Chapter 32
THIRTY-TWO
KENNEDY
PLEASE, YOU LIKE ME JUST LIKE THIS.
Later that week, when Valentina dropped by my office mid-morning and said she was going to go bother the guys to get some marketing content done and asked me if I wanted to go with her, I quickly said yes.
I desperately needed the break, plus watching a bunch of hockey players visibly groan when Val stepped into the barn with her phone in one hand and the ring light in the other was too funny to miss.
They all loved to huff and puff every chance they got, but they knew they didn’t have an option.
For one, Coach Sloane would rip them a new one if they didn’t participate—since it was part of their contracts and all.
But worst-case scenario? Owens was there to get them in line, because when it came to his best friend, he didn’t play.
When we arrived, the guys were doing some suicide drills while Coach kept barking orders. The guys looked miserable.
“I wonder who’s at fault for this? Probably Parker,” Val whispered through a giggle.
“Are you crazy? I bet you twenty bucks it was Hayes’s fault,” I murmured back, trying to contain my laughter.
That was the thing about suicide drills—if they were doing them after such a long practice, it was either because they’d lost a game the day prior, or one of the guys said something to piss off Coach Sloane. And, well, we’d won 4-2 against the Florida Bay Kings the previous night.
As soon as Coach blew the whistle to end the practice, a few of the guys collapsed onto the ice like exhausted starfish while Parker skated straight up to Hayes and smacked him with his stick. “Fuck you for that.”
Val groaned while sagging her shoulders. “I don’t have my purse with me.”
“Drinks are on you tonight, then.” I chuckled.
“Damn you, Wesley Hayes,” Valentina murmured to herself.
I let out a quick laugh, but before I could say anything, Henry and Owens stepped into the tunnel.
Henry took off his helmet and tucked it under his arm, while his stick hung loosely in his hand. His cheeks were flushed, making the freckles across his face stand out, and damp strands of hair clung to his forehead. “This is a nice surprise,” he said, slightly out of breath.
“And you’ve just been baited,” I said, grinning smugly.
He frowned, then his eyes landed on Val, who was already setting up the ring light and phone. A groan escaped him. “Fuck, no. I’m not doing this shit.”
When he tried to make a quick escape, Owens gripped him by the back of his practice jersey. “You’re going to do whatever Val tells you to do. Got it?”
“It’s fine if you don’t want to, Anderson. I don’t need the whole team,” Val said with a kind smile.
“Nope. He doesn’t get an option. None of them do. I’ll go get the other guys,” Owens said then leveled Henry with a look. “You better obey every single fucking instruction she gives you.”
Henry shot me an exasperated look, and it took everything in me to keep my laughter in check. He then sighed as he sagged his shoulders. “Fine.”
Even though all the guys were exhausted, Owens, with his grumpy and do-not-fuck-with-me attitude, got all the guys in line to play a quick game of Would You Rather.
Valentina, the sweet girl she was, even managed to get the assistant coaches to participate, since none of us were brave enough to ask Coach Sloane to be a part of it.
A quick thirty minutes later, Val was done and on her way to edit and post the video on our socials.
I wanted to wait for Henry as he showered and changed, so I stayed in the tunnels while I worked on my phone, sending some emails to our catering company for the gala.
I had locked down the menu a while ago, but I wanted to make sure we had more than one vegetarian option just in case.
Every detail mattered. For many, it was a simple gala.
For the guys, it was just another activity they were forced to attend as part of their contract.
But for me? It was everything. Not only did working with amazing charities helped us as an organization to show how much we cared about the community we were part of, but this was also the last opportunity I had to prove I could do this job.
I was too distracted, skimming through a few other emails to notice what was happening around me. Suddenly, a hand gripped my forearm, too tightly for comfort. My head snapped up, and Matt was there. Standing way too close with his jaw tense.
“Can I help you with something?” I bit out my response, trying to get out of his grip.
He tightened his hold on me as his eyes flashed with annoyance. “Care to tell me why I have a meeting with Brad and HR tomorrow?”
Wow. That was quick.
“Isn’t this a conversation you should be having with Brad?”
“Do not play stupid games with me, girl.” He gritted out.
