CHAPTER TEN
Sebastian felt like he didn’t draw in a full breath until Crawford was out on the ice for practice and he and Brie and Harper were watching from the bench.
The guys were doing drills but every time they had a small break, they came over to talk to Harper or fist-bump her. Even the coaches had come over to talk. Hoyt Kent had showed off pictures of his grandkids and his dog—the big, floppy English sheepdog had been a huge hit.
Aksel Rasmussen had laughed when Harper asked if he had kids. “Yes, I have one. His name is Leif. He’s a hockey player for New York.”
Harper scowled and crossed her arms. “New York sucks!”
Sebastian winced. “Uhh, I’m afraid that’s my fault.”
“You’re Vintage Jersey Guy,” Rasmussen said with a nod. “Uhh, sorry, that’s just what I’ve heard the guys call you. You heckle Crawford whenever he’s in the box.”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Sebastian gave him a rueful smile. “I wasn’t sure they’d allow me in the building today, to be honest.”
Rasmussen laughed. “Good choice to not wear the jersey today.”
Sebastian nodded. He’d worn a cream-colored cable knit sweater, blue trousers, tweed jacket, and brown boots just to be safe. “Yeah, you know. Today’s about Harper, not me.”
He reached down and touched her hair. She tilted her head to look up at him with a big smile, then returned her focus to the ice.
With a soft look of understanding, Rasmussen excused himself and they switched to scrimmaging. She cheered every time Crawford checked someone against the boards and the guys started playing it up, falling to the ground with big, exaggerated motions.
Coach Hoyt laughed too.
Clearly, none of them were taking this practice super seriously. But Harper was loving every second of it.
By the time they were done with their scrimmage, she was more than ready to get on the ice. Sebastian helped her get her gear on, which got a flicker of a look from Crawford, before he scooped her up and took her out on the ice.
They’d set up a little shooting drill and were trying to show her how to hold her stick.
“I know how!” Harper called out, her voice carrying over the ice. “Uncle Sebby taught me.”
He got another look from Crawford.
“So what was that little talk about earlier?” Brie murmured.
Sebastian turned to look at her. “What?”
“When you and Crawford disappeared.”
“Uhh,” he said. “I went to the bathroom. He showed me where it was.”
Brie shot him a look. “Sure.”
“I did!” He had, in fact. He’d even peed and washed his hands after Crawford left just to be on the safe side.
“Oh, come on.” She laughed. “He looked pissed that you were here. Clearly, he used the bathroom thing as an excuse to talk to you.”
Sebastian gaped. Oh fuck, she’d put way more together than he’d realized.
“So what was it? Did he want to clear the air between you or tell you to fuck off? I’m so curious.”
“Oh.” Sebastian let out the breath that had been strangling his lungs without noticing. “Well, neither, really. He thought I’d done it on purpose to antagonize him, and I assured him it had nothing to do with him. I was here for Harper. My usual chirping has nothing to do with today.”
“Oh. Well, I am glad you two figured it out for Harper’s sake. Do you feel any differently about him now that you’ve seen how good he is with her?”
“No,” Sebastian said. “He’s still a total dick on the ice.”
“Yeah, but clearly he’s a good guy otherwise,” Brie argued.
She nodded toward where Crawford had Harper up on his shoulders and was carefully skating around with her.
“Being nice to a kid doesn’t make someone a good guy,” Sebastian pointed out. “It just means he’s not enough of a dick to be rude to a kid.”
Honestly? Sebastian really wasn’t sure he could take any more of this shit. This was … not on his bingo card for the day. He was not prepared for any of this cute Crawford and Harper interaction.
And what the fuck had been up with that moment in the bathroom? Why had he goaded Crawford? Why had he called him out on staring at his mouth? What the fuck was wrong with him?
Brie made a face. “Fair point. Clearly, I know nothing about choosing wisely when it comes to men, so …”
“Well, me either,” Sebastian said with a laugh.
“We’re a pair, huh?” Brie gave him a rueful smile.
“We sure are.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and nodded toward the ice where Harper was now dancing with Jesse and a couple of the other guys. “But today’s going well. Harper is having a blast. That’s all that matters.”
“It is,” she agreed.
After practice, Harper got whisked away to do some hockey and Harriers themed arts and crafts while the players did their dryland workouts and showered.
Luke hurried through his and when they met up again in the hallway, he asked, “Do you wanna come do some yoga with Connor and Jesse and a couple of the other guys and me?”
“Sure!” she said. “What’s yoga?”
He chuckled. “It’s exercise. But it’s kinda … slow and gentle?”
Not that his body was suited to yoga and fuck if his hammies didn’t start screaming after some of those poses Dakota Crane, the team’s yoga and Pilates instructor, put them through.
But Luke figured that was the easy answer and Dakota could explain the rest to her.
As they walked down the hall, he asked, “Did you know hockey players take naps every day?”
“No.” She giggled.
“Well, we’re gonna do some yoga and then take a nap today.”
Luke pointed ahead at the open door where a man wearing comfortable yoga gear waited. “That’s Dakota. He teaches us to be strong and flexible.”
“And here I thought you hated yoga with a passion, Crawford,” Dakota said teasingly as they approached. “Turns out, you were a fan all along.”
