Page 43 of Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey #1)

RUBY

“Yes! Eat ice, Galaxy!” With my hands raised over my head, I yell as the puck hits the back of the net.

Nick smirks as he watches me do my victory pose.

“Hell yeah, Ruby Doo!” Travis skates over to me, wrapping me in a big bear hug. I’m in full padding but I still wince as he squeezes me. This is the third time we’ve celebrated this way and I’m starting to feel like his personal rag doll.

“We’re unstoppable.” He shakes me a few times, rattling my bones, as Nick comes to a stop in front of us.

We’re playing two on two, me and Travis versus Nick and Conrad.

“Okay. Okay. My turn,” Nick says.

Travis continues to hold on to me but shifts so he can look at his friend. “Go hug your teammate.”

Nick gives Travis a dry, unyielding scowl.

“Fine, but only because I feel bad. We’re killing you.” Trav squeezes me around the shoulders one last time before releasing me.

I wobble and sway until Nick skates forward to steady me.

“He’s freakishly strong,” I say as my bones settle back into place.

Nick chuckles as he wraps his arm around me looser than his friend had but much more possessively. I think his hands are on my butt, though it’s hard to tell through all the layers.

“Congrats on your goal, Red. It’s hard to get past Penn.”

I glance over at the big goalie. I’m certain he let me score on him, but I still feel proud. He blocks so much of the goal just by standing in it; it’s no small feat to get the puck around him.

“I’d kiss you, but someone insisted I wear this gaudy helmet.” It’s one with a cage like kids wear.

His lips twitch with the promise of a smile and he buries his head in the crook of my neck, kissing me on the sliver of skin not covered by padding. A thrill rushes through me.

We have done a lot of kissing and groping over the past week.

We’ve alternated between staying at the cabin and his house.

I wake up every morning to coffee and kisses—the perfect combination.

During the days, I go with him to the rink where he works out and skates, and I brainstorm new book ideas, stealing more kisses during his breaks – also a great combination.

Nights, we take the boat out or walk along the lake.

And yes, there are more kisses, and it is also… yep, perfect.

This entire week has been a dream. The kind that can only happen under the pressure of a ticking time clock.

I’m leaving Sunday and every day the anticipation and impending heartbreak increase tenfold.

We haven’t talked about it, but there’s an unspoken agreement to enjoy every second before it ends.

“Okay. That’s enough, you two. Have some sympathy for the single folks,” Travis says.

Nick’s mouth pulls away from my neck, but he keeps his arms around me.

“Are we that annoying couple who makes everyone else uncomfortable?” I ask Nick.

“Hopefully. Fuck knows he’s made out with enough people in front of me.”

“I heard that,” Travis says. “And I don’t do that. You’re confusing me with D-Low.”

“Where is Danny?” I ask.

“He went to visit his family this week. He’ll be back tomorrow,” Conrad says.

“He’ll be at your going away party,” Travis adds.

Nick’s body tenses.

“My what?”

“Trav!” Conrad and Penn say at the same time.

Trav’s smile twists into a remorseful sort of smirk. “Oops.”

“The guys want to have a little thing tomorrow night,” Nick explains. His voice is quiet and clipped.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, feeling at once a little closer to heartbreak and touched by their thoughtfulness.

“Of course we do,” Travis says.

“He just wants an excuse to party.” Penn’s goalie mask is lifted, and he squeezes water into his mouth from a purple bottle.

“But it’s poker night,” is all I manage to get out as my throat tightens.

“So, we’ll play some cards too,” Travis says, then points. “You’re on my team this time.”

Nick growls, which has the tightness in my chest loosening.

Once we’re finished with the game, we say goodbye to the guys and then Nick and I take a few laps around the rink.

“I’m going to miss this,” I say to him.

He squeezes my hand. “I’m sure there are rinks in Arizona.”

“Yeah, but who will keep me upright?”

“You don’t need it anymore.” He lifts our hands and kisses my knuckles.

“Debatable.” I haven’t fallen the last couple days, but I’m not exactly graceful yet.

I breathe in the cool air and force myself to catalog it all. The chill on my face, the sound of our skates moving across the ice, and Nick’s warm hand engulfing mine.

Nick’s phone pings as we’re skating by the bench.

“Do you need to get that?” I ask him.