I gaped at him and scoffed in disbelief. “Get your hand off me, and I have a name, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“Not until you tell me what the hell you told him.”
“I suggest you take your hand off her, right the fuck now, Matt,” a low, gravelly voice snapped from behind me. I didn’t even have to turn around, because I could recognize that voice anywhere.
Matt’s eyes snapped up, sharp and narrowed. “Back off, Anderson. This doesn’t concern you.”
The warmth of Henry’s body felt stronger with each purposeful step he took. Without a word, he ripped Matt’s hand off my forearm. “Do you have some sort of death wish?”
Matt took a sharp gulp, eyes going wide as Henry continued to close the distance. His height alone made Matt look like he was shrinking. “She owes me an expla—”
“She doesn’t owe you shit,” Henry snapped, his eyes never leaving Matt’s. “Anthony will be hearing about this. I’ll make sure of it. Don’t ever put your hands on Kennedy, or any other woman for that matter, ever again.”
My adrenaline kept my body on high alert, getting ready to step in.
I wanted to trust Henry was going to make the right decision and walk away from the situation.
But now that I knew better, and how triggering the scene must have been for him, I worried.
The last thing he needed was to get in trouble for someone who wasn’t worth it.
Matt let out a deep breath and took a few steps back. “Whatever. My career is probably fucking ruined already because your girlfriend couldn’t keep her mouth shut.”
Henry’s nostrils flared, and he balled his right hand in a fist, but before he could react or say anything, I stepped in front of him, cradled his face between my hands, and forced him to look at me.
“Don’t. He’s not worth it. Okay? Just focus on me, please.
Ignore him.” I looked over my shoulder. “Whatever they want to talk to you about, it’s your problem now, Matt.
Not mine. Leave us the hell alone.” I grabbed Henry’s hand and walked us to the nearest exit.
I pushed through door, letting the late March breeze, paired with the bright-blue sky and sunny day, welcome us.
“What the hell was that about?” Henry asked.
“It’s nothing. I already dealt with it.”
Henry’s chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as his eyes flicked to the exit door then back to mine. “I didn’t know you were even dealing with something in the first place. Has he been bothering you?”
I reached for his forearm and squeezed it gently. “It’s a long story. One I will be more than happy to tell you when you can promise me you won’t lose your shit.”
He sighed heavily, pressing his thumb and middle finger to his forehead, the other hand planted on his hip. “Okay. Fine. But maybe when we’re home and far away from that piece of shit.”
I shot him a soft smile. “Sounds good to me.”
“I’m sorry I took so long. He wouldn’t have been able to find you if I hadn’t been stopped by Coach to talk.”
I perked up. “What did he say?”
He finally put me out of my misery by smiling. My favorite smile, too. The kind I knew was real because his eyes lit up and the corners crinkled just enough to give him away. “He’s putting me back in. I’ll be playing this weekend against Vancouver.”
I quite literally jumped up and down—which was no easy feat in four-inch heels—then wrapped my arms around him. “I’m so fucking happy right now.”
His laugh was loud and carefree. He gripped my waist and met my gaze. “It’s all thanks to you. Thanks for keeping me in line this season, Kenny baby.”
I shook my head. “You’ve done amazing despite being benched for most of the season. I know it was hard, but hey, at least you get to play the day we’ll find out if we clinch a playoff spot or not. So, you know, no pressure.”
He smirked. “Have you met us? We got this in the bag.”
“I forget how humble you are,” I said sarcastically.
“Please, you like me just like this.”
I think I love you just like this, was my first thought.
It hit me out of nowhere, right in the chest, like a sudden lightning strike that left me a little breathless.
My mind didn’t want to accept it. It tried to trick me into believing it was too soon.
Maybe it was, you know? But I was also at a point in my life where I was truly happy.
This was Henry, the guy who’d seen me at my lowest. The guy who saw me for who I was and embraced all of me without question.
While the knowledge was easy to accept, I wasn’t ready to tell him. I still needed to take things slow, just in case. Because I owed it to myself to protect my heart.
So instead, I smiled and gave him a chaste kiss before replying, “It’s kind of annoying how right you are.”