Zambonis and Mistletoe - A Holiday Romance (The Renegades Series Book 4)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  She turned back to the mirror and stared at the heart pendant that hung around her neck. Running her fingers over the cool metal she looked at her reflection. This little piece of gold was all that was left of her heart. Most of the pictures of Scott were put away, except for the few hanging on her walls in the living room and the small one on the mirror. It was of them kissing. She was so young; they were both so young. This necklace stayed with her every day. She never was without it, not since the day he’d hung it around her neck. It was her last piece of him.

  Scott had been her love, her life, her everything. He’d consumed her. She had woke up every morning looking forward to seeing him and gone to bed missing him every night.

  She still went to bed missing him. Her pain had faded over the years, but her heart had never healed. She used to pray that he would give her a sign as to what she was supposed to do, but he never did, so she left relationships to the folks that were free to love. Her heart was anything but free.

  The gold still shone as pretty as it did the day he slid it on her neck. She hadn’t been expecting jewelry; he was more of a grocery store bouquet and takeout kind of romantic. But that was then… now she was alone and happy with her situation. As happy as she could be. She wasn’t ready for romance. If it was time wouldn’t Scott give her a sign? She felt like she was hurting him if she moved on without his blessing.

  Until then she was content with the friendship she was forging with Nick. He seemed like such a good guy, and honestly, she had been lonely. It was nice to have someone she looked forward to seeing.

  Forgetting about the animal, she opened her door to Nick. He was standing facing away from her room. “Ready.” She smiled.

  He turned around and his eyes took her in. “Well, you look nice.”

  Then it dawned on her he was in a suit, not a jersey. “Or should I be more dressed up?” Her face scrunched up as heat filled her cheeks.

  “No.” He shook his head. “Absolutely not. You’re perfect. I mean you look perfect just the way you are.” He tried to contain his smile.

  “Okay, if you’re sure. Now, let’s get me back down the steps.”

  Before she could move towards the stairs his strong hands stopped her.

  “I have an idea,” Nick said, and before she could say anything he scooped her up in his strong arms, and carried her downstairs.

  She tried to catch her breath, shocked at what he just did. The way he was holding her. She had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck so she wouldn’t feel like she was falling. It was sexy and scary all at the same time.

  When they reached the living room, he looked into her eyes as he set her back onto the floor. His arm still bracing her close, he slowly released her body.

  The tension that filled the room made her skin hot and her face feel flushed. Abruptly she broke his stare and looked around the living room, trying to focus on anything. Santa Claus, holly, and garland filled the room; she focused on red and green decorations. What am I doing?

  Nick cleared his throat before motioned towards the door. “It’s chilly out. I think you better bring a jacket.”

  “Yeah.” She hopped over towards the door, grabbed a jacket off of the chair, doing her best to keep her distance. She was getting some mixed signals from him; one moment he was pulling her close, the next he was letting her go. I’m not his type. She sighed and got ready to pull on her jacket, but before she could put it on, he was behind her and took it from her hands.

  “Let me help.” He slid the jacket over her jersey, and maybe it was her imagination, but she swore he paused as his nose brushed by her hair.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Wow, this is nice,” Rylee exclaimed with awe as they walked into the spacious owner’s suite filled with cushy couches and chairs. The walls were decorated with full and lush holly, bows, and garland accented delicately with white twinkling lights.

  “Aren’t we pretty early though?” She looked out into the arena at all the empty seats.

  Nick flashed her a grin. “Yes, we are. But they cater dinner for us, and they like to do it before the game starts.” As Nick finished his sentence, the caterers in their black uniforms started to file in and set up the food buffet. “Here come the other guests.”

  Rylee didn’t know who would be in the suite with them, and waves of nervousness ran through her as she eyed a few men in suits file in. Looking down to her own casual attire she started to feel underdressed. Heat rushed to her face. I asked him if I needed to be more dressed up.

