Page 44 of Learn Your Lesson

“Cute pubes, Fabio,” I teased when I made it to him, rubbing the scruff on his chin before he batted my hand away. He grinned, though, and clapped me hard on the back. “Nice to see you.”

“Couldn’t let my team play in my city without showing up to support.”

Our AHL affiliate was based in New York. My guess was they had a day off, and so here he was, ready to cheer on the team he should have been playing for.

He was less prideful than I was. I was fairly certain I couldn’t do the same without throwing myself a fucking pity party.

“So… any of the girls come with you this time?” Carter asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans like he didn’t care all that much.

“Grace is backpacking in Spain,” Jaxson said.

“And Maven makes the most of any away game by forcing Livia to help her get caught up on wedding shit,” Vince chimed in. He shook his head. “That woman and her planning. I feel bad for the event coordinator she hired. Poor woman is going to have the shakes when she sees the list my future wife has put together for her.”

We all chuckled a bit at that, but I didn’t miss how Carter deflated a little when Vince mentioned Livia wasn’t here. She was our team dentist, and it didn’t take a fucking rocket scientist to see Carter had a crush on her.

Poor guy. He didn’t stand a fucking chance with that one. Livia was the kind of woman who would chew him up and spit him out just for fun.

Then again, maybe that’s all he wanted.

“Ah, too bad,” Carter said. “I’m sure they miss me.”

Vince rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes. You’re all my fiancée talks about.”

“Obviously,” Carter said. “You know whowillbe here tonight, though?” He paused for dramatic emphasis, waggling his brows. “Mia FuckingLove.”

“What?!”

“No fucking way.”

“Mia bloodyLove?”

“As intheMia Love?”

“Bullshit.”

“Siiiick!”

All these responses came at once from various teammates, and I had to fight back a snort at the guys who were high-fiving each other as if they had a chance in hell of the biggest pop star on the planet so much as looking their way.

“Ah, she’s alright,” Jaxson said when some of the team quieted. “But she doesn’t have shit on my girl.”

Vince gagged. “Bro.”

“What are you girls screaming about over here?” Aleks grumbled, finally joining us. He’d skated off to take a few more lazy laps around the ice when Carter showed up — probably because he and Carter didn’t particularly get along. Aleks was quick to rag on Carter in the short time they played together earlier in the season before Carter got sent down to the AHL.

My bet was Carter wouldn’t soon forget his comments.

“Mia Love is coming to the game tonight,” Coach McCabe answered, and I think weallshit ourselves a bit because we hadn’t realized he’d come out from where he was back in the locker room with the training staff and one of our injured defensemen.

There were some mutteredoh shit’sbefore most everyone got back on the ice, pretending like they hadn’t been fucking around.

“Which doesn’t matter to us, because our focus is on winning, right?” Coach added, pointedly — mostly at our younger players who looked quite sheepish.

“What did you say?”

Coach turned to Aleks, who asked that question not in a prickish way like usual, but in an almost out of breath manner.

“Mia Love. Pop star,” Coach added, as if that woman needed any introduction. She was the most well-known human on the planet. Her tour last year had grossed more than Elton John’s farewell tour.