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Theo folded his arms. “Rosie’s fault, if I recall. She was throwing up Mai Tais after the Doja Cat show.”

“And everyone blamed me for not keeping an eye on her. Even though she’s older.”

“But you’re the sensible one, Twinkle, always have been. And I don’t think we blamed you.” He flicked a quick glance at me, seeking support.

I remained silent, not wanting to come between father and daughter any more than I already had.

Knowing he hadn’t a leg to stand on, he sighed his surrender.

“Thanks for picking her up, Lars. I appreciate it. And the rest. Though my sources say you waltzed into the party like you were walking onto a yacht. Except into the club and with a baby.” He sipped his coffee and said to his daughter, “That’s a Carly Simon reference. ”

She gave her father an indulgent look. “I know. Taylor sang with her in concert.”

I spoke up in my defense. “Mabel slept all the way through it.”

Theo went quiet, which was never a good sign. He knew something wasn’t adding up, but his trusting brain refused to go there.

“I brought over Halloween costumes. I know you said you wanted to make your own”—he added finger quotes to “make”—“but when are you going to have time for that? Tilly’s grown out of these, so one of them should work for May-belle.

” He shook his head. “I think Button might work better for her nickname, short for Belly Button? Still percolating on that. Or you can buy your costume at the Spirit store like everyone else, if there’s anything left which there won’t be because the party is tonight. ”

I didn’t have it in me to be churlish. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Adeline unpacked the bag and produced bumble bee, pumpkin, and cow costumes. We cooed over each one, though I was pretty sure only the cow one would fit her without needing major alterations. It also gave Theo another nickname idea: Moo-Belle.

My phone buzzed with a text from Ryder. My office. 8 a.m.

Theo offered a knowing smirk. “Our illustrious leader?”

“Meeting in his office in an hour.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” Adeline said, her voice threaded with worry.

“Probably a game suspension. Maybe two.” Theo put his coffee mug in the sink. “You played right into MacFarlane’s hands and now I’ll have to work with him when I hate his guts. He’s a good player but he’s not Dream Defense material!”

“Sorry, Dad.”

Theo kissed his daughter on the forehead. “This isn’t your fault. If he hurt you …”

“He didn’t. Don’t be an asshole to him. Be professional.”

Her dad clutched his chest, wounded. “I am always professional! Okay, laters, kids.”

And then he left as noisily as he’d arrived.

She raised an eyebrow. “Think he bought it?”

“Not entirely. But he’d rather not consider the alternative, that I showed up at that club because I was ragingly jealous.” Mabel stuck her finger in my mouth, almost as if she knew I needed to shut the hell up now.

“You were?”

“Of course I was. I hated that you were going on a date. I hated that anything I’d said might have driven you to make that choice because I was too much of a coward to admit I wanted you.”

She bit her lip, a very sexy move. As I didn’t want to be thinking sexy things right now, I looked away. Or maybe I didn’t want to be thinking honest things right now.

“Are you really going to be suspended?”

“Probably. But it was worth it.”

She rolled her eyes. “And what about the aftermath? Was that worth it?”

Trust Adeline to refuse to dance around the issue.

I’d once considered her shy, but now I saw someone different.

A woman who called it how she saw it, who wasn’t afraid to be direct with me.

Last night, we went into this agreeing not to discuss what came next.

But now the time had come to be straight with each other.

“Yes.”

She held my gaze with those beautiful, shamrock-green eyes. I’d expected she would be nervous because her dad showed up and we were hiding something huge from him. She seemed different this morning. More assured.

“I know it can’t go anywhere, Lars.”

“That’s supposed to be my line.” Here she was, giving me an out, and I was arguing against it?

She smiled, rubbed at a scuff on the kitchen counter. “There are a lot of reasons not to do this?—”

“And we’ve blown right past them and done it anyway.”

“Have you had enough?”

Of her? Not a chance. But I couldn’t say that. I couldn’t make any promises.

“If we had any sense we’d call a halt.” Her father had almost walked in on us. How long could we keep this between us in the company of other people, especially her people?

“Are you feeling sensible?”

I stood and approached her, Mabel still in my arms like the cutest of chaperones. Leaning in, I kissed Adeline, first a gentle press, then deeper, making clear my intent.

Sensible was not the word to describe this.

Adeline licked her lips, tasting me, savoring the sensual promise in it. “My dad can’t know. No one can know. This season is important for him. For you all.”

“I know.” Anything that interfered with the team’s dynamic—and Theo finding out I was fucking his daughter was right up there—would tank our chances. My captain and I had built a partnership on the ice, and if I had any sense, I would kill this thing with Adeline before it could mess with that.

“Here, let me take her,” she said. “You need to get ready for your meeting with Ryder.”

I watched as she headed into the living room to put Mabel down in the play-prison. Following, I leaned against the door, my entire body itching to claim her. Instead I offered one more warning, one more grasp at common sense.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’m a big girl, Lars. Let me worry about my feelings.”

The assumption being that mine were of little concern.