Page 41 of Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey #1)

RUBY

This weekend was incredible. I loved visiting my family, seeing Greer’s team win the championship, and soaking up the sunshine.

But, it also sucked. I missed Nick and Aidan and the lake view. And I might have even missed hockey.

The people in front of me groan as they step out of the airport into the parking garage.

“Oh, it’s so hot,” one of them says.

I fight a laugh. I’m still wearing a sweatshirt because the plane was so cold I haven’t warmed up yet. My Arizona blood is still not accustomed to Montana, but my heart is happy to be back.

I get in the MINI Cooper and head straight for the rink. I don’t even need to text Nick to know that’s where he is. Aidan is at his mom’s house this week, so Nick will be filling his time with hockey.

I pull into the lot and smile when I spot his truck. I park next to him and am stepping out of the car when he walks out of the building with his bag on one shoulder. His head is down so he doesn’t see me until I’m only a few feet away.

He stares at me a beat as if he’s sure he’s seeing things, then a slow grin tugs at the corners of his mouth.

I pick up my pace, closing the distance between us and flinging my arms around his neck. I missed him too damn much to play it cool.

“You’re back,” he says, wrapping his strong arms around my back and squeezing. He lifts my feet off the ground, and I burrow closer into him.

“Yep and…” I pull back so I can look up at him. “I finished the book!”

“When?” His lips are pulled wide as he searches my face for understanding.

“I got on the plane, and I don’t know…it just all came together. I wrote the entire ride to Arizona and then stayed up last night after Greer’s game, and I sent it to Molly this morning.” I don’t know if it’s any good or if anyone will want to read it, but I’m so damn proud of it.

He sets me down but keeps his hold on me. “You finished but you still came back.”

He seems to think there was some question in that. Silly boy.

“Of course. I have one week left on my rental and a hot hockey player that I’d love to show my appreciation for all he’s done to help me.”

He grins.

“I meant sex,” I whisper, not so quietly. “Like right now. Immediately. I’ve been thinking about all the fantastic things you can do with that glorious dick for the past forty-eight hours. Minus a few hours where I was around other people because that would be weird.”

“Loud and clear, Red, but uh—” He gives me a bashful smile that doesn’t register until a soft laugh sounds behind us.

“I love her,” a woman I did not notice says with a smirk. A guy steps up beside her with a shake of his head.

“Sorry. Inside thought.” I pull away from Nick and then pray the ground swallows me up.

My attempts to hide behind him are thwarted when he pulls me into his side with an arm around my hip. “Ruby this is Jack Wyld, an old teammate, and his wife, Ev?—”

“Everly Wyld,” I say, piecing it together. “I know who you are. You work with my brother-in-law, Flynn Holland. He says so many great things about you.”

She’s his agent. His very fierce, beautiful, downright terrifying sports agent.

“Right.” Nick laughs. “I forgot about that. Have you two met?”

“No, but I’m gagging,” Everly says, smiling so big at me. “You’re Olivia’s sister, the romance novelist.” She turns her gaze to Nick and hisses, “How could you not tell me that you were dating Ruby Madison?!”

“My apologies,” Nick says dryly. “I didn’t realize I needed to run these things by you.”

“Yeah, well, now you know.” She looks back to me. I can’t tell if she’s serious or not.

“I have heard so much about you,” she says. “I thought you lived in Arizona.”

“I do.”

“How did you end up here?” Her brows pull together as she glances between me and Nick.

“It’s a long story,” I say.

“Well, I have to hear it. Are you coming to dinner with us?” she asks.

“I didn’t know you were back. We were planning to go to MVP and watch the baseball game,” Nick explains.

Embarrassment heats my cheeks.

“No, you guys go. I’ll see you later tonight.”

“You should come,” Jack says. And he is…wow. Tall, hair so dark it’s nearly black, and a face that’s handsome and friendly yet reserved. His wife is terrifying, but he’s pretty intimidating too.

“Sports ball isn’t really my thing.” Unless Greer is playing. Or Flynn. Or Nick. Hmm. The list is getting longer. Maybe I’m a sports fan after all.

Everly nods. “I’m meeting up with a client that just moved here. You can hang with us.”

“Oh, I don’t want to intrude while you’re working.”

“It’s not even like that. She’s become a friend and when I told her I was going to be in town, she insisted we have a girls’ night.

