Snowflakes and Ice Skates: A Holiday Romance Anthology (Utah Fury Hockey)

by Brittney Mulliner

  He had long golden blond hair that constantly fell in his face like it couldn’t resist grazing his cheeks. Those high, perfect cheekbones that belonged on the runway, not the ice. His nose had two bumps from being broken so many times, but it only made him more rugged. More handsome. He was one of the bigger guys on the team, over six and a half feet tall and thick. He was all muscle which made him like a solid wall on the ice. Anyone that tried to take him usually ended up on their backs. His size should make him intimidating, but it all came back to that stupid smile. It was hard to be afraid of him when he flashed those dimples every chance he had.

  “Jess has a crush!” Dani did a little dance while chanting the words.

  “Stop.” I closed my eyes and dropped my head. How did this happen? I’d kept this secret for four months. Why now?

  “K-I-S-S…” She stopped mid-song, and I opened my eyes.

  My heart dropped to the floor.

  Jake and Lance were standing in the doorway, staring at the two of us.

  How long had they been there? How much had they heard?

  I stared at Dani, willing her to explain without giving me up.

  “Hey, having fun?” Jake asked with a laugh.

  Dani nodded, her eyes darting to me as she gave him a hug. I widened mine, silently screaming at her to keep her mouth shut. If they didn’t hear who she was singing that ridiculous song about, she might live.

  If they did…I might die of embarrassment, but I’d take her down with me.

  “What are you guys up to?” Lance asked while watching me.

  “Putting together the centerpieces for the holiday party. We’re putting everything we need for one table in each box so it’s easy and quick to set up.” I realized I was talking too much and stopped before going into detail about the floral arrangements.

  “Cool.” He nodded and peeked into the closest one on the table. “We’re between training sessions. We have about an hour or so before we have to be back to the arena, so we were going to get lunch. Have you guys eaten?”

  I shook my head. He wasn’t acting any differently. Maybe he didn’t hear Dani’s song after all.

  “Do you want to come? You can tell me who was sitting in a tree.” He smiled while I felt my soul leave my body for a moment. He heard. He knew we were talking about two people. Kissing. I glanced at his full, plush lips. What would kissing those be like?

  Ah. No. Bad Jessica!

  “Oh, I’m not sure who she was talking about. She’s been in a weird mood all morning.” I shot her a glare across the room, and she ducked her head.

  “Too bad. I was hoping you guys had some juicy gossip.” He smiled, and his dimples creased, making me forget what we were talking about. He nodded toward my desk. “Do you need your coat?”

  I realized I was about to walk outside without it. “Right.”

  I hurried back and slipped it on before picking up my purse. I needed to get my head straight. Jake and Dani were holding hands waiting outside when Lance opened the door and held it for me.

  “Thanks,” I stepped past him, close enough to catch his rich scent of cedar and citrus. It was an odd mixture, but I liked it. Of course.

  Why didn’t anything about him repulse me as I wanted it to?

  He was dangerous. I needed to stay strong. As we walked to the nearby bakery, I practiced saying no in my head over and over. I would not cave. I couldn't. There was only one way things would end, with me hurt.

  Four

  Lance

  You like him. Just a little...Jess has a crush!

  Dani’s words ran through my mind on a loop. If only we arrived ten seconds earlier, then I would have heard the name. Who did she like? I wanted to ask until I got the answer, but Jess was acting off through all of lunch. She barely met my eyes and barely said two words. Was she really that embarrassed that we heard Dani teasing her? Or was it something else?

  Why did I care so much? Sure, I was attracted to her and wanted to have the chance to get to know her better, but she made it clear she wasn’t interested in that with me. I needed to let it go, but I couldn’t. And it wasn’t just me being stubborn. My heart and mind refused to move on.

  Some of the guys, and the Pride, would probably say it was because I wanted what I couldn’t have. But it wasn’t that simple. I’d known Jess for over a year and the attraction hadn’t faded, it actually grew over time. The more I got to know her, the more I wanted. It was like I couldn’t get enough.

  “You’ve got it bad.” Jake nudged me as we headed back to the arena after walking Dani and Jess back to their office.

  “What are you talking about?” I noticed playing dumb gets the guys worked up which provides some level of entertainment.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” He shook his head, “You couldn’t take your eyes off her.”

  That wasn’t true. Once I realized how uncomfortable she was, I stopped trying to get her attention. Did I glance back every so often to check on her? Sure, but I wasn’t staring.

  “Whatever. I just noticed she seemed upset,” I argued.

  “She was off. I picked up on that too.”

  “I think it was whatever Dani was teasing her about when we walked in.”

  Jake snapped his head toward me. “What are you talking about?”

  He didn’t hear? How could he have missed that?

  “Dani said Jess likes someone, that she has a crush on someone, then starting singing that kissing in a tree song.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Huh. I didn’t hear that.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “So, who do you think she was talking about?”

  That was the million-dollar question. I might literally pay a million to know the answer. “I don’t know.”

  “But you’re dying to.” He smirked, and I fought the urge to shove him off the sidewalk and into traffic.

