Stick Play (Boston Bucks #4)

22. Ash

22

Ash

I t’s game day, and after our morning skate, most of us are hanging out and relaxing. We all have our own routines and superstitions. I always eat the same food, and either read or play games with the guys and I always give Dad a call before we play. Right now, it’s nearing noon, and I’m in Roman’s room playing video games. Roman and I don’t hang out much outside of hockey, although I like him, but when we’re on the road, gaming is a good distraction and keeps my mind sharp and ready for game time.

“Dude, where’s your mind? I just slayed the fuck out of you.”

“Yeah.” I toss the controller onto the coffee table. So much for a distraction. I’ve been uneasy since those pictures came out and Coach said he liked the idea of Gina and me. I mean, I’m happy about that, but I don’t want to be parading her all around town because it helps the team’s image.

He leans forward on the sofa, his gaze latched on me. “Is this about that chick you were photographed with?”

“Don’t call her that.”

He laughs. “I should say, that mom you were photographed with.”

I jump up, and rake my hands through my hair. “You’ve got something against moms?”

“No man. I have one. I’m just not about to date one.” He eyes me. “Dude, you got it bad.”

I shrug, not about to deny it. “Someday it will happen to you.”

“Nah, I’m not about to settle down anytime soon. I’ve got lots of living to do.”

“Just be careful not to get in shit with Coach, while you’re doing all your living .” I do air quotes around that last word.

“I’m careful. No way do I want Coach warning me to walk the straight and narrow, like you.”

I snort. Walking the straight and narrow with an amazing woman like Gina…well, that’s not so bad. My phone rings and I snatch it from my pocket. Disappointment must move over my face, and Roman laughs.

“Dude, go call her.”

I stare at the random number that’s been calling for days, and hit decline. The only one I want to talk to is Gina, and dammit, I’m going to call her. “Yeah.” That’s all I say as I walk to the door and let myself out.

I hurry back to my room, throw myself on my bed and call Gina. She sounds breathless when she answers on the third ring.

“Ash, I didn’t expect to hear from you today.”

“I have a bit of downtime before the game. Just wanted to check in to see if Dad’s been behaving.”

She chuckles. “He’s actually watching Zoe at my place right now. I’m out running errands and getting snacks for tonight. Your dad and I are going to watch the game together and apparently your father makes a mean pizza.”

Shit, he knows better than to be eating pizza.

“Don’t worry,” she adds, clearly reading my mind. “I’m getting plant-based everything and the cheese is low fat.”

This time I laugh. “He’s going to kill you.”

“Don’t worry. This stuff tastes great.” I hear a squeaky wheel and voices in the background. Somewhere in the distance, a child screams. “He won’t even know.” She goes quiet, her breath a bit heavier.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah…” she sounds distracted. “I don’t know. It’s probably my imagination.”

I sit up straighter. “What’s going on?”

“I…I’m sure it’s nothing.”

Clearly, it’s not nothing, judging by the fact that she brought it up and seems out of sorts. “Gina.”

“It’s just, after the pictures came out, I feel like I’m being watched.” Something dings on the other end of the phone. “It’s weird, I know.”

“No, it’s not weird.” My heart jumps into my throat. “You remember what happened to Maeve last year.”

“Yeah, but that turned out to be her jealous friend. I guess I really shouldn’t be calling her a friend, after what she did to Maeve. Maybe I’m just being paranoid because of that situation. I’m sure no one is stalking me, and I’m sure all the frenzy about your new mystery woman, mom , will die down soon. I’m not that newsworthy.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m at the grocery store. I’m headed home in a minute. I’m sure it’s nothing, Ash. I shouldn’t have said anything. You have a game to focus on.”

“I care about more than just hockey, Gina.”

A beat and then, “I’m okay, Ash. I’m sure it’s just someone trying to get dirt on Ash’s mystery woman.”

“What kind of dirt can they get on you?” I ask. She’s the sweetest, kindest person I know and if they dig, they’ll see that too.

She doesn’t answer that question, and instead says, “Some places actually put my name right out there, and my café.” She snorts out a humorless laugh. “Maybe it will bring new business to the café.”

“Fuckers.” Okay, that came out loud and harsh and from Gina’s slight gasp, I’m pretty sure she’s sorry she said anything. “I’ll fix this when I get home, okay.” I honestly have no idea how to fix it. People post what they want to post, and people believe what they want to believe. “I won’t let anyone get close, Gina. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Zoe.”

“I know, Ash.” I walk to my window and look out, wanting nothing more than to be home. “I’m looking forward to your game tonight. Promise me you won’t get hurt.”

“I can’t promise that, babe.” My heart misses a beat at the genuine concern in her voice. “But I’ll do my best to get home to you in one piece.”

“You’d better. Zoe would be very upset to see her manny hurt.”

I laugh at that. “I’ll do my best.”

“She’s also very much looking forward to her present. It’s all she’s been talking about.”

On that note, I remind myself to hit the hotel gift shop. Knuckles rap on my door.

“Let’s go, Ash. I’m starving.”

“That’s Brady. It’s feeding time and Lord knows that man doesn’t like to miss a meal.”

“He’s the goalie, he needs his fuel.”

“Okay, babe. I should go…” I run my hands through my hair. “Ah, we’re headed home after the game. It will be late…”

“You have a key.”

My heart soars. “Yeah, but Dad is there. You don’t have any spare rooms.”

“You can crawl in with him. It’s a big bed.”

“I’d rather crawl in with you.”

