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Chapter twenty-five

Holt

These past few days have been the longest of my life.

Okay, maybe not the longest, but close enough.

I stopped by Becca’s office a few times for a couple of quick kisses, and we’ve texted a bunch, but that’s about all since we’ve both been busy.

I grab my phone, smiling as I read through mine and Becca’s text messages from last night.

Me: We’ll pick you up at ten thirty. Are you okay with a lot of walking? I know you’re on your feet a lot.

Becca: That’s good with me. Do I get any other clues?

Me: Nope. Excited to see you.

Becca: Me too. Can’t wait.

There’s a pep in my step, one that hasn’t been there in a long time, as I get Hazel ready.

I hope Becca likes what I planned for us. I know she likes James Bond, so I think she should. But is this too much? Should I have planned something else for us to do? I know she said she was fine with a bunch of walking but is she really?

Shit.

Hazel lets out a gurgle, pulling me out of my thoughts.

Becca is not Kat. Becca would have told me she preferred not to walk around a lot if she really didn’t. Becca is not Kat.

I repeat that mantra over and over to myself as I finish getting ready .

“Ready for an adventure, baby girl?” I ask my daughter a little while later as I strap her into her car seat, and attach it to the stroller.

I sling her diaper bag over my shoulder. She yawns in response. I’m crossing my fingers she naps during the drive. I grab the rest of my stuff and head to Becca’s. She opens the door before I can even raise my hand and knock.

“Hey, you.” She greets me with a quick kiss.

“Oh, no you don’t.” I pull her back, wrap my arms around her, and kiss her. “Hi, Sweetheart,” I say when we pull away from each other, my arms still wrapped around her.

“I’m ready to go. Unless you’re not. We could always go inside.” She winks.

“As appealing as that sounds, we have an adventure to go on. Lock your door, and let’s go.”

She does, and a few minutes later we’re walking out to my G-Wagon. I buckle Hazel’s car seat into the backseat. Her eyes are getting heavy, so I’m pretty sure she’ll nap, at least for the drive. Closing the door gently, I turn, intending to fold up the stroller, but Becca’s beaten me to it.

“Ready?” I ask once we’re both buckled in.

“Yep.” She bounces in her seat. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

“Nope,” I say, popping the p . “It’s a surprise.” I guide the SUV out of the parking lot and down the road toward the highway. “But I’ll give you a hint. Put on the play list titled Surprise .” I hand her my phone.

“It’s locked.”

I rattle off my passcode. After a minute, “A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran comes on.

“Are we going to see a James Bond movie in a theater?”

I raise a shoulder in a half shrug, smiling. “You’ll have to find out when we get there.”

“Humph. Fine, then.” She crosses her arms and sticks out her bottom lip.

I snort. I can’t help it, she’s cute when she pretends to pout. “Relax and enjoy the drive. ”

Forty-five minutes later, I’m parking in front of our destination.

Becca leans forward to peer at the building in front of us. “Did you bring me to a James Bond museum?”

“I did.” I swallow, tugging at the neck of my shirt. “If it’s too much, we can always—”

She cuts me off by leaning over, and kissing me on the cheek. “It’s perfect. I didn’t even know there was one here. Have you ever been?”

I shake my head, pulling a hat out of my door and putting it on.

It’s not the best disguise, but hopefully, it’ll make it harder for people to recognize me.

“No. I found it the other night when I was searching for day date ideas. There’s a bar and a restaurant too, so we can get lunch.

I’m hoping it’s as cool as the pictures online made it look. ”

“Let’s find out.” Becca unbuckles her seatbelt and climbs out.

“Next time, wait for me.”

“I can open my own door.”

I shake my head, getting the stroller out of the trunk while Becca grabs Hazel’s car seat.

“I didn’t say you weren’t capable of doing it, but when you’re with me, I open your door.”

“Such a gentleman.”

She clips Hazel’s car seat into the stroller while I grab the diaper bag and stash it underneath.

I pull her into my arms. “I am.”

I lean down and give her a quick kiss before letting her go. I can’t get enough of this woman.