  “I wouldn’t mind knowing.” I wasn’t going to deny it. That would only end badly for me.

  “Maybe I can do some recon and find out for you.” He offered with a wink.

  “Recon? As in asking Dani?” I clarified.

  He scoffed. “It sounds cooler when you say it my way.”

  “I doubt she’ll tell you.” I watched his eyes narrow and fought to keep my smile from breaking free. He was too predictable. He didn’t like me challenging him. Especially when it came to Dani. I was insinuating she would keep secrets, and their relationship was too good for that. He was proud of how well they communicated.

  “I’ll have the name by the end of practice.” He pulled out his phone and started typing while I pressed the button for the walking signal.

  “She said she won’t tell me,” he growled.

  “Called it.” I chuckled.

  His jaw tightened, and he stared down at his phone while we crossed the street. We walked in silence until we were inside the arena.

  “She said if I guess correctly, she’ll tell me,” he said while scratching his neck.

  I wanted to tell him to say my name first, but then he would catch onto what I was doing.

  “Start off with some of the guys from the team. That’s the most likely answer.”

  He nodded and typed again. “But what if it’s a client or something? Then we’ll never know.”

  I shrugged. “If it’s someone we don’t know, then it doesn’t really matter.”

  “That’s true.” He agreed as we took the elevator down to the locker room level. It was going to be nearly impossible to focus on training while I waited for Jake to guess correctly. At least we’d be in the weight room rather than on the ice. If I got distracted out there, it would show. Taking a longer break between sets or miscounting my reps wouldn’t be a big deal. I could play it off like I was tired. That was an excuse we could all relate to.

  Jake and I were on opposite sides of the room for the majority of the time so I couldn’t ask for updates, but I knew that would come across as too desperate anyway. I waited until Coach Rust released us, an
d we were heading to the showers before I caught him.

  “Did you ever get it right?” I tried to sound casual, uninterested, but I doubted it worked.

  He stopped in the middle of the hall, causing a roadblock, and slowly turned to face me. A smile crept on his lips, and he eyed our audience before landing back on me. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

  I narrowed my eyes. Of course, I did. It was my idea to ask Dani.

  He took a step forward and leaned in until there were only inches between us. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

  I wasn’t going to back down. He was being a pompous jerk only because he knew how badly I wanted the answer. “Just tell me.”

  He smirked and straightened. “It seems our girl, Jess, has a crush on her number one nemesis.”

  I shook my head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  OIli pushed past us, “It means you, idiot.”

  I gaped while the rest of the guys followed Olli into the locker room, forcing Jake and me to opposite walls. I kept my eyes on him until we were alone. “It’s really me?”

  He nodded, and his cocky demeanor vanished. “Dani made me swear not to tell, but I can’t keep something like this from you.”

  I was too stunned to speak.

  He clapped me on the back. “Don’t go passing out on me. I don’t think Amelia’s here, and I know you don’t want any of the other trainers performing CPR.”

  Me? There was no way. That was what I’d wanted to hear, but I couldn’t believe it. Was the fight she put up an act? Maybe she didn’t want to like me. I couldn’t blame her for that, not after all the garbage people fed her about me.

  But if there was a chance she saw past that . . . I had to try.

  “You swear you’re not just making this up?” I stared him down, watching for any signs he was lying.

  “I wouldn’t joke about this. Not with how much I know you like her.” He sighed. “I feel like we’re in high school again. How about you pretend I didn’t tell you so Dani doesn’t kill me in my sleep, and you man up and talk to Jess.”

  I huffed. “Excuse me? I talk to her all the time. I’ve asked her out dozens of times. That’s not the issue. It’s her rejecting me each time.”

  “So make her an offer she can’t refuse.” His horrible attempt at an Italian accent made me laugh.

  “Thanks for that advice.” I went to the showers with his words in the front of my mind. Maybe he was right. If I asked her out in a way that she couldn’t refuse, she might just say yes. I wasn’t going to force her into anything, but if I thought through her possible excuses and made a solid contingency plan, I would have a really solid chance.

  The holiday party would be the perfect event. She had to go, so why not go with me? Since Dani was going with Jake, I knew they didn’t have to work the actual party. Once set up was done, they were free for the evening. I could even talk to Dani and see if she wouldn’t mind me and Jess joining her and Jake. A double date was much less intimidating. Especially with how many times the four of us hung out. It would be like any other day, except she would be my date. I’d let her set boundaries too. If she didn’t want me holding her hand or putting my arm around her, I would refrain. She would be in control the whole night. I bet she would agree to that.

  I debated waiting until tomorrow to go talk to her, but there was less than a week left and I didn’t want to wait a second longer. The only thought that came up that made me pause was what if she had a date already? It was pretty last minute for me to ask her. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone already asked her.

  Again, this was feeling like high school. I was hyping myself up to ask the prettiest girl in school to the prom, and I felt so far out of her league. That was what months of rejection did to a man.

  The DG Events office was still lit up when I looked through the windows as I approached the doors. It was after six, which wasn’t late for them. I swear they worked the most insane hours, but they never seemed to mind.

