Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CHELSEY
“Ignore what that reporter Rebecca Jansen claimed in the paper. You’ve done amazing work with the team this season,” Jane said from where she sat beside me in the stands at the Chaos’s first home playoff game. “Just look at this turnout.”
I gazed around the stadium. It was packed from floor to ceiling with hockey fans, many of them clad in the royal blue of the Chaos. “I can’t take credit for all this. A lot of it is the players, and they would have had a reasonable amount of support regardless, considering how far they’ve come.”
“But you’ve been an important part of it,” Jane insisted, watching the uniformed figure of her fiancé pass the puck to Jesse during a training drill. The game would begin soon, and I was eager for it to get started.
“Jansen was right in that there are still weak links,” I admitted, scowling at Delacrue, who was making a show of stretching in a very explicit way.
Ever since his confrontation with Gadot, he’d been relegated to the edge of the team.
Few people engaged with him unless they had to.
I was pretty sure that even if management didn’t proactively trade him, he’d be requesting a change.
No one wanted to be kept on the outskirts like that.
Fortunately, though, he had kept his mouth shut. Another thing I had to give Matt credit for. If we’d taken my approach to handling Delacrue’s potential PR disaster, I couldn’t imagine he would’ve reacted anywhere near as calmly. After all, public condemnation was a bitter pill to swallow.
“There’s this sense of anticipation in the air.
” Jane opened her handbag and pulled out a packet of Oreos.
“For the first time in ages, the players and the fans believe there’s a chance the team might do well.
You weren’t around for the Coach Daniels and Captain Taggert era, so you can’t understand how oppressive it was.
The whole vibe of the place is different. ”
“I’m glad.”
Matt had told me a bit about how things were before Joseph Trent bought the team, and I was so relieved he was out of that toxic environment. As someone who’d badly wanted to befriend everyone at college, I couldn’t imagine how difficult it must have been for him to be part of a divided team.
I watched him get between Fox and the goal and smiled when he stole the puck and sent it zinging away.
My heart filled. Things hadn’t been quite right between us since I’d asked him to wait until the end of the season before going public with our relationship, but we were still good together, and I knew that in a matter of weeks, any work-related problems would fall away.
Unless the Chaos renewed my contract.
No one had mentioned the possibility, but it was lingering in the back of my mind.
If they thought I’d achieved as much as I could, they’d let me go, but if they were interested in making further progress—which might be necessary if the commissioner didn’t lift probation—it was possible they’d keep me on for longer.
But would I agree? Them offering didn’t mean I had to say yes. The problem was that this was exactly the type of job I wanted, and if Matt weren’t on the team, then there wouldn’t even be a question of turning them down if they asked me to stay.
On the ice, Austin skated over to the barrier and blew a kiss to Jane. She lifted up Frankie the fox, who was on her lap, and used the fox’s paw to wave.
My heart pitter-pattered. They were so easy and open with their affection for each other that I couldn’t help envying them.
It was ridiculous, when I could have the same thing with Matt if I just said the word, but there were reasons I was holding back.
Good ones. Like my career and my professional reputation, and maybe, a little bit, the need to protect my heart.
But then, Jane had had reasons not to date Austin too. He’d been her boss. Surely, that wasn’t appropriate, yet it had worked for them anyway, and no one seemed to mind. Well, other than the fans who’d hoped to secure Heartless Harris and his fantastic ass for themselves.
Maribel squished into the seat on my other side, wrestling her bag under the chair and trying to corral her children, who were busy demolishing a packet of M&M’s.
“I saw that,” she said, motioning at Jane. “You two are so cute.”
Her daughter threw an M&M and clapped gleefully.
“No, we don’t throw things,” Maribel said, taking the bag of M&M’s from her and handing it to her son, who was old enough to know better.
She turned to me. “Matthews is cute too, with the way he follows you around like a puppy. When are you going to put that poor boy out of his misery and go out with him?”
I grimaced, my insides twisting with anxiety at the thought that we’d been so obvious that even someone who only saw us together rarely could pick up on the tension between us. “Maybe after the season ends.”
I could hardly say that we were already secretly dating. I felt bad for lying to her, but there was no avoiding it, and it wasn’t as if she was the first person we’d hidden our relationship from.
She stroked her daughter’s hair to soothe her as she stuck out her hand to ask for more M&M’s. “You should. A man who looks at you like that will treat you well. Trust me.” She waved to Taylor, who put his hand over his heart and then extended it toward her. “Schmoopy men are the best.”
I couldn’t disagree.
The game started and the Chaos were in amazing form. Both Harris and Kelly scored in the first period. Matt and Gauthier were an almost impenetrable barrier, and the other defensemen worked tightly together too.
As Matt tackled one of the opposing forwards, snagged the puck from him, and passed it to Gadot, my heart filled. God, he was incredible. Back in college, I used to get butterflies every time I watched him play, and now, in the stands, I felt like that young girl all over again.
That gorgeous, talented man was mine, if only I’d allow him to say so.
And maybe I would.
Maybe it was worth any difficulties with my job because I’d have him to come home to at the end of the day, whatever I was doing. He’d be there for me when things weren’t going so well or when I wanted to get up at 4 a.m. to hike to a waterfall at sunrise.
Jane offered me her packet of Oreos between the first and second period, and I took one and ate it without taking my eyes off the ice.
The second started, and almost immediately, Young and Harris took off with the puck.
Young passed to Harris, who passed back, and Young slipped it neatly between the goalie’s feet and over the line.
I jumped up and clapped. Holy crap, they were three up in a playoff game.
Unfortunately, their lead diminished only a few minutes later when the opposition took out Elliott and got the puck past Schmidt, who was taking a turn in goal. Coach Dunn swapped Schmidt for Davenport and managed to hold the line for the rest of the period.
