” The commentator’s voice boomed around the arena, the chatter of the crowd quietened, and a hushed anticipation settled across the place.

Frost squinted when the door on the other side of the rink opened, and a woman carefully made her way out onto the ice, with a linesman holding onto her so she wouldn’t fall. A man carrying a camera followed closely behind them.

No, no, no, no, no. If he hadn’t recognised the woman immediately, the camera trailing in her wake gave away exactly who it was. Patricia. Bloody Patricia was in the middle of the ice, and if he knew her, and he did, she was about to do something he wasn’t going to like.

“Hi everyone.” Patricia spoke into the microphone in her hand and giggled.

To the uninformed, it would sound like the nervous giggle of a woman overwhelmed to be in front of a crowd. To Frost, it was like nails on a chalkboard. He knew that practised laugh and he also knew she loved being in front of an audience, she was never nervous. What the hell was she doing?

He glanced over at Hel, who was looking straight ahead, and even from the distance he was away from her, he could see her jaw was clenched.

“I’m here to beg forgiveness from the most important man in my life,” Patricia continued.

Frost’s blood ran cold, he needed to get to Hel. He tried, but it was hard to negotiate around the giant hockey players who were milling around and blocking his path.

“It’s for you, man.” One of the young players slapped him on the back hard enough that he had to catch himself with his crutch or risk falling. The young player realised what he had done and grabbed hold of Frost’s arm to stabilise him.

Frost tried to see over all of their heads to where Hel was standing, but they were all so tall, especially in their skates, that he had no chance.

“I said some very hurtful things, and the only way I felt I could show him I was truly sorry was to do this.” Patricia managed to put a little hitch in her voice as if she might break down in tears at any moment.

Frost rolled his eyes. He was sure she had practised that move a good few times in front of the mirror. Actually, knowing Patricia, she would have recorded herself over and over again until she had it perfect.

“Frost. I love you. You’re endgame for me.”

Frost cringed at her words. He was pretty sure she had lifted the line from a movie or television show.

“I freaked out when I saw you injured. I’m so sorry. I should have been there for you. Not run.”

Frost scoffed. She was something else.

“At the end of the day. I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” Patricia finished and dropped the microphone to her waist, then wiped at her eyes.

Did she even have an original thought in her head? He knew the last line was from Notting Hill. He remembered everything about watching it and how close he had been to kissing Hel when it ended. Bloody Aiden.

Frost tried again to spot Hel, but his teammates were pushing him forward, so he was at the edge of the ice rink while Patricia was accompanied over to them.

Applause began somewhere in the crowd, and soon, everyone joined in, shouting and stamping as she tottered across the ice.

Frost grimaced and clenched his teeth. She was so manipulative. Coldness settled over him as she drew nearer. He didn’t want to have this conversation in front of a crowd of people, his team, and Hel.

Again, he looked for Hel. Usually, her bright red hair was easy to spot, but even amongst the navy of his teams shirts, he couldn’t see her.

“What do you say, Frost?” Patricia spoke into the microphone.

Frost rolled his eyes, of course she did. She was now close enough that they could have a face-to-face conversation, yet she made sure the audience heard.

He hopped forward so he was right in front of her at the edge of the ice. He had to play this correctly, or she would make a massive scene. Leaning over, he kissed her gently on the cheek, and the whole arena erupted into applause.

As Frost pulled back, he caught a flash of red out of the corner of his eye, and his head whipped around. Was that Hel? Where was she? His eyes searched frantically, but he couldn’t find her.

“What do you say, Frost?” Patricia repeated again into the microphone.

It was all Frost could do not to roll his eyes. She was a piece of work. He needed to get the microphone out of her hand and this self-centred woman out of there. Then he needed to go and find Hel.

“Shall we get you off the ice? And go somewhere more private?” Frost managed not to growl at her, however much he wanted to.

Patricia brought the microphone to her lips and said, “Yes. We should go somewhere more private.”

The noise in the stadium increased in volume, and this time, Frost did growl. This was so typical of Patricia. She tried to walk on the ice and slid. He used this as an opportunity to take the microphone out of her hand and get rid of it.

The commentator announced to the crowd, “And there we have it, folks. A happily ever after!”

Frost growled when Patricia clung unsteadily to the boards. “Rocky, Aiden. Can you grab her?”

The young men reached over and hoisted her into the players box in a matter of seconds, and Frost was tempted to ask them to keep on carrying her until they reached the exit. Then dump her outside, ideally with a ticket back to Canada.

The second Patricia was back on solid ground, she flung herself at him, and because of the crutches, Frost couldn’t easily step out of her way. She clung on, her cloying perfume enveloping him and making him feel nauseous.

He couldn’t help but contrast it with how Hel smelt, which was fresh and clean, with a faint hint of lemon, which he thought was her shampoo. Not that he had smelled her hair, okay, he had totally smelled her hair when they were watching television together, and she fell asleep next to him and ended up leaning into his side.

Extracting himself from Patricia’s embrace, he took a hop back. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you. I made a mistake. I want to get back together.” She reached out for him, her manicured fingers landing on his chest and stroking him through his shirt.

Frost would have stepped backwards again, but he was already against the bench and had nowhere to go. He cursed the broken leg, which meant he couldn’t climb over it and run away.

“Nope.” Frost shook his head.

“Really? Jake, I love you. I wasn’t thinking straight.” Patricia pushed her chest out towards him and tilted her head, playing with her hair.

“Nope,” Frost grimaced. He didn’t like the sound of his actual name on her lips. It felt like she was trying to be intimate with him when all he wanted from her was distance.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Son, this seems like something you need some privacy for.” Coach Morgan’s gravelly voice was loud enough for Patricia to hear too.

