Chapter 14 #2
Henry had one true disadvantage, and that was being cocky. He truly believed he had the upper hand, and that’s exactly what made this victory all the sweeter.
I grabbed his hat, placed it on the bench, and then ran my pink manicured nails through his hair. It was so soft, and black, and shiny. Stupid, perfect hair.
His eyes fluttered shut, and he took a shaky inhale when my lips hovered over his.
Every bone in my body screamed at me to get as far away as possible.
Playing these games was toying with a line I desperately didn’t want to cross.
But I was too competitive by nature, so my fingers kept threading his hair in a soft, borderline sensual way, and he gripped my waist tightly in silent warning.
When I knew I had him exactly where I wanted him, I gracefully stood and grabbed his hat, putting it back with a diabolical smile plastered all over my face.
“You’re going to be late.” I didn’t bother hiding the smug undertone in my otherwise casual voice.
He opened his eyes, quickly finding mine in disbelief. I met his stare with a cross of my arms and a playful wink. The triumph I felt was too satisfying to hide.
He arched a brow, his mouth curving into a knowing smile. “Well played, Jonesy.”
I mockingly bowed. “Why, thank you, pretty boy.”
“The media is going to eat this up,” Val said, sitting next to me as we stared at the ice rink, where Henry was almost done training the kids.
“Tell me about it,” I muttered.
The kids were starstruck when they saw Henry gliding around the ice, waiting for them.
He was such a natural with them, too. Very patient and a surprisingly good teacher.
He was doing a great job putting up the front of a sweet, kids-friendly hockey player.
It was almost as if this was what was natural to him.
It didn’t look exaggerated or over the top, like his usual I-don’t-give-a-shit personality—though, I hadn’t seen that one in a while, which was a win in itself.
“How’s the roommate situation going?” Val asked then quickly shook her head. “Actually, how’s the dating thing going?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I’ve managed not to throttle him. So, good news all around.”
“Whenever you want to talk about what’s happening there, I’m here for you.” She dropped a hand on my thigh and squeezed gently.
A pang of hurt hit me out of nowhere. I wanted nothing more than to talk this out with her. But being open had never been one of my strongest suits. The shell I kept around me was ironclad for many reasons, and it had gotten worse after breaking up with Joe.
I pushed down my feelings. There was no time to dwell on anything. My life was what it was, and I needed to learn how to live with it.
My eyes flicked to her hand when I went to wrap mine around it, and I gasped when I saw the shiny, bright diamond. “Val!”
Her eyes followed my sight. “Oh, yeah. That’s what I came here to tell you. He asked me yesterday.”
“Why didn’t you call me as soon as it happened?” I reproached her as I grabbed her hand to inspect the ring. It was…big. I knew my best friend, and she was a simple girl. This diamond screamed the exact opposite.
“I was going to, but his parents were there, so I had to play host and sort of forgot.” She forced a laugh.
I cringed. “How was that?”
She sighed. “Honestly? Exhausting.”
Val and Charles’s mother hadn’t always gotten along. And Charles was a certifiable mama’s boy.
I hummed in understanding. “Have you told anyone else?”
She shook her head.
I frowned. “Not even Owens?”
“Especially not Owens,” she muttered.
It was no secret Owens hated Val’s now fiancé. The guy could be a presumptuous asshole sometimes, so I couldn’t even blame the grumpy goalie for not liking him.
“Why are you here, then? You should be celebrating with your man!”
“Parker had a photoshoot, and Lucas told me to run it. We finished a few minutes ago.”
Lucas was the director of marketing and Valentina’s boss. He was just another mediocre man in the world of sports who thought he was hot shit because he had a penis. What else was new?
“Wasn’t Lucas supposed to be taking care of that?” I asked.
“You know how it works around here.”
I rolled my lips with a clipped nod. It was no secret that Val did half of the things Lucas was supposed to be doing as the marketing director, and he always took all the credit.
“And Charles didn’t mind you working today?”
She crossed one leg over the other and gave me a small shrug. “He went out of town for one of his friends’ bachelor parties or something like that.”
My heart tugged hard in my chest at the tone of her voice.
It was soft, and when you spent time around a girl like Valentina, you knew she was usually full of life and energy.
There was an underlying sadness to her. One that had become more and more obvious with each passing day.
She should have been excited about this engagement, but it was obvious she was withholding some information.
“Anything you want to talk about?” I asked softly.
She shook her head a little too quickly as she stood. “No. I’m fine. I promise. We should hang out on Sunday. Go have brunch or something.”
“I wish.” I slumped my shoulders. “But I have plans.” I kept my words vague, because Val had strong opinions about me hanging out with Evelyn. I knew she meant well, but part of me was still struggling to let go of what little people I had left in my life.
She slumped her shoulders, too. “Aw, okay. Maybe next time. I gotta go. I’ll see you later, babe.” She threw me a kiss and strode to the exit.
The coach clapped, trying to catch the kids’ attention. “Alright, kids, please thank Anderson for being here, and we’ll see you here next weekend. Yeah?”
The kids completely ignored their coach and stood in front of Henry to ask him questions. His eyes sparkled, and his smile was genuine as he answered everyone with patience and kindness.
It was a rare sight. One I liked—a lot.
“Your parents are not gonna be happy with me if you guys don’t get going, let’s go,” the coach pressed.
Most of the kids listened and shuffled out of the rink, but one, who couldn’t be more than eight years old, lingered in front of Henry. He stared at his hands and fidgeted nervously before glancing up and asking, “Will you be here next weekend?”
Henry crouched to meet the boy’s gaze. “I won’t, I’m sorry,” he said, his tone gentle.
“We’ve got an away game, but I promise I’ll be here the week after that.
” He reached out, clasped the kid’s small hand, and curled it into a fist to give him a fist bump.
A warm and kind smile spread across his face as he added, “You did great today, buddy. Keep it up, and you’ll be faster than Hayes in no time. ”
The kid’s eyes lit up, sparkling with excitement. “You think so?” he asked, his voice breathless with excitement. “He’s really fast.”
Henry chuckled and gently tapped the kid’s nose with his finger. “Just keep practicing.” With that, the kid laughed and hugged Henry before gliding across the ice to leave.
After a few minutes, Henry skated to where I was and sat next to me, making quick work of taking his skates off. “I can’t remember the last time I skated where it didn’t involve fucking drills.” His laugh was breathless, and his cheeks were a bit pink.
“You looked like you were having fun,” I replied with a smile. “I also took some pictures for your socials.” I waved my phone in the air.
He smirked, raising an eyebrow. “Admit it, you took those pictures for yourself.”
“God, help me,” I muttered as I stood in front of him. One of the photographers called my name, and I lifted one finger, signaling them to wait a moment, then looked at Henry. “Nice work today, seriously.”
His intense blue-gray eyes met mine in genuine surprise. “I’m sorry, was that a compliment?”
“Don’t get used to it,” I replied dryly.
He grinned. “Are you going soft on me, Jonesy?”
With a roll of my eyes, I turned around and flipped him off without a word.
He barked a laugh. “There’s my girl.”
My stomach fluttered like a high school girl with a crush at his words. And though I meant the compliment with my whole heart, I needed to remember who he truly was. Or, well, who I thought he truly was.