Besides, I am obsessed with you and need to know everything.

Starting with how you ended up here with Galaxy.

” She leans in and does a bad job of whispering, “I also need to hear more about his glorious dick.”

“Ev,” Jack says with a sigh that turns to a chuckle.

“You can’t tell me you aren’t curious now,” she says to her husband.

“The only glorious dick you’re allowed to talk about is mine.”

“In that case we can share our stories,” Ev says to me with a wink.

I decide I absolutely must go to dinner with her and maybe befriend her forever.

At MVP, the four of us prepare to go our separate ways.

“You good?” Nick asks. He and Jack are heading to the bar while I’m going to the restaurant side with Everly.

“Yeah. I’m good.”

“All right.” He looks past me to Ev. “Best behavior.”

“Yeah right, Galaxy,” she says, linking her arm through mine.

He shakes his head, gives me one more long look, then turns to follow Jack to the bar. I stick with Everly as she leads me to a table across the restaurant. A woman with long blond hair waves and stands as we approach.

She’s shorter than I am, but she gives off a confidence and friendliness that has me liking her immediately.

“Hannah.” Everly hugs her. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too,” Hannah says as they pull back. Her light brown eyes flick to me. “Hi.”

“This is Ruby,” Everly says.

“Hannah,” she says, reaching her hand out to me. “Are you one of Everly’s clients too?”

“Oh god no,” I blurt out as I shake her hand.

Everly’s brows rise and a humored smirk dances across her lips.

“I’m not sporty,” I clarify. “At all.”

“She’s dating Nick. Jack’s former teammate that I was telling you about.” Everly slides into the booth and Hannah takes the seat across from her.

“Dating might be the wrong word.” I sit next to Everly.

“I’ve known the man for something like five years and I’ve never seen him so much as talk to a woman, let alone grope her in public. You’re dating.” Everly’s words leave no room for debate, so I keep any further arguments to myself. And honestly, I like it.

“So, Hannah, what do you do?” I ask to take the questioning off me.

“I’m a gymnast.”

Everly looks at me as she says, “She’s the best gymnast in the world.”

“Okay, that’s a stretch but I don’t hate it.” Hannah sits back in the booth across from us as the server approaches.

We order food and drinks, then Everly and Hannah talk a little about work stuff.

I learn that Hannah recently moved here to train at a top gym and that she’s originally from Iowa but spent the past five years training in Colorado.

She talks fast and animated, and when she rests her elbows on the table, I’m distracted by her arms. She might be little but every inch of her is lean muscle.

“What brought you to Moonshot?” Everly asks me as our drinks come.

“Nick, sort of,” I say, then explain how his dad invited me here and volunteered Nick to help me with my book edits with his son having no idea about any of it.

Everly is in a fit of giggles as I finish.

“Oh my gosh. I can picture his face when he found out.” She does a surprisingly accurate impression of grumpy Nick’s face, down to the jaw flexing.

“He’s been great, though. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

“So the book is done?” Hannah asks.

“Yeah. In fact, I just sent it to my editor today.”

“No way. We have to celebrate properly then,” Everly says, and I already know there will be no dissuading her.

A smile pulls at my lips. “What do you have in mind?”

What she has in mind is shots, followed by karaoke. After we finish our dinner, we move over to the bar side. The three of us down a round of lemon drop shots and then sing a poor rendition of “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

My face flushes as Nick watches from the bar. I sing right at him anyway and he mouths the “woah-oh” back to me each time. I stop by to say hi on the way back to our table.

“You have a nice voice,” he says, grinning.

“Can we never speak of this again?”

“Why? It was good.”

He’s being generous.

“Having fun?” I ask him.

“Yeah,” he says in a way that suggests he might not be telling the truth.

I lift my brows in question.

“I’d rather be somewhere alone with you, but Jack is only in town for the one night.”

“We can still hang out alone later.” I step closer to him, resting my hands on his chest. “I have a present for you.”

His fingers brush against the side of my waist and rest against my lower back. His head lowers and his mouth hovers above mine. “You are the present.”

I press up on my toes and kiss him. My insides sigh with happiness as he pulls me flush against him and sweeps his tongue into my mouth, making out with me like there isn’t a bar full of people watching.

“No, no, no. She’s mine tonight, Galaxy.” Everly interrupts by tugging my arm and prying me away from Nick. He holds my hand, not resisting but touching me as long as possible.