  The door was unlocked, so I stepped inside and pulled off my coat and called out, “Dani? Jess?”

  Jessica peeked out from around the wall separating the lobby from their supply room. “Hey, Lance, Dani already left.”

  Perfect. “That’s fine. I actually wanted to talk to you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Okay?” She stepped out of the room and moved toward me.

  I decided on the walk over here to be direct and to the point. No unnecessary small talk. “I was wondering if you had a date for the holiday party yet.”

  Her brows shot up. She clearly wasn’t expecting that question from me. “No, I don’t.”

  “Would you like to go with me?” I held back with the other details I’d worked out. First, I wanted her reaction before I told her about double dating with Dani.

  She hesitated, but I waited for another breath. I really wanted her to say yes without my spiel about her being in control of the night. I didn’t want to have to convince her. Was it so much to ask for her to simply want to go with me as much as I wanted to go with her?

  Yup, flashback to high school emotions once again.

  She blinked, and my brain froze when her head dipped, then slowly rose in the most drawn-out nod in human history. Finally, it was like something clicked for her. “Yes, I would.”

  All the air in my body rushed out at once in a humiliating sigh.

  She laughed and tilted her head. “You came all the way over here to ask me?”

  “Yes?”

  “You could have just called or texted me.” She was looking at me suspiciously now like I had something else up my sleeve.

  “I don’t think that’s the right way to ask out a woman.”

  She seemed to think that over before smiling. “I appreciate that.”

  I bit my lip to keep my grin in check. “If you want, we can double with Jake and Dani.”

  Her eyes flashed to mine. “We don't have to do that.”

  I couldn’t remember a time I’d been more surprised. Okay, maybe an hour ago when Jake told me I was the crush.

  “Okay.” I sounded way too excited. I cleared my throat and glanced around the room. “Is everything on track? Do you need any help?”

  Her tongue ran over her bottom lip while I memorized the movement. “I don’t think so. I’m just putting together the list of the team’s favorite things. Did Taylor reach out to you already?”

  I nodded. “I told her it’s Philly Cheesesteaks.”

  She let out a burst of laughter before covering her mouth. “Sorry. I just didn’t expect that.”

  I stepped back and sat down on the plush velvet couch. “Why’s that?”

  She sat on the opposite end, facing me. “You aren’t from Philly.” She was right, but I was surprised she knew that.

  “No, but that’s where my dad worked, and some of my best memories growing up were of visiting him in the city and eating them.”

  Her eyes flashed with something I couldn’t identify. “How far away were you from him?”

  “About two hours in Northern New Jersey.”

  She nodded. “So did he commute?”

  “No, he stayed there during the week and came home on the weekends,” I explained.

  “That must have been hard on you and your mom.”

  “It was. Mom had to get me to all my practices and games on her own. By the time I was in high school, it got easier, but I know she was lonely.”

  Maybe that was why they ended up being such bitter people. Dad felt he was overworked and underappreciated, and mom felt like an invisible chauffeur.

  “Are you going to visit them during your time off?” Her question was innocent enough, but I cringed.

  “No.”

  Her brows pulled together. “There’s a story there.”

  There was a novel or two, actually. I wasn’t sure if she really wanted to know the nitty-gritty, though. “It’s not a very nice one,” I finally admitted.

  “You can tell me.” She paused. “If you want.”


  This was the easiest conversation we’d ever had. I didn’t really want to ruin it, but maybe revealing a side of myself I usually kept hidden would help her see me as more than just the vapid playboy.

  “For years, I felt indebted to them. They paid for my training, private coaches, and travel for the first eighteen years of my life. They were the reason I made it this far in my career. I spent the first three years in the NHL paying them back with cars, gifts, and remodeling their home since they already had it paid off.”

  “Really?” She cut me off. “That’s amazing.”

  I let out a humorless laugh and shook my head. “Nothing I did seemed to be enough though. They felt they were entitled to a percentage of my salary on top of everything else. When my agent and lawyer helped me tell them that wasn’t actually the case, they went behind my back and opened credit cards and took out loans in my name. With my social security number.”

  Her mouth fell open. “No. How did they get away with that?”

  “They didn’t.” I frowned. “Luckily, my team found out quickly and got to work fixing it, but it was a mess. An ugly, hurtful mess. They believed it was their right since I was their son, and they had provided for me. It took years to clean that up, and since then, we’ve only spoken once or twice a year.”

  “Lance, I’m so sorry.” She leaned back against the cushions. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Neither do I. They never apologized, and I’ve never fully forgiven them. I don’t want it to be like this forever. They’re the only family I have, but the trust is gone.”

  That was a huge reason I put up with the teasing from the guys. They could joke and make fun all they wanted, but at the end of the day, I knew they had my back. They were my family.

  “That’s terrible. I’m really sorry you went through that, especially with the people you should be able to depend on the most.” She bit her lip. “I’m really impressed that it hasn't made you bitter.”

  I smirked. “I think it has a little bit. I don’t trust very easily now, but I try really hard not to let it impact my other relationships.”