by Sarah Hegger
He could do that, but it felt wrong. “I’m good for it.”
All gazes hostile, the team turned and glared at him. He went for the standard approach. “Hi.”
More evil eyeing.
“What do you want, Sam?” Chris folded her arms. She caught site of Maddy and blushed. “Er…hi.”
“Hi.” Maddy breathed. She held up her phone. “I won’t be any trouble. I’m here to take pictures. Of Sam. Sam and Elizabeth, and maybe the children. If you don’t mind.”
“No.” Chris almost yelled the word. “No bother. It’s fine.”
Three of the kids gave him the once-over and found him lacking.
Behind Chris’s back, Lizzie gave him a look that encouraged him to get on with it, which comprised an eye roll and a rude hand gesture.
“First off, I came to apologize,” he said. “I behaved badly and there’s no excuse for the way I treated you.”
“That was lovely, Sam.” Maddy beamed at him like a proud parent.
Chris snorted. “Not that lovely.”
“Are we going to play hockey today?” Chloe nudged her brother and they both scowled at Sam.
Sam gave her his most dazzling smile. “I would really like it if you would let me play with you.”
“You said we suck.” Chloe was tougher than a lot of her gender when it came to Sam’s smile. “Why should we play with you?”
“Because I’m really good.” Sam shrugged. “And maybe I could show you a thing or two. Mostly because I’m really sorry and I’m asking you to forgive me.”
Chloe thought that over.
The rest of the team looked at him.
Damn, tough crowd.
“I was wrong to say what I said.” He glanced at Lizzie and she gave him a nod of encouragement. At least he chose to think it was encouragement. She might be leading him to his doom. “Look, I shouldn’t have said what I said, but your skating…it could be better.”
Even Maddy looked disappointed in him.
“Sam.” Chris’s held a distinct warning. An I’ve-been-trained-to-make-convicted-felons-cry edge.
He put a couple of feet between him and Chris. “I want to help you skate better. It all starts with skating.”
“Why should we trust you?” This from Anton, the kid he’d belittled.
“Because I owe you this,” he said. “I can’t promise you’ll ever be great, but I can promise to get you on your feet for long enough to put up some competition.”
Lizzie stepped forward. “And because he promised me he wanted to help,” she said. “And I’ve known Sam since we were your age. He’s not always nice, but he doesn’t lie.”
“If I was a liar, I would have said you skate well and play hockey better,” he said.
Chris closed the distance between them and turned her back on the kids. She pitched her voice for his ears only. “I’m gonna let you do this, but not for you.” She jerked her head. “You’ll do this for them, because they deserve this from you, and because it will make them all feel ten feet high to have the coolest assistant coach there is.”
“Assistant?” He met her hard gaze. “Coach.”
“Assistant,” Chris said emphatically. “Or you can take your pretty, pampered ass out of my practice.”
“Assistant.” He nodded because he could work his way up from there. He had major bribery in mind, but he would have these kids eating out of his palm. “And at least it’s a pretty ass.”
“Does nothing for me.” Chris snorted and clapped her hands. “Listen up,” she said to her team. “I don’t agree with the way he treated you, and I for sure won’t let him do anything like that again. But he is Sam Stone and he does play for the Ottawa Titans, and think how jealous the other teams are going to be.”
That did the magic and some of the frost melted off young faces.
He took a seat and laced into his skates.
On the ice, he held out his hand for the whistle. With a glare, Chris handed it over.
“Right.” He blew the whistle. Sure they were all paying attention already but a whistle…the power was heady.
“This is what we’re going to do. If by the end of practice today, you can all skate forward and turn left and right, I’m taking you all out for pizza.” He dug in his bag and hauled out a T-shirt. “And you get to wear these.”
Chloe tilted her head and read the words on the T-shirt. “Sam Stone knows nothing.” She smirked. “We really get to wear that?”
“If you earn it,” he said. “Show me I’m wrong and show me you deserve to be on the ice.”
