LIAM

Oh man, Liam felt jittery and keenly aware of Ashley as she boarded the plane in front of him, heading toward their second game of the season.

It didn’t go unnoticed that as a flight attendant, the last thing she probably wanted to do was go on a trip with him to a hockey game – yet she was here – for him, and it was doing all sorts of things to his heart.

Don’t stare at her butt…

Don’t stare…

Oh man, I am absolutely staring – she’s so beautiful and curvy in all the right ways!

He was falling for Ashley and knew he was going to get his heart trampled on in the end.

Ninety days. They had agreed to a short time frame – but he really wanted to pitch that whole suggestion right out of the plane without a parachute.

None of this felt anything remotely like what he’d once had with Nadine, and he realized that thought of ‘being in love’ had never once crossed his mind… but with Ashley?

It was always there – in every heartbeat.

He was always looking for her, thinking of her, wanting to reach out and trying his best to hold back because man Ashley was so cool or standoffish sometimes.

She never really let anyone in, and never seemed to show any feelings, except the rare cases where she gave him a smile or reached for him.

He must have replayed that moment at the kitchen table a thousand times in his mind.

There was something regal about her that spoke to him.

When they had the meet-and-greet for the team, she had stood by his side, like some imperial princess bestowing smiles, making small talk, and her posture and body language seemed to scream ‘grace’ and ‘elegance’ – which made his fingers curl.

Then that interview? Sublime - just the way she handled things when pushed was utterly sublime.

Gosh, he wanted her to let her hair down, to let him in, to see her lose her cool composure someday.

Everyone took their seats. Salas, his wife and kid took up a few seats as Jamie sat there with their son propped against her shoulder.

The kid looked exhausted like he’d missed a nap or something.

He hoped the boy slept and wasn’t one of those screaming children that you run into sometimes on a flight, the pressure changes hurting their little ears.

Jett Acton sat down casually, opposite of him – grinning. The man enjoyed getting a rise out of people and always had something smart to say. Ashley sat primly, buckling her seatbelt across her like it was nothing. It probably was to her because she’d done this very thing thousands of times.

Most of the guys had their families with them.

Everyone was talking and making small talk as they took off toward their destination of Seattle.

One step at a time, one win at a time, Liam thought silently as Ashley read a book on the Kindle he’d surprised her with yesterday.

He had thought it would be a sweet, thoughtful gift but was now hating the idea because they were the only couple not talking on the flight.

She was reading.

He was sitting there – avoiding Acton’s knowing look and that smug smirk on his face. It wasn’t very long before things started to get bumpy. A quick look at his wife, seeing her composed with all the turbulence, had put him at ease.

If she wasn’t worried, then he wasn’t either.

And then came another jolt.

Followed by another.

There was a lot of turbulence, and with each ‘drop’ or ‘bump’, Liam was glancing at Ashley like she would be the marker of whether they were in danger from dropping out of the sky… and still, she was unfazed.

Larsson, the goalie, was looking around like a meerkat in the zoo. His head kept popping up, looking left and right, almost panicked – and Salas saw it.

“Dude,” Salas said flatly. “Knock it off. You’re freaking me out, and my family is on board, too. I’m telling you now if you make my son cry – you’ll need wires to hold your jaw shut.”

Larsson’s wife sucked in her breath like a geyser about to explode. Liam wondered if he was going to have to separate the two men to keep peace on the airplane and saw Salas smirk at the couple.

“And I mean that will all the love – one straight dude to another,” Salas added, making Lafreniére chuckle as Coeur and Boucher bumped their knuckles together, muttering something to each other that caused the trio to laugh.

And then came Jett’s response. Goodness, that guy could always be counted on to say the unthinkable; Liam grimaced, fighting back the urge to roll his eyes.

“I love the fact that our very own Brawny man had to clarify that he’s straight – especially with his wife and kid beside him,” Acton called out and then gave Liam a wink. Salas held out his arm, extending it into the aisle, with one digit held up for Jett Acton that was unmistakable.

“Love you too, bro,” Acton replied, laughing. “In a straight way, of course.”