She slides her hand into mine, and we walk toward the entrance. We spend the next few hours wandering around, looking at all the displays and occasionally quoting movie lines to each other.

Hazel slept for most of it, and when she was awake, she was the happiest baby ever. Every chance she could get, Becca was holding my daughter. She doted on her.

Seeing them together cracked a piece of the wall around my heart. It might only be our first official date, but today, I felt as if I was getting a glimpse of what my future—what our future—could be. That thought is equally terrifying and exciting.

I adjust my goalie mask before walking down the tunnel that leads to the ice.

We’re playing the Mockingbirds tonight, and I am locked in.

I’m feeling the best I’ve felt in a long time.

I know this is going to be a good game, a brutal game, because the Mockingbirds are a team that likes to make a lot of hits and start fights any chance they get, but a good game nonetheless.

The guys yell and hype each other up, but I stand stoically at the end of the tunnel, barely blinking, waiting for the signal to head out for warm-ups.

Craig tips his chin toward the ice, the signal that I should lead the team out.

I skate around our side of the rink, starting my warm-up routine, which consists of skating five laps and then finding my spot in front of our bench where I drop to the ice and stretch.

Hadley said she was bringing Hazel to the game tonight, and I wonder where they’re sitting.

“They’re behind the net,” Hunter says, skating over to me, a cheeky grin on his face.

I peer in the direction he mentioned, and my heart stutters in my chest. Hadley is standing against the glass in a Storm jersey. Next to her is Becca, also wearing a jersey, holding my daughter in her arms.

My girls.

The thought should have me panicking, but it doesn’t. It feels right. Hadley raises a hand and waves. Wes skates over to the glass and taps on it with his stick. A growl escapes me as I watch him chat with them, my girls.

I don’t know why I’m jealous. It’s just Wes. He dotes on my daughter, so of course he’d be over there.

Hunter chuckles, and I shoot a glare his way. He shakes his head and skates off. I force myself to focus on my stretching. A few minutes later, I finish my routine and skate over to them.

“Here,” Hunter says from behind me, and I turn, catching the puck he throws me .

I pull off my mask, tuck it under my arm, and tap on the glass. Holding up the puck, I gesture for Hadley to catch it. I toss it over the glass for her.

Becca beams at me, and holds Hazel so she can see me. Hazel’s eyes light up when she recognizes me. My lips tip up into a grin.

I probably shouldn’t be doing this. There are cameras everywhere.

But it’s my daughter and my sister. Everyone will assume Becca and my sister are friends, and that’s why she’s sitting with Hadley, holding Hazel.

I mean, they kind of are. Becca and I haven’t talked about telling HR that we’re dating, or telling the rest of the team.

Although based on the looks Hunter and Wes are giving me, I’m guessing they already figured it out.

Honestly, I’m not sure I care who knows, because I’m happy.

She makes me happy.

With one last wave, I turn and put my mask back on, getting back into the zone and trying not to think about the woman behind me. I need to get a jersey for Becca with my name on it. I don’t know if she’d wear it. It’s quite a statement. But I’d love to see her wearing my name on her back.

Her, wearing nothing but my jersey.

I take a few breaths. Now is not the time or place to be fantasizing about the woman I’m dating, naked in my bed with nothing but my jersey on. I do a few more stretches, hoping that’ll help center me back on the game, and it does.

Soon, the buzzer sounds, signaling that warm-ups are over. I peek over my shoulder one more time. A zing races through my body when my eyes collide with Becca’s. She winks at me before focusing on whatever my sister is saying next to her.

I turn off all thoughts of her for the next two and a half hours, blocking thirty shots the Mockingbirds send my way. I only let in two goals—one was a tip-in I didn’t see, and the other was scored on the power play after Wes got into a fight with one of their players, and got sent to the sin bin .

I feel on top of my game tonight, for the first time in a very long time. Like the goalie I used to be last season. The one who was a force to be reckoned with.

The team is on fire tonight for once, and we get four goals. They give us the win and the two points we desperately need.

I can’t help but think I played so well tonight because Becca and I started dating. Call me crazy, but I am a hockey player, and we’re known for being superstitious. Nothing else has changed for me except for her.