“I’d rather that too, but?—”

“Zoe, I know.” Goddammit, I’m tired of hiding what we’re doing. In fact, I’m just about ready to scream it from the rooftop.

“But if you sneak out before she?—”

“I can do that.” As she laughs, I grin at the excitement I hear in my voice.

“Kick butt for us all tonight.”

“There’s only one butt I’m interested in. Later, babe.”

“Later, Ash.” With that, I end the call and my heart pounds a little too hard as she says my name and the next time I hear it on her tongue, I want my cock inside her.

As the pounding on my door continues, I walk toward it. “I’m coming. Jesus, where’s the fire.” I pull it open to find Brady standing there. Theo walks by and smirks at me, but nothing can bring my mood down now.

Brady cocks his head and smiles. “What?” I ask.

“Why are you smiling like the village idiot?” His gaze drops to the phone in my hand before I can hide it. “Oh, talking to Gina, I guess.”

“Fuck off.”

He throws his arm around me, and I pull my door shut. “Come on, let’s go carb up.” We take the elevator down to the main level, and I glance at Brady. “You were right about Coach. He likes the idea of Gina and me.”

“Told you.”

“It just pisses me off that her face and Zoe’s was splashed all over the news, though.”

“I know, bud, but it will die down. They’re just looking for dirt. You know how the game is played.”

Unfortunately, I do. “They won’t find any.” My heart lurches, because maybe I’m wrong about that. Are they going to dig into Gina’s past? If they do, are they going to find Zoe’s father? Blood drains to my feet, as the doors ping open. Jesus Christ, if anything happens to Gina, because of me, I’d never forgive myself.

“Are you okay?”

I take in the worried way Brady is looking at me. “Yeah, just hungry.”

He looks like he’s about to press, but stops when we step off the elevator to a group of girls standing in the lobby. The second they see us, they come running and the next fifteen minutes are spent taking pictures. A necessary evil of being a professional hockey player. At least Brighton and the other wives know it’s part of the game we play, and trust us wholeheartedly. Will Gina extend me that trust? Believe that I’m not jumping from bed to bed when I’m not with her? If she does a search of me, and sees any of these pictures, it could skew her view.

From my peripheral, I spot the gift shop. “I’ll meet you in there. Save me a seat.”

Brady nods and makes his way into the restaurant where the guys are all gathering. I hurry to the gift shop and take a fast look around. What the fuck does one buy a little girl? Shit, I’m really out of my element here. Although I do know she loves books and games. I also know she’s not as scary as I once thought she was.

My gaze falls upon the jewelry section and I see a beautiful dolphin gemstone pendant necklace.

“Can I help you?” I glance up to see the clerk behind the counter smiling at me. “That’s a beautiful piece.” I nod in agreement. “For someone special.”

“Yes.”

As I answer quickly, she picks it up and holds it out for me to see. “Do you know the dolphin represents protection and guidance?”

“No, I didn’t.” Could that be Gina’s draw to dolphins? I’m not sure but what I do know is now that I’m in her life, she can always count on me to protect her.

“It’s exquisite. I’m sure the special person in your life will cherish it.”

“I’ll take it.” She nods. “I also need a special gift for her little girl. I don’t think she’ll appreciate jewelry.”

“No, probably not. What’s on her wish list?” the clerk asks and I laugh.

“If I could give her what she really wants, it’d be a daddy and a baby brother.”

She grins at me. “Oh well, we don’t sell those here.” A wink and then, “But something tells me she might get those wishes in the future.”

“Do you think?” I ask, like a goddamn idiot. But honestly just hearing a stranger say that to me, has my heart racing a million miles a minute because the truth is, Gina and Zoe are everything I never knew I always needed.

“Yeah, I think so. For now, how about a plush toy or a puzzle?” She waves her hand toward the kid section, and I walk over and spend far too much time looking at all the toys. It just doesn’t feel right, though. Nothing about these things are special enough. I can’t go home empty-handed though, so I reach for a plush toy, but when I do, something on the counter catches my eye. I switch focus and pick up the oval box, opening it to inspect the contents.

“I don’t think a little girl would want that,” the clerk kindly points out. “Here.” She picks up a stuffed unicorn. “I don’t know a girl who wouldn’t love this.”

I’m sure she would love that, but this…I examine the contents again, and grin. This is the absolute perfect gift for Zoe. I’m not one hundred percent sure Gina will agree with me, and I probably should run it by her first. Either way, I put it on the counter.

“I’ll take this.”

The clerk eyes me like I might have taken one too many hits to the head, and while that is true, I have full clarity and know exactly what I’m doing. She finally shrugs, and picks up the gift, taking it to the cash register.

“I guess you know her better than I do.”

“I do.” Squeals sound in the hall and I guess a few of the players have been spotted by their fans. Will I be able to make it to the restaurant unscathed?

“Well then, that’s one lucky little girl and a very lucky mom,” the clerk tells me as she rings up my purchases. I smile, all the while knowing that I’m the lucky one. A few minutes later, gift bag in hand, I head into the lobby. My phone rings again, and I snatch it from my pocket, hoping it’s Gina. Once again that unknown, but now familiar number shows up and I shake my head.

Who the fuck keeps calling me?

That’s when I realize I should probably answer it. What if this has something to do with Gina, and who might be following her. I’m about to slide my finger across the screen when a bunch of women rush me, and my phone is knocked out of my hand. It takes a hard hit to the floor, and while I want to get behind who’s calling, after selfies with fans, the rest of the day is spent in a whirlwind of events before the game, leaving me with no time to myself.

And that’s not fucking good…