“Y’all are ridiculous,” Ashley said suddenly beside him, putting her Kindle in her purse and unclasping her seatbelt, surprising him. She had obviously had enough between the turbulence and the talking, and they must have been bothering her more than he realized.

Liam was speechless as she stood up, smoothed her skirt, and took off down the aisle of the airplane toward the restrooms for a moment of silence. The second she shut the door, Acton moved. The man leaned toward him lightning-fast, hissing at Liam wildly.

“Dude, Savage, if you cannot see the writing on the wall… go get her, bro!”

Huh?

“What are you talking about?” Liam blurted out, trying to put it together in his mind that was currently focused on Ashley, wondering if she was okay or if the turbulence was making her ill.

“Mile high club? Hellooo?” Acton said callously, causing a few titters of laughter, and a few envious looks tossed Liam’s way, mixed with a few knowing smiles as the crass man continued, not caring who heard him. “Your hot wife just went to the bathroom on a private plane wearing a skirt .”

“It’s not private – you’re here,” Liam said in a flat voice, frowning. He did not care for the other man, referring to his Ashley as ‘hot’. You weren’t supposed to describe another man’s wife as attractive in any way, shape, or fashion. That had to be an unspoken rule somewhere, right?

Acton’s eyes widened in shock as the man slapped his forehead.

“Oh my gosh, are you dense ?” Acton nearly yelped in dismay, gesturing wildly over his shoulder. “If Karen was here and she took off for the bathroom, you’d hear me moaning… from the cockpit!”

“Thank God for small miracles,” Salas intervened, giving Acton the finger again. These two sure flipped each other off quite a bit, he started, wondering if maybe there was a secret hatred between the two.

Liam sat there, seeing several men looking at him on the plane – their eyes curious, confused, and almost pitying. Was it because they knew something was wrong between him and Ashley? Did they see something he didn’t? Had she said something to someone?

“You really think so?” Liam asked, unable to help himself, because what if he was the loser Nadine had mentioned so many times.

What if Ashley was interested and he was clueless? That single thought alone was like striking a gong in his soul. Now, he had a mental clock in his head ticking wildly because there was only so long you could disappear into a bathroom without raising more questions.

“Are things not okay at home, bro?” Salas whispered, his dark eyes curious and careful.

“It’s complicated,” Liam admitted, rubbing a hand over his face – realizing that he was getting stressed and breaking out in a nervous sweat.

Acton shoved his thumb over his shoulder, pointing and not holding back. “Well, now’s your chance to go ‘ work it out. ’ Seriously, dude. You are missing out on the chance of a lifetime – and she’s hot.”

Sweating became strangulation .

Liam pulled at his collar, trying to breathe, staring at the wall in the distance where Ashley had disappeared. Could it be true? Was she interested in him romantically? What if they weren’t ready for this next step?

He, this , was supposed to be temporary – but if he slept with his wife, he had no intentions of ever leaving.

She was a lady, not some trollop and had said as much to Ashley that he wouldn’t touch her because he respected her.

Acton might not have many scruples, but Ashley oozed elegance from every pore – and Liam wished he was half the person that his wife was.

“But… she’s not like that,” Liam managed to choke out. “She’s a lady and…”

Suddenly, clear as a bell, he heard a feminine voice speak up – and like Moses parting the Red Sea, the commotion and discussions in the plane drew silent as Larsson’s wife spoke up.

“All women want to know they are wanted, loved, or desired. You should absolutely go,” she offered up, and not a second later – Coeur, Lafreniére, and Boucher all exchanged a look, all three letting out a low whistle of appreciation.

Liam unbuckled and stood up without a second thought, ignoring a few claps from behind him as he made his way toward the restroom and his wife. His heart was pounding in his chest, his ears roaring, while his brain offered all sorts of unsolicited advice.

You’re just checking on her…

You had to go to the bathroom…

You were worried…

He knocked on the door, not sure what to expect, but the moment the dial flipped from the red ‘occupied’ sign to the green ‘available’ – it was like a race signal that it was ‘Go’ time.

The door parted, his eyes met hers, and instead of stepping aside to let her out of the bathroom – he blocked the way, stepping inside the cramped space and shutting the door behind him.