  “Rylee, this is the owner of the Renegades, Ben Nolan.”

  Ben introduced the two men with him as associates of his. As she was shaking hands with the men, two little boys ran into the room, wearing Tyler Kidd jerseys and sweat pants. They were sons of one of the men. Two teenage girls followed with another man in a suit.

  “This is the daughter of the Renegades doctor; you remember him right?” Nick let out a small chuckle, and he introduced Leah and her friend Melissa. They both had on casual clothes, jerseys and jeans.

  Rylee felt much better about her attire seeing all the younger folks in casual hockey wear. She turned around to spot Ben, the team owner, slide a Tyler Kidd jersey over top of his dress shirt. Perfect! All her self-conscious feelings disappeared.

  “Rylee, food is being served.” Nick looped his arm around hers.

  She became aware that the room had filled up with people and began to feel overwhelmed, instinctively grabbing his arm tighter. Until she realized what she had just done.

  “Oops, sorry. I didn’t mean to—” she said nervously. Why did I grab his arm? He isn’t my date, or my boyfriend!

  “It’s fine.” He smiled. “It gets crazy in here before the game. Once the game starts, everyone will be sitting down and watching on the ice or socializing and watching on the monitor.” He pointed up at the big screen televisions hung around the room. “Let’s get some dinner, okay?” He held her tightly as she limped over to the buffet.

  Nick grabbed plates for each of them and handed one to her. Shuffling alongside of him, she carried her plate and Nick helped to fill it up with whatever she wanted. There was everything from stuffed chicken breasts and steaks to hot dogs and chicken fingers, obviously for the little ones. The only thing she ever ate at a game was nachos or a pretzel, so this was a new experience, one that she was enjoying.

  Paige had taken her to a few games, but it had been nothing like this. Everything about this was lavish; no doubt this was for people with more expensive tastes than a beer and a hot dog.

  He carried their plates over to a table and helped her sit down so they could eat. “Nick, thanks for inviting me.” She smiled. He was so handsome in his suit. She felt heat rush through her as he took off his sports jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. He had on a white dress shirt and his biceps rippled through the thin fabric.

  She picked at her food while she watched him. A caterer came over to the table, offering the adults a clear cup full of beer, so she took one in the hope it would help her relax, and Nick took one as well.

  The chicken breast and scalloped potatoes were delicious; she’d never tasted such wonderful flavors before. “This food is amazing, Nick. Can you let whoever is in charge know for me?” She wiped the side of her mouth with her napkin.

  “I can definitely do that. I have one piece of steak left; would you like to try it?” He held out the piece of steak on his fork.

  Was he flirting again? Maybe. But once she caught his glance she stopped worrying about that, because she was lost in his eyes. “Sure.” She slowly moved to the fork as he fed her the piece of steak, forgetting there was anyone else in the room until Ben sat down at the table with them.

  “You must be the young lady who fell on the ice the other day?” Ben asked Rylee. He had salt and pepper hair and looked much older than Nick.

  “Yes sir.” Her face burned with embarrassment and she wondered how he knew that. “Guilty as charged.”

  “Don’t be e
mbarrassed dear. We have at least one anthem singer take a spill each year.” He let out a booming laugh. “I hope Nick took care of everything for you.”

  Oh, Nick is taking care of everything. “Yes sir, he’s been great. I’m getting along; hopefully I’ll be back to work next week.”

  “Well aren’t we an over achiever? Not interested in sitting around taking advantage of a few more days of rest and relaxation at home?”

  “Not this one, Ben,” Nick answered, turning to Rylee with a small grin. “She’s full of fire, and sitting around is not something she’s too thrilled about.”

  ***

  “Rylee sit over here,” Nick called as they moved towards their seats for the game. He slid into the seat overlooking the ice and patted the one next to him. He looked up at her with those chocolate eyes and her knees went weak.