In the third, we were all on the edge of our seats.
Jane had put aside her Oreos, claiming the game was too intense for her to eat, and even Maribel’s children seemed to sense the hum in the air.
The score stayed where it was until the last few minutes of the game, when Rasmussen received a pass and unexpectedly broke away from the rest of the forwards to get the puck into the goal.
I hollered my support, and on the ice, his linemates Brown and Freeland sandwiched him between them. I was glad for the kid. He’d had a decent season but hadn’t scored much, so getting a goal now would mean a lot to him.
The game ended 4-1, and as usual, we waited for most of the spectators to leave before we made our way to the changing rooms to wait for our men.
“Can you believe how well they’re doing?” Regina asked, her cheeks pink and her eyes sparkling.
“They should be proud,” I agreed, hoping my feelings weren’t as obvious on my face as hers were. That wouldn’t do me any good when I was supposed to be here as a professional.
She grinned. “My man is going to get so lucky tonight.”
When the players emerged from the changing rooms, they were all clad in suits. Matt’s suit fit him well and emphasized the breadth of his shoulders. I itched to smooth my palms down his arms and fuss with his buttons just as an excuse to touch him, but I restrained myself.
He met my eyes and his smile turned dirty. I shivered, thinking about the pleasure his smile promised.
Harris and Rasmussen accompanied Coach Dunn to the press conference and the rest of us headed to Rinkside to celebrate the win. I dawdled near the back of the group as we approached the bar, pleased when Matt did the same.
I waited until everyone else had entered and then I grabbed his hand and tugged him around the corner of the building. If we were inside, there would be no getting him alone for at least a couple of hours, and I needed a kiss now.
He backed me against the wall and plastered his body against mine. “Is this what you wanted, baby?”
I wrapped my arms around him to pull him even closer and tilted my face up to kiss him. His lips were slightly chapped from the cold, but they were soft on mine.
I drew back. “You were amazing.”
“Thank you.” He kissed my forehead and then the tip of my nose. He briefly brushed our noses together and then claimed my mouth again. This time, the kiss was deeper and less sweet. It was all tongues and heat.
I rocked against him, loving the way he braced his arms against the wall, bracketing me between them and erasing the distance between us until he consumed my senses.
The faintest hint of mint on my tongue. The scent of liniment in the air that I dragged into my lungs.
The press of his firm body against mine and the hard wall at my back.
The blazing blue of his eyes, both cool and burning at the same time.
But then a throat cleared loudly behind him.
I pulled my mouth from Matt’s. Cursing, he spun and kept me behind him, protecting me from view.
It was chivalrous but didn’t really achieve anything when I could see over his shoulder that the person who’d stumbled across us was Coach Dunn, and from the scowl carved into his stubbled face, he knew exactly who we were.
He crossed his arms over his burly chest. “Matthews. Fields. This is a surprise.”
I winced. He’d never last-named-me before and I had to assume this wasn’t a good sign.
“Coach.” Matt’s voice was slightly too high and breathy—a fact that seemed painfully obvious in the otherwise quiet alley. “I didn’t expect you here.”
Coach Dunn’s eyebrow rose. “So I see. I was just coming to remind everyone not to go too wild when I saw you two sneak around the corner.” His lips twisted and he shook his head. “I expected better of you, Matthews. You’ve been so reliable this season.”
Matt’s shoulders slumped and he seemed to shrink a couple inches. I tried to think of something to say that would extricate us from this situation without any problems but came up blank. After all, it was blatantly obvious what we’d been doing.
All of a sudden, Matt straightened and stepped farther away from me. The space between us widened like an impassable gulf. “Sorry, Coach. I was excited about the win and got a bit carried away. I shouldn’t have kissed her, but I swear, there’s nothing else going on. I just got lost in the moment.”
I stared at the back of his head, stunned. Was he denying the fact we were together? Surely not. Especially when the truth must be obvious to Coach Dunn. After all, I was the one who’d led him around here. It wasn’t as if he’d pounced on me unprovoked.
“It was a one-off thing,” Matt continued, cracking his knuckles, his telltale sign of distress. “It won’t happen again.”
There was a sharp pain in my chest, and I pressed my hand to it.
My stomach hardened, and I felt small and insignificant, just like I had back in college when I’d overheard Cory Haas make that awful comment about me and then waited, certain Matt would put him in his place, only for him to remain silent.
Had I been wrong to trust him? Should I have realized that this time wouldn’t be different?
“Stop talking,” I said, unable to listen to any more.
I stepped around him so I could see Coach Dunn more clearly but didn’t dare to look sideways at Matt because I was certain I wouldn’t like whatever I’d see on his face.
“If you give me until the end of tomorrow, I’ll come clean to Stella about what’s happened between us. ”
Coach Dunn glanced back and forth between us, his forehead furrowed. He didn’t look mad, exactly, but he certainly wasn’t thrilled either. “There isn’t actually a rule against whatever this is.” He motioned to us. “But it can’t impact your jobs.”
“It won’t,” I assured him.
He nodded, dropped his arms to his sides, and walked away.
Heart in my throat, I turned to Matt. His eyes were wide, his cheeks pale, and I couldn’t tell what was going on in his head beyond the panic of getting caught. I opened my mouth, ready to demand to know if he was ashamed of being with me, but forced myself to pause and draw in a deep breath.
I needed to take a moment to think. Acting rashly hadn’t always served me well in the past, and I shouldn’t assume the worst. He’d made no secret of what he wanted out of this relationship, and I shouldn’t throw it all away because I was lashing out like an injured cat.
Once I’d gained enough control of myself not to snap, I asked as calmly as possible, “What was that about?”