Page 21

TWENTY-ONE

Rowan

Two minutes left in game seven.

Holy shit.

It’s 3-1.

And the Phantoms are winning.

Standing behind the bench, I am so caught up in the excitement I can barely breathe. It’s incredible to be here, part of this organization, as the seconds tick by toward our first playoff win in thirteen years.

I can see the tightness on Coach Vanek’s face as he watches the play on the ice. Ivan and Canyon are out there playing like the superstars they are. And Blake is out there with them, making things happen. He has an assist tonight, and he looks amazing out there. Hell, they all do.

They’re in it to win it.

That’s all I can think to say as I watch time running out on the clock.

For this last minute of play, the Blizzard looks tired. Defeated. Like they know who the better team is and there’s nothing they can do.

…46…45…44…

More seconds tick down.

My hands are clenched into fists at my side.

We try not to show too much emotion at the games. It doesn’t present a confident appearance, and we’re supposed to stay neutral, but it’s fucking hard on a night like tonight. My heart is beating like crazy and it’s a little hard to breathe.

…33…32…31…30…

The refs blow the whistle, and there’s a line change.

Blake sinks down in front of me, and I can’t help but reach out and squeeze his shoulder.

He doesn’t turn but I feel him twitch, acknowledging my presence.

I quickly pull my hand away and bite back a scream as Miikka Laasonen from the Blizzard fires a shot that bounces off the post.

Whew.

…15…14…13…12…

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

…9…8…7…

And then it’s over.

We did it.

We’ve just won our first playoff series in over a decade. The whole team is up off the bench and on the ice, falling all over each other.

Tears prick my eyelids and then our equipment manager, Buddy Sanchez, hugs me tightly.

“Fuck yeah!” he yells in my ear.

“Holy shit.” I don’t like to cry in front of people for any reason, but this is worth getting teary-eyed over. This is huge. And I feel a surge of pride that I’m part of it. It’s a bummer that we get our win in Alaska, but that’s okay. A win is a win. And this is the biggest win ever for many of us.

The excitement in the locker room is tangible, and I’m caught up in it along with the rest of the team and support staff. Bristol is running around like a lunatic trying to wrangle players to talk to the press, while Harper had champagne delivered. Normally, we probably wouldn’t celebrate a first-round win this exuberantly, but Harper has her own way of doing things.

A cloud of champagne washes over me, drenching my hair and face.

“Sorry about that!” Connor yells to me. “I can’t drink it, but I can spray it like a boss!”

I laugh, wiping my face with a towel.

There’s a lot of excitement as we toast the team, Harper, and everything we can think of. By the time we’re done, I’m admittedly tipsy and it’s killing me that I can’t run to Blake and hug him. Congratulate him. Kiss him.

Sneaking around already sucks, and we’ve barely started.

But I don’t want to think about that.

Not tonight.

We’re flying home, so our stuff is here at the arena ready to be transported to the airport. Of course, now I’m soaked in champagne and the showers are full of naked male hockey players.

I’m going to need to come up with a plan because I can’t sit on a plane for six hours reeking of champagne.

“Harper!” I catch her in the hallway, and she turns.

“Hey, Rowan. What’s up?”

“Do you have any ideas on where or how I can shower before our flight?” I motion to my soaking wet upper half. “We’re heading straight to the airport, and I don’t think showering with the guys would be appropriate.”

She’s thoughtful. “Let me make a call. Hold on.” She pulls out her phone and then a minute later I hear her say, “Hey, Gage…yes, thank you… no, everything is wonderful. I’m sorry your season ended the way it did, but it was a great series… yes, of course. No, actually, I need a favor. I have a female staff member who was just doused in champagne and we’re about to get on the flight home. Do you have anywhere she could shower really quick?”

“Three minutes,” I stage whisper.

“…oh, that’s amazing. Yes, thank you. I’ll see you in a minute.” She disconnects and turns to me. “Come on. You’re going to shower in the owner’s private office.”

Gage Caldwell owned the Blizzard.

Holy crap.

“Let me grab my bag,” I say, running toward the storage room where all our stuff is.

It pays to have friends—and an awesome boss—in positions of power.

