Page 7 of Lucky Shot (Moonshot Hockey #1)

NICK

“No. Stop. You’re killing me.” Travis leans on his hockey stick, head bowed, as he cackles so hard it shakes his entire body.

We’ve got the ice to ourselves and are hitting a few pucks before camp starts. He stands tall and bows his back, then throws his laughter into the air, noise echoing in the empty stands and rafters.

“I’m glad you find this funny.”

“I can’t believe you don’t.”

I grunt and fire another puck into the net. I have a hunch the burn of my muscles would be more satisfying if Trav wasn’t getting so much enjoyment out of my misery.

“What’d he say when you told him you weren’t going to let her interview you?” he asks when he gets himself under control.

“I didn’t get a chance. He conveniently had Bingo last night and was gone before I got back from the cabin.

” He left a note on the counter: Bingo. Don’t wait up.

Like it was any other day, and he hadn’t moved in some strange woman and offered up my time to help her, then left me to deal with it.

And if there’d been any doubt that I was the contact she’d mentioned, he’d also scribbled, Ruby is swinging by the rink at ten to ask you a few hockey questions.

I left a note in response. One word. No.

“Ha!” He lets out one more bark of laughter. “Bingo. Mike kills me.”

“He’s killing me too,” I mutter.

Travis trails off into quiet chuckles. “Is she at least our age?”

“We are not the same age,” I say, firing another puck. Trav is five years younger, though admittedly, his life experiences make him feel like an old soul. A wild, old soul.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah. Best I can tell. Mid to late twenties. Thirty, maybe.”

“Married?”

I glower at him. “How the hell would I know that?”

“Nah. Mike wouldn’t have moved her in if she were married.”

My jaw drops and my throat goes dry. “That’s not what this is.”

Trav lifts one brow.

Fuck. Is that what this is? My dad has made it his mission to play matchmaker in the past, but would he really go this far?

It started about five years ago when Aidan was getting old enough that things felt more stable.

Before then, I honestly could barely keep my head above water, so dating was the furthest thing from my mind.

Slowly, my son started becoming more independent, we got into a routine, and about that time my dad started meddling.

He turned every woman he met into a potential wife candidate for me.

“You sure?”

“No,” I admit as my mind reels.

“Okay. Well, what does she look like?”

My skin pricks and I shrug one shoulder. “I don’t know.”

He sighs. “Short? Tall? Cute? Nerdy?”

“She doesn’t look like what you’d expect.”

His gaze narrows. “Meaning?”

I know I’ve said too much when his lips part and he flashes a big, wolfish grin at me. I look away and line up another shot.

“She’s hot,” he says in a tone that mirrors Aidan’s when he’s really, truly, unabashedly excited about something. “Your dad moved in a hottie next door.”

My grip on the stick tightens.

“Wooooweee. Well, this changes everything.” Travis circles around me.

“It changes nothing, and I didn’t say she was hot.

I only meant that she doesn’t look like the stereotypical bookish nerdy type.

” Even as I say the words I know they aren’t the complete truth.

Ruby is gorgeous. Chaotic? Sure. Quirky?

Absolutely. But she’s also undoubtedly beautiful.

The kind that takes your breath and makes you feel unsteady on your feet.

Which now that I think about it is exactly why Dad invited her here. The man is relentless.

“D-Low doesn’t either, but he’s the single nerdiest person I know,” Travis says, pulling me from visions of Ruby and her long red hair and pouty lips.

True. Our teammate, Danny Marlowe, is covered in tattoos and loves trendy fashion labels.

He also happens to have degrees in both aerospace engineering and math.

People are always surprised that he’s so smart, but you really can’t judge a book by its cover.

My lips twitch with a grin. Look at me making book jokes.

Now I just have to turn the page and figure out how the hell to get rid of the woman.

“Is she your type or mine?” he asks.

“What?”

“You tend to go for the nice, wholesome girl-next-door type.”

My brows lift and my mouth curves in amusement. I didn’t realize I had a type, but that doesn’t sound so horrible.

“As opposed to the mean girls you date?”

“They’re not always mean. Brittney was an outlier. I was blinded by the septum piercing. I freaking love a nose ring.” He groans like he’s picturing a woman with one right now. “My type is more free spirit while you prefer someone less…complicated.”

I will say one thing about Trav. He knows what he wants, and he isn’t afraid to go after it.