“Nah.” He pulls me along and we do another lap, but as we’re coming around again, his mouth is pulled into a tight line.

“It’s okay,” I tell him. “I want to do one on my own and then we can go.”

“All right.” His lips curve up and he stops, letting me skate forward without him. Our hands stretch out, holding on until the last moment.

Once I’ve made the slow circle without him, he’s waiting for me next to the gate.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he says in a way that tells me maybe it’s okay but less than good. “My dad can’t find his blood pressure meds.”

“Oh. Sounds important.”

“I don’t know how he could have possibly lost them. They’ve been in the same spot for seven months.”

“I’m ready if you want to go save him.”

He nods with a sigh. “After I get him situated, then maybe we can take the boat out or grab dinner, whatever you want.”

“Yeah, that sounds great.”

I’m doing my makeup in the bathroom when there’s a knock on the front door.

“Come in!” I yell, assuming it’s Nick, but after a few seconds, there’s no movement.

I wait another moment, then hurry to the door only…no one is there. I step out and then look left and right.

“That’s odd,” I say to myself, turning in a circle. As I’m about to walk back inside, I spy the note taped to the door.

Meet me at the dock.

I glance down to the water, but there’s no sign of Nick. Rushing back inside, I finish my makeup and hair and take one last look at myself before heading out to meet him.

Nick stands at the end of the dock. The boat behind him is lit up with hundreds of twinkle lights that sparkle dimly in the sunset.

“Wow. This looks like a dream,” I say as I reach him.

“So do you.” His gaze roams over me from head to toe before he leans in to brush a kiss over my lips.

When he pulls back, I glance to the boat again. It’s the most romantic scene. “When did you find the time to do this?”

His brows tug together in the center. “I didn’t do this. I thought you did.”

“No. I was getting ready.” I wave a hand down the length of me. Picking a dress alone took most of the thirty minutes since we’ve been back from the rink.

We stare at each other a beat, then laugh. Nick glances at the house.

“Your dad,” I say, piecing it together. “Of course.”

“He just can’t help himself.” Nick chuckles softly, running a hand over his jaw. “Needed his meds. Jesus. I can’t believe I fell for it.”

“Wow. I’m not sure if I’m impressed by his setup skills or worried.” As in I won’t be here the next time he decides to send his son on a romantic sunset boat ride.

“Probably both, but tonight we can both just be glad.” He holds out his hand to me.

“It would be a pity to waste all his efforts,” I admit as I slip my fingers into his.

Nick steps onto the boat and helps me up.

“He really went all out.” I lift a bottle of chilled champagne from a bucket of ice. There are blankets and trays of covered food. “I might have picked the wrong Galaxy.”

Nick does that playful, jealous growl and wraps me up in his arms.

The moment feels heavy with unspoken truths. Inside thoughts that neither of us wants to say out loud.

“It’s starting to hit me that this is our last night together like this.

” Aidan comes back tomorrow and while I’m ecstatic to say goodbye and spend time with him before I leave, I know that it will be different.

Nick has kept our relationship separate and I get it, but it makes tonight all that more bittersweet.

His green eyes search my face, almost like he’s trying to etch me into his memory the same way I’ve been trying to do all week.

“We could ditch the guys tomorrow night, but I have a feeling they’d track us down. I think if they had to pick, they’d send me packing in exchange for you.”

I know it isn’t true. They like me, but Nick is the glue that holds them all together. He has a quiet presence, but they all respect him fiercely.

“I could get used to this view and this boat.” And to waking up to him. “I’m sure my parents wouldn’t mind if you crashed on their couch. My dad always wanted a son.”

Nick huffs a quiet snort of a laugh.

“I’m going to miss you.”

“You too, Red.”

There are so many more things I want to say, but it all feels too soon.

Too complicated. Too uncertain. I know Nick likes me.

I even think he’d eventually be open to dating more seriously if I lived here.

But there’s a big jump between that and planning a life with someone who lives a thousand miles away.

Forcing down all the worry and impending heartbreak, I smile at him. “One last boat ride?”

“Anything you want, Red.”

“Have you heard back from the editor on your book?” Nick asks as we lie on a blanket in the front of the boat. We’ve been out here so long the night sky is pitch-black and the twinkle lights have dimmed.

“Not yet.” A new kind of nerves swirls in my stomach.

“She’s going to love it.”

