Laurel and Dani got back to the hotel after nine o’clock and Laurel let herself into her room, thinking about taking a bath. Gage must have upgraded her room because she’d seen the garden tub when she’d checked in, and though she wanted to be annoyed he’d done that, it made her happy. She hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time and it would be nice to soak for a while tonight. Tomorrow would be a long, stressful day and after winning two games in a row, the hockey world was watching now so she had to be at the top of her game, no matter what the outcome of the game on the ice was.
She turned on the lights and froze.
Oh, Gage.
Lord, she loved this man.
He made her stark raving mad, but she couldn’t escape the feelings he aroused in her. She was also going to kill Dani, but she didn’t have it in her right now. She walked to the Jimmy Choo shopping bag on the table and slowly pulled out the card.
Laurie—
I knew you wouldn’t buy these for yourself but Dani said you loved them. I hope you like them. No strings attached.
Always, Gage
She took out the box and opened it, staring at the gorgeous patent leather ankle-strap sandals. The heel was moderate—she couldn’t walk in really high ones—and they looked like they would fit like a glove. They were nude colored, something she’d never really worn, but when she’d seen them in the store, they’d caught her eye. She didn’t know when or if she’d ever wear them, but she desperately wanted to.
Before she could change her mind, she kicked off her shoes and socks and put on the Jimmy Choos. With the open-toe front, they made her foot look delicate, ladylike, something she rarely thought about herself. She was five feet six inches, and after years of playing hockey, her feet had gotten callused, so she hated them. She rarely wore sandals of any kind, even in the summer, and for the first time since her wedding day she yearned for a pedicure. Maybe the hotel had—
She stopped abruptly, shaking her head. What the hell was wrong with her? She wasn’t getting a pedicure and she definitely wasn’t wearing the shoes up to Gage’s room to show him. Jesus. Where had that idea even come from? She needed her head examined. Dani had put all these stupid romantic notions in her head and it had to stop.
Didn’t it?
She was so confused.
Dammit.
With a grunt, she kicked off the shoes and put them back in the box. This sucked. She wanted to be excited about this coaching opportunity, but Dani was right in that it had no future. It was a short-term thing that was going to end even if they went all the way and won the championship. She had to keep that in mind or the disappointment would be gut-wrenching and she’d had enough of that, both personally and professionally. Her career had been good, but after the Olympics she’d needed a break, which was why she’d switched to coaching at the high school level. She’d been going at such a breakneck speed for so long, it had begun to catch up to her.
Deep down, the reality was that it was because of Gage. The only way to escape the memories, and to stop missing him, was to bury herself in work. It had been ten years since they’d separated, though, so it had to be time for her to move on. God knows, she’d tried over the years. When they’d finalized the divorce a few years ago she’d gone out of her way to date, but the first time another man kissed her she’d been horrified. She’d never been with anyone but Gage, and while he didn’t know that, it was hard to get past it. Once she took that step, she wouldn’t be able to say she’d only ever been with him. The idea of being that intimate with anyone else was…beyond her. She couldn’t even entertain such a notion.
With a sigh, she ran the bath and stripped out of her clothes. She sank into the warm water and picked up her phone, checking for messages. Her father had texted her and she guiltily texted him back. They hadn’t talked since she’d left for Anchorage and they usually talked every few days.
Sorry, been busy. How’s everything?
I’m good, but you should have lots of news. The team has been on fire!
Don’t jinx us, Dad. I just got them paying attention.
And what about Gage? Have you spent much time with him?
I’m living in his house, Dad.
I wish you’d stop being so stubborn. That boy is the best thing that ever happened to you.
Why do you still take his side?
I didn’t realize there were sides.
I have to get to bed. I’ll call you when I get back to Anchorage, promise.
Love you.
Love you too.
She put the phone down and rested her head back on the edge of the tub. Her father loved Gage. He hadn’t understood why they’d split up or why she’d made him promise not to tell anyone the truth about what had happened. With her mother’s death still new back then, her father hadn’t had the strength to argue but he hadn’t been happy and they still argued about it when it came up.
It seemed ironic that everyone thought they should be together except her. Even Dani thought so, and she knew nothing about Laurel and Gage’s background. Laurel’s father knew everything, though, and he thought she’d made a terrible mistake, letting outside forces come between them. It was so much more complicated than that so she’d gotten good at pushing the past into the far recesses of her mind. Until now.
Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a text from Dani.
Need you down in the lobby—Matt’s here and making a scene!
Coming!
Laurel practically vaulted out of the tub, drying herself off as much as she could as she tugged on panties, jeans and a sweatshirt. She stuffed her feet in her sneakers without bothering with socks, grabbed her phone and room key, and hurried to the elevator. What the hell was Matt doing here? He was still benched and she’d told him not to bother coming on the trip until he was ready to apologize. The fact that he was here didn’t bode well and she walked toward the lobby, prepared for a fight.