  Falling softly into the seat next to him her stomach fluttered. Nick laid her crutches behind their seats. She knew she wasn’t going to be able to stand back up without his help now, but she was just happy to be sitting next to him. Her gaze stayed on him. “Wow, what a view.” Quickly she turned her attention to the ice.

  “It’s beautiful,” he commented, but he wasn’t looking down at the ice; he was looking at her.

  Her cheeks warmed again. Any thoughts of this being a pity date were chased out of her mind, but then the lights dimmed and the music started. Saved by the music. The players ran out onto the ice and started to warm up. She looked for Tyler. It was kind of cool to know him personally and see him out there skating. After they warmed up, the players either filed onto the bench or into position on the ice. She watched as they rolled out a red carpet for the young anthem singer to walk out on.

  Nick’s warm breath was heavy on her ear. “There’s the carpet.”

  She turned her head to see his smiling face and she laughed. “Very funny.”

  Before she could say anything else, everyone stood up as the young girl belted out amazing notes singing the national anthem. Nick’s muscular arm wrapped around her waist to help balance Rylee as she stood.

  Once they sat back down she kept her eyes on the ice, afraid to look over at him. He was sitting so close, and she almost wished he would put his arm around her. What was going on with her?

  Tyler got hold of the puck two minutes into the game and had a breakaway to the goalie, sliding it right under his pad for the first goal of the game. Her heart pounded; she couldn’t believe how exciting that was to watch!

  Computerized holly and bells danced along the monitors that ran around the arena.

  “Liking it so far?” Nick asked into her ear, his hot breath sending chills down her spine.

  She nodded, unable to speak with him so close to her. She kept her eyes on the game, not wanting to miss any of the excitement.

  She watched the ice and the players skate around, trying to follow Tyler, but her mind was on Nick. For almost twenty minutes she tried to focus on the white jerseys that skated around the ice, and ignore the heavy glances of those chocolate brown eyes. His gaze weighed heavy on her.

  With two minutes left in the period, a Carolina player went out of his way to get to the Renegades goal. He went straight for Kaden O’Conner, taking him down. Nick’s face stiffened in concern as he gasped and jumped out of his seat. Just then Kris Lafleur flew in and began yelling in the face of the Carolina player that trucked their goalie. Lafleur was the first to start throwing punches, and then they both were on the ground. Their helmets and pads strewn on the ice, she recognized Lafleur’s long dark hair.

  The crowd roared with excitement at the fight. After picking themselves up off the ice, both players were sent to the penalty box for the remainder of the period. The goalie, O’Conner, shook himself off and everyone cheered, including Rylee. It was easy to get caught up in all the excitement. The first period ended with the buzzer. Wow, that was exciting, Tyler scoring, the fighting, everything.

  “So,” Nick said, bringing her out of her focused state. “You need anything?”

  “No, actually, I’m good.” She was feeling a bit dizzy, like the beer was going to her head. But she wasn’t driving so maybe she could have another. “Actually,” she said as he stood up, “could I get another beer?” She dug in her purse for money.

  “Sure, I’ll get you another beer, and forget about the money, it’s taken care of. I’ll be back.”

  She watched him walk up to the bar. It was behind where the table of buffet food had stood, which was now gone, replaced by a table against the wall holding bowls of snack foods, chips, pretzels, nachos and nacho cheese. The kids were enjoying those snacks.

  With his suit jacket off, the slacks really showed off Nick’s physique. He was really in shape. She sighed and turned away before he could catch her ogling his nicely fitting slacks. He returned in a few minutes carrying her beer and a bottle of water for himself. Just as he sat down, the players returned to the ice for the second period. Lafleur headed back to the penalty box to finish out his time, and so did the Carolina player. The teams were at even strength, and Tyler started the period on the ice, taking the faceoff.

  “Tyler is truly an amazing player,” Nick commented as they watched him play.

  “Yeah, he really is,” she answered. Suddenly she felt Nick’s hand on her knee, and her breath caught in surprise. But as soon as she heard the crowd start to cheer, her attention was turned back to the ice.