Luke grunted. He couldn’t say that he liked it, but he had to admit, it was good for his game.
He was pretty much the least flexible guy on the team and he half-wondered if he’d be feeling quite as many aches and pains as he did now if he’d started doing it at the beginning of his career and not the end.
Dakota crouched down, smiling. “And you must be Harper. I was told I had a very special guest today.”
“That’s me! And this is my mommy, and Uncle Sebby.”
Dakota grinned and stood, shaking each of their hands before returning his attention to Harper. “Please come in my yoga studio. We take off our shoes in here. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes. Okay!” Harper plopped down and pulled off the Velcro fastener with a loud ripping noise.
“This is also a quiet place,” Dakota said, dropping his voice. “Do you think that’s something you can do?”
“I’ll try!” she whispered, which was kind of loud still, but …
Dakota nodded. “That’s perfect. Now, I put out some mats and blankets. Which one would you like?”
“This one! I like blue. What’s your favorite color, Mr. Luke?”
Dakota shot him an amused smile.
“Uhh, black,” he said.
“That’s boring.”
“Are you calling our jerseys boring?” he asked, pretending to glare at her.
She giggled. “Nooo.”
“That’s what I thought.”
He’d never met a kid who seemed less intimidated by him than Harper. He wondered what that was all about.
“Now,” Dakota said, clearly trying to get them back on track. “Everyone who will be doing yoga, please take a seat on a mat. Everyone who is just observing, please sit or stand along the wall there.”
Everyone did as ordered. Luke’s knees creaked as he took a seat on a mat next to Harper and he let out a quiet grunt.
“Perfect. Now we’re going to cross our legs …”
Sebastian followed Brie to the far wall of the yoga studio and took a seat while Thad stayed in the doorway with his camera.
The entire floor was covered in a rubbery mat, so it was quite comfortable for Sebastian to fold himself into a cross-legged position, even if he wasn’t going to be doing yoga today.
He liked yoga. He tried to do it whenever he had time, but making it to classes had proven tough since his move and, well, as always, work and Harper had won out over almost everything.
The only things he rarely shifted around—except for in an emergency—were his runs and going to hockey games.
And, well, the hookups lately.
Sebastian’s gaze drifted to Crawford. He looked far less comfortable than the other guys.
There was a range of flexibility on display. No surprise that the goalie looked at least as flexible as Dakota and that a big man like Crawford struggled the most. Connor, Graham, and Tom were all somewhere in the middle.
Sebastian sighed quietly. He didn’t want to watch Crawford as they moved from pose to pose, but it was impossible not to.
Sebastian’s gaze was drawn to the thick slabs of Crawford’s muscles trying to bend into position.
He could hear the quiet grunts or stuttered exhales when he struggled.
And although the light in the room wasn’t overly bright or hot, he could see a sheen of sweat beginning to coat Crawford’s forehead and arms.
The only disappointment about any of the hookups they’d had so far was that their bodies had remained mostly covered.
They hadn’t really taken their clothes off, which was kind of a shame.
Because Sebastian liked tattoos on a man and he wouldn’t mind exploring every inch of the ink that covered Crawford’s arms and torso.
With his tongue.
Nope, bad idea. Sebastian shifted, drawing his knees up. This was not the time and place for fantasizing.
“Now,” Dakota said softly, once the yoga session was over and everyone lay on their backs. “Anyone who would like to take a nap, can. If you’d prefer to leave, feel free.”
A couple of the guys got up, slipping quietly from the room, though Connor and Jesse stayed. Crawford was busy mopping at his sweaty face with a towel.
Harper rolled onto her stomach. “Are you gonna take a nap with me, Mr. Luke?”
“Uhh.” Luke’s glance slid sideways to Brie like he wasn’t quite sure how to handle that one.
Which … fair.
Brie spoke up. “Uncle Sebastian and I will hang out in the room with you while you nap, Harper. It’s up to Mr. Luke if he wants to stay too.”
“I could probably get a few zzz’s,” he said. “But I snore.”
“Like a bear?” Harper’s eyes lit up.
“Just. Like. A. Bear,” he said solemnly. And then proceeded to growl, sending Harper into peals of laughter.
Oh God.
Sebastian resisted the urge to cover his face with his hands. Maybe Brie had a point. This was just … way too much.
Crawford lay down on his back and pretended to sleep, letting out these fake-sounding, “Honk-sheww,” noises that made Harper roll on her mat with laughter.
“You’re so funny, Mr. Luke.”
Dakota seemed amused too although he steered them back to the task at hand. “Okay, we’re going to need to get on our backs now and take some deep breaths. I’m going to dim the lights a little more …”
Harper wiggled a bit before settling in but once she did, she quickly drifted off.
Sebastian didn’t really think anyone else actually slept, but the whole thing had been designed as a chance to give Harper a break without her feeling like she was being singled out.
Although overall she was an easygoing kid, she struggled when she felt like her condition held her back from doing things other people did, and she could get very stubborn about it.
As frustrating as Crawford could be, Sebastian had to admit, he’d gone above and beyond to give Harper the time of her life.
And the day wasn’t even over yet.