Maybe my type is as boring as he makes it sound, but if so that’s because most of the time, dating feels like too much effort to me.

It isn’t like I never hook up, but I prefer to do it when traveling or while Aidan is with his mom.

It keeps all that separate from my real life.

“So…” Trav leans on his stick with both hands. “Free spirit or girl next door?”

“I don’t know. She’s just…” Chaos.

“It’s fine. I’ll swing by and check her out myself. What kind of book is she writing anyway? Do you think D-Low’s read any of her stuff?”

“No.”

“No, he hasn’t read her?”

“No, you cannot check her out.” I carefully avoid telling him what she writes because Trav would never let me live that down. He’d see it as some sort of sign. My dad moved a romance author in next door. That’s ripe for jokes. And we both have long contracts with no-trade clauses.

“Why not?” His voice climbs.

“She promised to stay out of my way, so I’m going to extend the same to her.

” If I don’t see or talk to her, then perhaps I can pretend like she doesn’t exist. I wonder what she did when she found out her contact is me.

Hopefully my dad handled it and she’s on her way back to wherever she came from.

“I mean, if you’re not going to ask her out, then I might.”

I glower at him, but he just laughs at my predicament. Fucker.

“Kidding.”

He’s not.

“She’s not hot,” I say because on the off chance she’s still there, I cannot have him showing up at my place, and if I tell him that she is, he absolutely, one hundred percent, will. Tonight. Probably as soon as we finish here.

“Fine. Fine.” With a shake of his head, he says, “But I’ll happily trade places with you. Eventually one of the women your dad hooks you up with has to be hot.”

The slam of a door, followed by voices, alerts us to the arrival of our first campers for the day. Trav and I are both working a kids’ hockey camp that the team puts on every summer. For the week, we’ll be teaching children ages five through twelve a variety of skills based on their age and levels.

It’s the second year I’ve done the camp, and I enjoyed it more than I expected last time. When Aidan was born, I knew next to nothing about kids. And even after, I still wasn’t really a kid person. I love my kid, but I never thought about having more or coaching them.

“Done,” I say as I skate to the edge of the ice. Trav falls into stride next to me. “You can come live at my house for the next six weeks and Aidan and I will move into yours.”

“Mike and I would have a blast. I think I could get behind a meddling parent setting me up with hot women. I can assure you it’s better than the absent kind.”

A hint of guilt stabs me between the ribs. He doesn’t talk about his family much, but he’s said enough for me to know they aren’t a part of his life. My dad drives me crazy, but he’s always been there when I needed him.

“That’s what everyone says until their dad is inviting your pediatrician to Thanksgiving dinner,” I mutter, then crack a smile because as uncomfortable as it was at the time, it is funny to think about now. “I had to find Aidan a new doctor.”

Trav’s lips pull up on one side of his mouth. “Better than the time he ran a wanted ad in the newspaper.”

I shudder at the memory of that one. It still isn’t funny.

In fact, embarrassment heats the back of my neck like it’s happening to me all over again.

Apparently, back in his day people did that kind of thing all the time.

I’m not sure I believe that, but even if it’s true, it’s not something people do now.

I had to change my phone number and outright lie to a sports journalist who questioned me about it.

“No, I am not the Nick Galaxy looking for love with a beautiful, kind woman who likes kids and hockey.”

“Besides, you’ve already dated all the women in Moonshot.” I let my first true smile of the day loosen. “Who would he possibly set you up with?”

“Except one.” He winks, not at all bothered by my ribbing him. Though, it’s true. I don’t date anyone, and he dates everyone. Maybe us swapping houses is the perfect scenario.

We step off to greet the first of the kids trickling in. Their excitement is written all over their faces. Warmth spreads through me when I spot one particular face in the crowd.

Aidan grins as he approaches me. He spent the past week with his mom while I was in Dallas, and I missed the hell out of him.

“Hey.” I place a gloved hand on top of his head. “Did you get taller?”

“No,” he says, ducking away from my hand.

“You sure?” I pull him into a quick hug. “Missed you. Did you have fun with your mom?”

“Yeah. I guess so.” He shrugs one shoulder.

“Little G!” Trav greets my son. “What’s up, my dude? Ready to play some hockey?”

“Yeah.” Aidan nods his head with enthusiasm. I’m glad that hockey is still one thing we both love.