  “It’s Ty again!” She watched Tyler on another breakaway, until a player caught up with him, only to be shaken off by Tyler. He moved side to side, and faked a shot to his left before flipping the puck over the goalie’s shoulder.

  The crowd cheered wildly. Rylee moved to jump up out of her seat cheering, but remembered too late that she couldn’t put weight on her injured foot. She wobbled and stumbled into a pair of strong arms. Nick’s eyes met hers as he caught her, and they stood there frozen for what seemed to her like forever.

  Once the crowd settled, they sat down and continued to watch the game. Face off at center ice.

  “So, your best friend is Paige Martin?” Nick asked, keeping his attention on the ice.

  “Yes,” she answered, quickly finishing off her second beer, now reminding herself that the next time they scored, jumping up would be a bad idea. Buzzed redhead with a bum ankle jumping around? Never a good idea.

  “She is a great girl. Guess her being so busy doesn’t leave a lot of time to help you out with your foot now?”

  “No, but it’s okay. I can handle it on my own.” She had been telling Paige and Tyler that same thing. That she didn’t need a babysitter. But she sure didn’t mind the company.

  As she turned her attention back to the ice she watched a Carolina player run one of the newer Renegades into the glass face first. She knew enough to understand that wasn’t good, even if it was just her nurse’s instinct. The crowd was booing as the young Renegades player got up, his face bloody, his blond hair pinkish, stained with his blood. It really was everywhere.

  “His nose might be broken,” she commented, concerned.

  “Hope not,” Nick said as the player left the ice. “That’s Jaxon Bishop. Our newest rookie acquisition from California. He’s a good kid. We seem to have good luck with those west coast guys. He’s an amazing player, really skilled. Hope it’s not too serious.” He started to type in his phone. “I’ll see what I can find out.”

  A few moments passed and the game continued. “So they just go back out there, not knowing what’s going on with their team mate?”

  “Yeah, well, they don’t really have a choice. It’s their job. It sucks, but it is what it is. I have a message out to the trainer and he’ll text me as soon as they’re sure what’s going on.”

  “Do you need to go down to the locker room? Check things out?”

  Nick smiled at her. “No, absolutely not. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

  “Who said I was trying to get rid of you?” She was flirting again, seriously?

  “T
here he is.” Nick looked at his phone.

  “Is he okay?” Maybe she really was bad luck.

  “Looks like it. Probably a broken nose, but Jaxon doesn’t care and refuses to leave the game. He’s a moose, and I don’t think anyone is going to argue with him.” Nick chuckled.

  “So he’s okay?” How he was going to play with a broken nose baffled her; it would restrict his breathing at least a little, and she was sure after the game he’d be headed to the hospital to get checked out.

  “Oh yeah, look, there he is now.”

  Jaxon stepped out onto the ice with white cotton stuffed up his nose. He looked bruised, but hurried out onto the ice ready for action.

  “I usually leave about halfway through the third period. Are you okay with that? Or would you rather stay?” he asked.

  “I’m the guest, Nick, I’ll do whatever you say.”

  ***

  Nick pulled up to her house, got out and helped her out of the Range Rover. He grabbed her crutches and her purse, and his eyes never left her as she hobbled up to the back door.

  “Can I come in and make sure you get settled okay?” he asked as she opened the door.

  She nodded. Out of the corner of her eye she swore she saw that big deer again. “Nick, do you see that? Is that a reindeer?”

  She turned to point to the deer and turned right into his arms. This was starting to feel like a date.

  “Where?”

  “What?” She tilted her head, and staring at his dark eyes she forgot all about the fact that she thought she saw a reindeer.

  “You wanted to show me something?”

  Nope, not a clue what he was talking about. Her mind was blank. She shrugged and smiled before she opened the door. Hopping inside, she put her stuff down on the kitchen table and chair and Nick went off to check around the dark house.