“I hope so.”

“When do I get to read the ending?”

I hadn’t planned on letting him read anything but the hockey scenes, but he keeps stealing my laptop. And I guess I like seeing his reactions. If no one else but him likes the book, that’ll be good enough by me.

“Soon,” I promise, then roll over so I’m partially lying on him. He lifts one hand to push my hair behind my ear.

“Should we go in?” I ask, begrudgingly. It’s late and even the combination of him and the blankets aren’t keeping me warm enough.

“Yeah. You need your rest for tomorrow.”

“I thought the party was at night?”

“Knowing Travis, he’ll be here before noon.”

Nick pulls me to my feet.

“Will you sleep?”

“Yeah.”

I give him my best unconvinced face. Every morning when I wake up, he’s already gone from bed. I have no idea how much he sleeps, but I don’t think it’s much.

“Believe it or not, Red, I sleep better with you.”

“Was that supposed to be reassuring?”

I get another one of his soft huffs.

“Have you talked to someone about it?”

“Kind of,” he says, then falls quiet. A few seconds later, he adds, “The team doctor thinks I have health anxiety. After my injury last year and the stuff with my dad…”

I wrap myself around him. “Of course. That makes perfect sense.”

“I thought it was an age thing.” One side of his mouth lifts. “As I’m getting older, realizing my own mortality or something. My mom died young—in her forties, and I guess it’s just hit me recently.”

“You’ve dealt with a lot. I think it’s perfectly normal to have a heightened fear after all that.”

“It’s not just about me. I want to be around a long time, don’t get me wrong, but the thought of leaving Aidan.” His throat works with a swallow.

“You’re a good father.”

He’s quiet again, and I let the silence stretch out, making room for his thoughts and feelings, but he seems lost in his own head.

“What are you going to do?”

He blinks and then settles his stare back on me. “For starters, I’m going to carry you back up to the house to my bed.”

I swat at his chest lightly. “That is not what I meant.”

One corner of his mouth lifts in a small smirk. “I have an appointment with the psychologist next week.”

“Have you considered talking to your dad?”

Nick’s brows furrow.

“He’s been through a lot too. It might give you some perspective.”

He lifts his head off the blanket and presses his mouth to mine, and any further conversation dies off as he kisses me like it’s the only thing he wants in the whole world. Maybe it is, but I’m too chicken to ask.

Later, when I wake up alone in his bed, I check the time and then head downstairs to find him. He’s exactly where I expected, on the back porch, lying on the wicker couch with his eyes closed. He looks asleep but I doubt he is.

“It’s better since you got here.” Mike talks softly, but he still startles me. He’s in his robe standing in the kitchen with a mug in one hand.

Instead of walking outside, I step into the kitchen with him. He gets down a second mug and I nod.

“I’m worried about him,” I admit as he pours the coffee.

“He’ll be all right. That incident in the spring was really hard on him.” He tilts his head to one side. “I don’t know how he does it, but he’s tough. Tougher than I ever was. Hockey is a brutal sport.”

“Did you play?” I ask.

“Oh no.” Mike hands over the mug to me. “I grew up on a farm. From an early age I had to help anytime I wasn’t at school. Didn’t leave a lot of room for sports. His mom was the one that got him into skates at a young age. She grew up in Northern Michigan, playing hockey with her three brothers.”

“I didn’t know that,” I say, then think about all the other tidbits I haven’t learned yet. And I guess now I never will.

Mike reaches out and squeezes my forearm. “You’ve been good for him in more ways than one.”

“I hope so.”

“Will I be seeing more of you?” I know exactly what he’s asking, even though he doesn’t outright ask if Nick and I will be continuing our relationship.

“I don’t think so.”

He nods slowly. “Pity.”

“From everything Nick’s told me, I thought you’d be excited to play matchmaker again.”

A small laugh slips from his lips. “No, I think I’m retired from that.”

We fall quiet, perhaps neither of us knowing what else to say.

“I’m going to check on him,” I say, lifting the mug. “Thanks.”

“Welcome.”

I start for the back door.

“And, Ruby,” Mike says.

I pause.

His mouth opens then closes as if he’s second-guessing his words. He gives me a smile instead. “If I don’t get a chance to say it before you go, good luck with the book.”

“Thanks, Mike,” I say, then slip outside.