No one rests on the flight home. It was a day game, ending at three in the afternoon, so we’ll be home late but at least we’ll all sleep in our beds tonight. And we’ll probably be exhausted because everyone is still drinking champagne, playing poker, and someone has music blasting through their laptop. This isn’t the normal atmosphere on the flights, but the entire group is excited. A couple of guys even have cigars. They’re not lit, they’re just letting them dangle from their lips, and it’s kind of hilarious. I’m not sure what the point of that is, but I’m not going to question anything today.

“You fuckers better be ready to practice your asses off tomorrow!” Coach yells out when things have gotten particularly rowdy.

“Come on, Coach… give us one night!” Canyon yells back. “Just a few hours…”

“You’ll have the entire summer to party.”

“Boo!” Someone throws a sock at him—I have no idea where it came from and wouldn’t dare ask—and Coach catches it mid-air.

“You guys are gross,” is all he says.

I’m sitting with Bristol again, we seem to be designated seat partners lately, and she’s working. I work a lot of hours too, and I know it’s different because there’s very little I can do on a plane, while her laptop allows her to work on press releases and whatnot from anywhere.

“You could celebrate,” I say. “Just a little.”

She laughs but doesn’t even look up. “Haven’t we already had this conversation? I have shit to do, and I plan to sleep tonight. I’ve been burning the candle at both ends trying to manage all the interview requests, setting up promo for the next series.”

“It’ll be fun to play the Sidewinders,” I say. “I love Vegas.”

She makes a face. “I hate Vegas. The crowds, the smoke in the casinos, it’s gross.”

I laugh. “But there are amazing restaurants, wonderful entertainment, there’s really so much more to Vegas than people realize.”

There’s a thoughtful look on her face as she looks up. “I guess that’s fair. I haven’t been there for fun in a long time.”

“If we have time when we’re there, we’ll go to my favorite spa. It’s amazing.”

She nods. “Now that’s something I would take time off for.”

“Stick with me, kid—I’ll show you a good time.”

She laughs and goes back to whatever’s on her laptop.

My phone buzzes and I smile at the text from Blake.

BLAKE: How come you’re not playing poker with us?

ROWAN: I’m afraid I’ll wind up on your lap or something. You guys are both tipsy and rowdy.

BLAKE: That sounds like the best possible way to play…

ROWAN: I’ll give you something else to play with later tonight.

BLAKE: Does that mean I’m going home with you?

ROWAN: Do you want to?

BLAKE: That’s not a serious question, is it?

ROWAN: What are you going to tell Bodi? You guys share a car.

BLAKE: Bodi will keep his mouth shut and there’s nothing in your contract preventing you from giving a player a ride home, is there?

ROWAN: Of course not.

BLAKE: Maybe a group of us are going to get some food. Then you’re taking me home… No one is going to be paying attention to us tonight. There’s way too much going on.

ROWAN: You have practice tomorrow. People will notice if they see us show up together.

BLAKE: You can drop me off at the hotel so I can ride with Bodi.

ROWAN: Are you positive you can trust him? This is my job—my career—we’re talking about.

BLAKE: Absolutely. He likes to fuck around and give me a hard time, but he would never do anything to cost someone their job. And he likes you. We can trust him. I promise.

I sigh, because it’s hard to trust someone I don’t know with something so important.

But I do know Blake, so it feels like I have to trust the person he considers his best friend.

Otherwise, why are we even dating?

Are we dating?

Is that what this is?

I trusted him with someone much more important once upon a time—my heart—and he stomped all over it.

I have to believe it’s different this time.

Otherwise, I’m setting myself up for a world of hurt.

ROWAN: I’m trusting you, Blake, with the most important thing in the world to me. I hope you know that.

BLAKE: Absolutely. I’d never do anything to break that trust. You have my word, baby. I know I let you down in the past, but I’m not the same guy. And I plan to prove that to you if you’ll give me a chance.

If?

That ship has already sailed.

I’m already giving him a chance.

A big one.

The only option is to keep moving forward.

ROWAN: You’ll only get one.

BLAKE: That’s all I need.

I really hope that’s true.