A couple of the kids looked ready, a couple nervous, but most looked uncertain.
“Are we skating drills?” Anton glanced at Chloe and chewed on his lip.
“Drills.” He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Those are so boring. We’re going to play tag instead.”
An excited murmur rose from the kids.
“I like sharks and minnows.” Anton was holding tough.
“We’re playing tag,” he said. “And I’m catching.”
“No way.” A heavyset boy with flushed cheeks put his hand up. “You’ll catch us too fast.”
“Maybe.” He gave a casual shrug. “But there are a lot more of you than me. And you get to count to ten and come back on the ice.” He pointed to Chris and Lizzie. “And they’re on your team and allowed to run interference and call a foul against me.”
The kids all stared at him.
“One.” He raised the whistle to his mouth. “When I get to ten, I’m coming after you.”
Lizzie gave him a smug smile. “I didn’t bring my skates.”
“Funny thing that.” He enjoyed this more than he should. “Your skates are in the bag.”
To give Lizzie her due, she took it well and put her skates on.
Kids scattered in all directions as Sam counted.
“Ten.” He turned and looked about him. He chose Chloe. She looked like she could skate.
She shot off across the ice, and Sam chased. The kid had good legs and changed direction on a whisper.
Lizzie shot across his path and forced him to slow down. She glanced over her shoulder and smirked at him.
Oh, it was on. He grinned back.
Sam put on the speed and headed for Chloe. He ducked past Chris when she tried to distract him.
Chloe glanced over her shoulder and shrieked.
Bending, Sam scooped her off her feet and carried her to the side. She giggled in his arms and he put her down on the side of the rink.
And so he went, taking out the stronger skaters first, so he could give the weaker ones as much practice as possible.
It didn’t take long for the kids to get into the swing of it. Their shouting rang out over the ice.
“You can’t catch me.”
“Here, Sam!”
“Come and get me.”
He surprised the hell out of himself by having a good time. It had been so long since he’d skated for the hell of it. The looks on the kids’ faces reminded him of why he had wanted to skate for a living.
Wind whipped past his face as he skated. He drove the kids to turn left and right, scooping them up and putting them on the side. Little stinkers started to cheat and the minute his back was turned they were back on the ice.
Even Chris laughed along with them after a while.
It took him back to a time when he and Liz had skated together as kids. He’d forgotten what a good skater she was.
Fast and agile, she helped the kids who fell and shielded the cheaters.
She looked damn pretty with her cheeks flushed and her big green eyes sparkling.
Eventually the kids tired and the ice cleared.
Only him and Lizzie left. She skated toward the bench.
“Not so fast.” Sam moved to intercept her.
Eying him suspiciously, Lizzie slowed. “What are you doing, Sam?”
“You have to get past me.” He waggled his fingers at her. “Let’s see what you got.”
&nbs
p; She scoffed at him. “No way. I’m not playing that with you.”
“Really?” He cut her off when she tried to go left and clucked like a chicken.
Laughter came from the kids and then Chloe yelled, “Show him, Elizabeth.”
“Yeah, show me, Elizabeth.” He gave her his cockiest grin. “Bet you can’t get past me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Really, Sam, I have nothing to prove.”
“Do it!” Anton called. “Then you get a T-shirt too.”
“Is that true, Sam?” Her eyes sparkled at him. “Do I get a T-shirt?”
The idea of Lizzie’s round parts in a tiny T-shirt filled his mind.
She shot past him and very nearly succeeded.
Damn she was fast, but not fast enough, and Sam grabbed her from behind and lifted her off her feet.
Lizzie shrieked and laughed.
Her hair smelled like flowers. Her ass fit neatly against him. Lust rolled through him and he tightened his hold. Fuck! This was Lizzie in his arms.
Lizzie!
And he wanted to press her closer and run his hands over the soft parts rubbing against him.
“Sam?” She went still against him. “What are you doing?”
An excellent question and Sam forced his arms away from her. His voice came out in a croak. “Got ya!”