“Later, Red.” He winks at me.

Back at our table, Everly has another round of drinks waiting for us.

“I waited as long as I could, but I need to know…” She trails off as if the question is obvious. If it is, then I’m clueless.

“Need to know what?”

“Nick. You. What is happening? He just kissed you like the world was ending.”

I roll my bottom lip behind my teeth as I remember the feel of his mouth on mine. Hannah and Everly sit forward, waiting for more.

“We’re just…hanging out.”

“Boo,” Everly says loudly, shaking her head. “No. I refuse to believe that.”

“I’m leaving in a week, and anyway, he doesn’t do anything but casual.”

“Not before you, maybe, but that was not a casual kiss.”

Hannah nods as she gives me a rueful smile. “I’m with her.”

I fight the hope their words build. The past five weeks have been the best, but maybe it was only supposed to be a summer fling. I glance over to the bar. He stands sideways, talking to Jack, but looks up and at me as I’m staring. One side of his mouth pulls up.

“Ugh.” Hannah’s groan draws my attention back to her.

“What?” Everly asks.

“This guy I’ve been talking to just asked if he could bring his sister on our date tomorrow.”

“Because?” Ev asks with a chortle.

Hannah reads from her phone, “Is it cool if my sister comes to dinner? She’s been dying to eat at that restaurant.”

“Sweet and odd all at once,” Everly says.

Hannah types something back to him and then sets her phone down on the table.

“What’d you tell him?” I ask her.

“That he should just take her, and we can go out another time.”

“So polite and considerate,” Everly says.

“And then I blocked him,” Hannah adds. “I don’t have time for guys who can’t even make me the priority on date one.”

“Fair.” Everly takes another sip of her drink. “I thought you were dating that podcaster guy.”

“No. We broke up a while ago. We hook up occasionally when neither of us is seeing someone but we’re better as friends.”

“Friends with benefits, apparently,” Ev says.

Hannah shrugs. “It’s hard to date right now. And every guy I talk to lately feels like the type to not notice if I went missing.”

Ev snickers, then leans forward. “You know what we should do?”

She pulls out her phone and uses voice text, “Text Jackson.”

Hannah and I share a grin then listen as Everly continues, “If I went missing, what would you do?”

After she’s done, she puts the phone down and looks to me. “Now you text Nick.”

“And ask him what he would do if I went missing?”

She nods then looks to Hannah. “Unblock your potential date and ask him.”

“He’s going to think I’m an insane person.”

“Fine. Text your ex then.”

Everly’s phone pings. I glance over at Jack and Nick. Nick’s staring at the baseball game on the TV but Jack is looking at Everly.

“What’d he say?”

“I’m not looking until they all respond.”

I pull out my phone and text the same thing to Nick. I can’t watch as I press send.

“Done,” Hannah says.

Her phone pings next. Then mine.

“Okay. Hannah, go.” Everly juts her chin toward Hannah’s phone.

“He says, ‘Everything okay?’”

The three of us laugh.

“It’s a hypothetical,” she says and types back.

We wait for his reply, staring at the phone.

When it pings again, she reads it to us, “I’d call the cops and then check all the places I could think where you might be.”

“Practical,” I say.

“Boring,” Hannah adds. “But he is a very practical guy, so it tracks.”

“What did Jack say?” I ask Everly.

She grins as she picks up her phone and it widens as she reads, “That would never happen because I know where you are at all times.”

Everly rolls her eyes and replies to him, “Pretend someone snatched me up while you were traveling with the team.”

When he responds this time, she sets the phone down and covers her mouth with a laugh. Hannah and I lean in to see the screen. He sent a gif of Liam Neeson saying, “I will find you.”

“That’s perfect,” I say.

“Your turn,” Ev says, still grinning. She texts back to Jack without reading what she writes.

I’m nervous to see what Nick said. In a few days I will go missing, at least from his life.

My stomach flutters nervously as I click on the message. “I’m looking at you right now, Red, so if you’re missing then I’m hallucinating the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Aww,” Everly and Hannah croon together.

“Who knew Nick had it in him,” Everly says to me, then shouts louder across the bar, “Well done, Galaxy!”

I finally peek over at him. His stare is playful and intense all at once and my body lights up in response.

Well done, indeed.