Jake made a face as he caught her getting off the elevator. “Sorry, Coach, but I couldn’t get him to leave. He’s completely wasted.”
“What should we do? Did you call Coach Cade?”
“Yeah. In the meantime, Sergei’s trying to calm him down but he’s pretty belligerent.”
“This isn’t something I have a lot of experience with,” she admitted. “I’ve had players show up to practice hungover, had to break up fist fights, and I’ve certainly had more than one tell me to go fuck myself, but this…”
“To be honest, I’ve never seen this level of hostility before either and I think…” This time he was the one who didn’t finish his sentence.
“You think?” she prompted.
“It’s because you’re a woman.”
“Well, he’s going to have to get used to it.” She straightened her spine and took a breath. “We need to take this somewhere private, though. We can’t do this in the lobby, but I will if I have to.”
“There she is—you bitch!” Matt was struggling to get away from Sergei as he pointed at Laurel. “You’re fucking up my life, you cunt!”
“Oh goody,” Laurel muttered under her breath as she approached him. “Matt, knock it off. This isn’t going to get you anywhere and you know it.”
“I have a contraction—you have to let me play.”
“A contraction?” She blinked at him. “You mean a contract?”
“Yeah! And an atrophy…” He was rambling incoherently and Laurel looked to Marshall as he came around the corner.
“He’s wasted,” she spoke under her breath. “There’s no reasoning with him.”
“Then it’s time to manhandle him.” Marshall nodded at Sergei and Jake, who grabbed Matt by the arms and began to drag him toward the elevators.
“What the hell is going on here?” Gage came through the front doors of the hotel, his hair windblown under a Blizzard baseball cap, and scowled.
“Let’s get out of the lobby,” Laurel said to him.
“Tell her to stop!” Matt was yelling as he struggled to get away. “Mr. C, you gotta stop her.” Matt lunged forward, breaking away from Sergei and Jake. He ran at Laurel full-speed, growling a mixture of expletives and gibberish, arms outstretched, his face contorted in rage.
Laurel was frozen in place, unsure what the hell was happening or what to do. But it didn’t matter. Gage kicked out Matt’s legs from under him, sending the younger man sprawling to the floor. Before anyone else had reacted, Gage had his knee in the middle of Matt’s back.
“Knock it off,” Gage hissed against Matt’s ear. “I’m going to let you up so Sergei and Jake can take you somewhere to sleep it off, but hear me now: If you ever attempt to attack anyone on this team again, I will not only fire you, but I’ll knock your fucking teeth out.”
“But she’s—” Matt tried again but Gage dug his knee deeper into his back.
“She’s what?” he grunted.
“Nothin’.” Matt wilted, as if someone had let the air out of a balloon, and Gage slowly rose to his feet.
“Let me know if you need help handling this,” Gage spoke to Jake.
As the captain of the team, Jake would be the one to handle a player who got out of control. Otherwise, if it escalated to where team management had to get involved, it would have more serious repercussions like fines and suspensions.
“We got this.” Jake yanked Matt to his feet and Sergei walked with him toward the elevators.
“Shit.” Laurel’s heart was still pounding a little too hard and she stuffed her hands in her pockets, just in case they were shaking, because she had a feeling they were.
“Sorry about that, Laurel.” Marshall was shaking his head. “We may need to take disciplinary action. It’s your call, obviously, but I think enough is enough. If one of my players came at me like that…”
“I know.” She tapped her foot impatiently, hoping the nervous energy would dispel the adrenaline racing through her. “I can’t deal with it on the road, though. When we get back to Anchorage, we need to call him in. You, me, Gage, Howard and Franklin.”
“I agree.” Marshall nodded. “All right. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight. Thanks for helping out.” Laurel waved.
“You need a drink,” Gage said softly when everyone had dispersed. “Come on.” He took her elbow and guided her to the elevators.
She wanted to tell him she was okay, but that would be a lie, and frankly, she wanted nothing more than to throw herself in his arms.
“You’re shaking,” he said once they were alone in the elevator. He reached for one of her hands and held it out.
“I guess…it bothered me more than I’d like to admit.”
“I’m sorry if he scared you.”
“I wasn’t scared,” she said slowly. “I was more embarrassed and frustrated, because there was nothing I could do to diffuse the situation.”
“You weren’t afraid when he charged at you?”
She chuckled. “With you and Sergei standing there? Never.”
A strange look crossed his face but then he smiled. “It’s nice to know you trust me with your safety, if nothing else.”
“I trust you with my life.”