Chapter 15
Elizabeth called ahead to Dino’s to warn them about the crowd on its way. According to Sam, everyone qualified for pizza after practice. As parents trickled in to pick up kids, the party swelled.
People forgot prior engagements and commitments in favor of pizza with Sam Stone. Dino’s was close to her house, so she dropped her car off at home and walked back.
A cold, crisp night surrounded them as she, Sam and Maddy walked back to Dino’s.
“That went well,” Maddy said to Sam. “And I got some great photos.” She held her phone up to Sam. “The ones with the kids in them are getting a lot of hits, but this one is doing the best.”
Sam peered at Maddy’s phone and laughed. He turned to her with a twinkle that had her bracing for trouble and handed her the phone. “What do you think, Lizzie?”
In the photo Sam had both arms around her, his body cradling hers, and his head was tucked in besides hers. It looked intimate, sexy, like a couple. Heat spread over her cheeks and she gave the phone back to Maddy. “That looks like more than just friends.”
“Yeah.” Maddy giggled. “But the fans are eating it up.” She frowned at her phone. “Most of them are anyway. Some of the female fans are feeling a bit jealous.”
Elizabeth needed to know what they were saying, and she reached for Maddy’s phone. “Let me see that.”
“Nah.” Sam intercepted her hand and twined his fingers with hers. “Some of that crap is toxic and there’s no point in reading it. It will only upset you.”
“Sam’s right.” Maddy put her phone away.
When they arrived at Dino’s, the place was packed. Some of the faces she didn’t know. It seemed as if word had gotten around that Sam was coming for pizza. Looking frazzled but delighted, Renee, the owner bustled up to them. “I’m glad you called ahead,” she said to Liz. “I managed to get a couple more staff in.”
Chris surveyed the crowd with a look of dismay. “This was supposed to be pizza as a reward for the team.”
“Yeah.” Sam’s expression darkened. “Would it help if I said I was sorry about this too?”
“No.” Chris shook her head. “Because this isn’t your fault. It’s the downside to what you do.”
Maddy gave Chris a sweet smile, and Chris blushed but smiled back.
At least that was moving in the right direction.
Elizabeth followed Sam into the restaurant. Not that she had much choice with him still holding her hand. Maddy’s picture bothered her. The way she and Sam looked so wrapped up in each other floored her. Even more worrying—as clearly revealed by that picture—was that she had reacted to Sam’s embrace.
Even thinking about it now brought more heat flushing through her body.
Sam was big and strong and hard, and all that plastered against her had made her girl parts sit up and pay attention.
To Sam!
Dear God, this couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t be attracted to Sam. Except, there had been that time years ago when they had crashed into a lip lock. She’d always dismissed it as teen hormones, and easy proximity. Since neither of them had shown any enthusiasm for a repeat, her theory had never been challenged.
Sam tugged her into a booth.
Maddy piled in behind her and then came Chris. A couple of the kids joined them and pressed her thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder with Sam.
“Lizzie,” Sam whispered in her ear, his breath warm on her neck. “Are you climbing on my lap?”
Her face combusted. “No!” It burst out of her so loud several gazes snapped in their direction. She lowered her voice. “It’s crowded in here and people are pushing me against you.”
“Did I say that I minded?” His laughing blue eyes met hers and stuck. In any other man she would say he was flirting with her, testing the waters to see if she would bite, but this was Sam.
She swallowed to ease her dry throat. “Okay.”
For the duration of pizza, she kept her attention on Maddy and Chris. They sat close together, heads bent toward each other and spoke quietly.
Sam nudged her. “How about that?”
“I know.” She hoped this worked out for Chris. She’d been lonely for too long, and Maddy looked as if she wanted to be the one to end that loneliness. “You didn’t know Maddy was gay?”
“Nope.” Sam handed her a piece of pizza and grabbed one for himself. “It’s not the sort of thing that ever came up.” He bit into his slice. “I assumed, because she liked to party with the team, she liked men.”