She purred, “Yes, privacy would be good.” Then she leaned forward and murmured, “Although I always was a little bit of an exhibitionist.”

Frost shuddered. “Let’s go.” He turned to the side and hopped off through the team who were, for once, being mature and not making any comments.

Patricia tried to link her arm through his, and Frost stopped moving. “That doesn’t make it very easy for me to walk. Please stop.”

She didn’t even seem to notice his revulsion of her. Instead, she giggled. “Of course, silly me.”

Frost didn’t say anything else to her until they got to the coach’s office door, and he held it open. “After you.” He gestured for her to enter.

“Thanks.” She giggled again and smiled coyly.

She was excellent at what she did. He used to be taken in by that sort of look from her. But now, now all he wanted was for Hel to be the one standing in front of him, not acting like he didn’t exist and avoiding him.

He hopped around the desk and sat down gratefully in the coach’s chair, wanting to keep her away from him. He stifled the groan that nearly escaped his lips. His leg wasn’t feeling great. He had spent too long standing and would pay for it tomorrow with pain.

Propping his elbows on the desk, he leaned forward. “What’s this about?”

Patricia took hold of the end of her hair and twirled it around her fingers. “I told you, I made a mistake.”

“Really?” Frost’s eyebrow lifted. “I’m no longer a has-been?”

“I never said that!” Patricia exclaimed, pouting.

“No, you didn’t say it. You wrote it down. I can show you if you need a reminder.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“If I did say it. It was in the heat of the moment,” Patricia simpered.

Frost thought back to the disagreements they’d had while they were together and realised she did that a lot, turned things around until he almost thought he was in the wrong, even when she had been the one to do something outrageous, like film him in the shower and put it online.

“Anyway. That doesn’t matter. I saw the article and knew we should be together.” Patricia smiled widely and leaned across the desk toward him, giving him a view straight down her top.

“Article?” Frost asked.

“We should be together,” Patricia repeated.

“What article?” Frost wasn’t to be deterred.

“Oh, you know.” Patricia leaned further and smiled coquettishly at him.

“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

Patricia didn’t say anything, merely leaned further, so he sighed and grabbed his phone out. Opening Google, he typed his own name.

The first headline that popped up was the announcement of his coaching debut in the NHL. He clicked on it and scanned the article on the website, and at the end, there was an estimation of his future salary, which was grossly inflated compared to reality.

And there it was. He had always known she liked the ‘finer things in life’, and when they had been together, he hadn’t minded buying things for her, paying for their meals and travel.

When she asked about money, he skirted the issue. Maybe even then, realising she was only with him for one reason. He had implied to her that all his money was locked up in long-term investments and that when he stopped playing, he would have to adjust his lifestyle significantly.

Which was true, he was going to adjust it. He didn’t have to, but he was over the flashy life, the expensive clubs and the expensive cars. He wanted to spend money on what really mattered, which was a future and maybe a family. His mind jumped to Hel, but Patricia chose that moment to say his least favourite word.

“Baaaaabbbbeeeeeeee.”

Gritting his teeth, he ground out, “We’re over. We are never getting back together. Please leave.”

“Babe,” she squealed. “You don’t mean that. We’re soulmates. We’re meant to be together.”

“Patricia. It’s time for you to go. Please leave.”

“That’s not my name, it’s Star,” she screamed at him before she added. “And I’m your soulmate.”

“No. You’re not,” Frost said quietly.

“I am. I love you,” Patricia declared, leaning so far forward on the desk she was practically lying on it.

“No.” Frost pushed the wheeled office chair backwards so her grasping hands couldn’t reach his jacket.

“Frost. Babbbbeeeeeee.” She tried again.

Frost heaved himself to his feet, taking hold of his crutches. “We’re done. I don’t want to hurt you, but we’re not getting back together.”

“I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. You would be another thug defenseman without me. A dumb sportsman with no personality,” Patricia screamed at him.

“Please leave me alone.” Frost rounded the desk, moving as quickly as his crutches allowed him.

“Frost. Babe,” she screeched.

“We’re done. Go home.” Frost saw she was shocked at the finality of his words and used her surprise to make his escape.

“Babbbbbeeeeeee.” She tried one last time.

Frost didn’t even look over his shoulder. Instead, he pushed the door open, only saying. “Goodbye.” As he hopped out the door.

Frost rushed past the team, who were all trying to pretend they hadn’t been listening.

“I’ll make sure she gets home safe.” Coach Morgan assured him.

“Thanks.” He pulled up Marco’s number on his phone and gave it to Coach. “Call Marco. He’ll come and pick her up. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, son. You should go and speak to Hel.” Coach Morgan gave him a knowing smile.

“Yeah.” Frost pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening the Uber app. He swore loudly. The next available ride was over an hour away. Glancing up at Coach Morgan, he winced when he saw the older man’s glare. “Sorry, Coach.”

Coach tutted. “I’ll allow the bad language as you’re stressed. But try and recall you’re the assistant coach now. You need to hold yourself to a higher standard than before.”

“Yes, Coach.” Frost agreed. Looking around the room, he made eye contact with Rocky. “Rocky,” he called.

“Yeah, Coach Frost,” Rocky yelled back.

Frost froze for a moment. It was weird being referred to as Coach. “Can you give me a lift home?”

“Sure, but I stink. I need to shower first,” Rocky replied.

“No worries.” Frost took a seat, tapping his good foot impatiently and intermittently checking Uber to see if a ride had freed up.