Page 400 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Rick

"So, the two of you are together?" Finn asks.

I pull on my T-shirt, then my sweatshirt and sit down on the bench to pull on my socks.

"Is that why you’re taking her out on a date?"

"It’s not a—" I stop. Actually, it is a date, so can’t deny that, but still how did he—

"How did I know it was a date?" He chuckles.

I finish tying up my shoelaces, then straighten and scowl up at him. "How did you?"

"You were so nervous during practice, your performance was all over the place."

"It wasn’t all over the place."

"It was not only all over the place, it was under the ice. If it had been any deeper, I’d have had to look for you and found, not the captain of the ice hockey team who’s already tipped to lose the league, but one who’s head and heart are not in the game because they’re somewhere else. " Edward glares down at me.

Finn winces. "To be fair, it wasn’t that bad."

"It sucked arse," Edward snaps.

Finn hunches his shoulders, then jerks his chin. "Catch you later, Stone." He sidles off. Coward. I glower after him.

The rest of the dressing room empties out in a hurry, until it’s only the very angry General Manager of the team and me.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" he bites out through gritted teeth. At least, he waited until we were alone before he chewed me out. That’s something, I suppose. Not that it matters. I knew how badly off-form I’ve been lately.

Which is why it doesn’t surprise me when he sinks down next to me and runs his fingers through his hair.

"I can see by the look on your face you already know what I’m going to say. "

"So don’t—" I begin, but he holds up his hand.

"You’re not like the rest of them. You’re older, more mature—"

"You mean, past my prime?"

He frowns. "You know as well as I do that, while it might take more time for you to recover from a game, what you have in experience both on and off the ice makes you invaluable as a captain."

Yes, I’m aware. No, I don’t need someone else to tell me that. No, I’m not insecure… Not normally. Not until a siren swept into my life and blindsided me. I blow out a breath.

His frown deepens. "You’re not a man known for his lack of confidence. In fact, it’s your larger than average ego that's helped you come this far. And it's an asset when you’re leading a team on the ice."

And it’s the one thing I have in pucks… Still have in pucks…

Just not when it comes to this relationship thing that I seem to have stumbled upon.

I don’t say a word aloud, except good ol’ Priest intuits what’s on my mind.

He lowers his hands and drops down onto the seat next to me.

He leans forward and lowers his arms between his knees, mirroring my posture.

For a few seconds, we stay that way, then he rolls his shoulders.

"Life isn’t linear. It snakes around corners of heartache, pain, and suffering.

It requires endurance and perseverance and every other trait you can think about and more. Oh, and a good dollop of humor, too."

"Like hockey?"

"Like hockey." He turns to me. "Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true."

I frown. "Did you quote Point Break?"

"You’re showing your age." He flashes me a smile.

"Was that a trick question?"

"There are no right answers."

"Better Swazye than Cruise."

"Says the man who’s named after Maverick."

"Shh." I look around the dressing room. "I’d never live it down if that came out."

Priest brightens. He cups his hands around his mouth and pretends to yell, "If you want to know what Rick’s full name is, it’s Maverick Mitchell, and—"

I lunge toward him, and both of us hit the floor with a thud and roll over. We end up with me straddling him, my arms around his throat. I press down, and he holds up his hands, signaling he’s giving up. I release him and he coughs.

"Not that I don’t want to fight you, but I’m the GM and you’re the captain, and I don’t condone the fighting.

Not to mention,"—he twists his body, and I go flying through the air.

I hit the floor with a thud, on my back, and lay stunned—"I don’t fight fair.

" He springs to his feet and holds out his arm.

I look at it, then up at his face. "Arsewipe."

"Wankface," he replies obligingly.

"Knobhead." I grab his hand.

He hauls me to my feet. "Shag-Bag"

I tilt my head, since we’re trading eighteenth century insults, apparently. "Lobcock." I smirk.

He laughs. "Okay, you win this round."

But I’m going to lose this attempt at playing the farce that is my supposed engagement.

"You’ll figure it out." His features soften.

"Go annoy someone else on the team, man. Your mind reading skills are weird as fuck."

He winces a little. "I need to tone it down, eh?" He rubs the back of his neck. "Guess you can take the priest out of a man, but you can’t take the man from the priest—" He frowns, and I burst out laughing.

"Oh, were you that kind of priest, then?" I tease. I resist the urge to ask him how he feels about altar boys because… Well, it's not really something to joke about, is it?

He reddens. "Absolutely, not." He pauses as if he wants to say more, then shakes his head. "But you know what I mean, right?"

"Yeah." I nod slowly. "You okay, man? How’re you coping not following your calling?"

"How are you coping now that you are following your calling?"

I shuffle my feet. "The jury’s out on it. I thought this opportunity is what I was waiting for, ya know? I thought once I was back on the ice, everything in life would fall back into place. Turns out, it’s only complicating things further."

"Hence the saying, be careful what you wish for. Sometimes, when you do get it, you don't know what to do with it."

Like having her in my life? I wasn’t prepared for my life to be shaken the way it has been. Not that I actively wanted to find my woman, but if I had, it would be very much a woman like Gio I’d want next to me.

She was so good with Grams, too—those two fell for each other at once.

And that only makes things more complicated.

When I tell Grams we're separating? I wince. It’s going to get ugly.

Of course, first Grams needs to get her procedure done.

Only a few more weeks, and once she’s recovered, I can slowly clue her in on the reality.

My phone buzzes, and when I see the name on the screen, I draw in a breath. "It’s my grandmother. I need to get this."