“Huh.” Elizabeth had made much the same assumption.
“Sam!” Anton demanded his attention from across the table. “Who is the best hockey player ever?”
“That’s easy.” Chloe thumped his arm. “Gretzky.”
“Sure. He was okay.” Sam leaned forward. “But what about Sam Stone?”
The kids all laughed.
“He sucks!” someone said, and they all cheered.
Sam laughed along with them.
For the rest of the evening he chatted with the kids, sometimes their parents, but mostly the kids. Sam was good with people. He put them at their ease and did a lot more listening than speaking.
Elizabeth didn’t have the heart to tell Maddy to take pictures, not when Maddy and Chris were almost nose-to-nose.
When Renee brought the bill at the end of the evening, Elizabeth intercepted it. Sam had promised the team pizza, not the entire town. Only when she was satisfied, did she hand it to Sam.
He chuckled at her and gave Renee his card. “It’s just pizza, and we got a discount.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Fair was fair in her book. “You didn’t offer to take them, and they all came along anyway.”
“So fierce.” But his smile softened his words.
That smile wriggled under her guard and she stood to hide her reaction. Sam would die laughing if he caught a hint of what was going on in her head. It must be a full moon.
She looked at Maddy. “I’ll drive you back to the hotel if you’re ready.”
“Um…that’s okay.” Maddy glanced at Chris.
Chris looked everywhere but at Elizabeth. “I can drive her. I mean, I’ve got to go home anyway and it’s not out of my way.”
With her no-nonsense exterior, most people had no idea how painfully shy Chris was. Elizabeth chose not to mention that Chris lived in the opposite direction. “That’s great.”
Sam dropped into place beside her as she left the restaurant.
A family called goodbye to Sam and he waved.
The night had turned colder, and Elizabeth shoved her hands into her coat pockets. Spring might be around the corner, but for now, the
Ottawa winter still reigned supreme.
Their boots crunched on the salted ice as they trudged down the road to her condo.
Sam cleared his throat. “That went well, I thought.”
“Yes.” Elizabeth didn’t get this sudden awkwardness between them. Even when they insulted and attacked each other they were comfortable together. Now she was super aware of where her body parts were in relation to his. Like if she moved an inch to the right, her shoulder would brush his. Or if she took her left hand out of her pocket, it would be close enough to his right hand to hold.
“That little blond girl, Chloe,” Sam said. “She reminded me of you when we were kids.”
She couldn’t think why. “In what way?”
“You were fierce like that on the ice.” He chuckled. “None of us wanted to get in your way or play defense against you.”
“This from you?” She scoffed. “You never met a board you didn’t want to slam someone into.”
“Ha.” He nudged her shoulder with his. “I was not the one who cracked someone over the head with their stick.”
“True.” She had to wear that one. “It bugged me that I couldn’t catch you on skates. Boy, was my dad pissed about that.”
Lights blinked on in the houses as they walked. The calm still of a cold winter’s night surrounded them, broken only by the sound of their footsteps.
Sam looked at her. “Is that why you hate me?”
“What?” Elizabeth nearly missed her footing.
He caught her elbow and righted her. “Is it because your dad is the way he is with me that you hate me?”
“You mean how he likes you better?” His face made her laugh. “Or how he wishes you were his son?”
“Never mind.” He hunched his shoulders and jammed his hands in his pockets. “I always wondered why you hated me so much.”
“You hated me as much.” Elizabeth wasn’t sure she had an answer for him. “You were always trying to make me angry or breaking my stuff.”
“That’s because you ignored me,” he said. “I would try to get your attention, but you would stick your nose in the air and go and do something else.”
“I did not.”
“Did too.” He grinned. “I wanted you to pay attention to me.”
“I think Dad did enough of that for our entire family.” The burn did still linger. “And maybe I was jealous of that. I always had to try so hard to get him to notice me, and you only had to walk in the room.”
