As soon as he reached his room, he got out of the suit and into his favorite sweats. With the remote in hand, he climbed onto the bed and wrapped an extra blanket around his body. Only then did he tuck the ice pack they’d made him under his shirt.
Silas walked in a minute later. “Hey! How’s the ribs?”
“I’ll live. Not partying tonight? I’ll bet you won’t have to pay for any drinks.”
“I’m beat,” Silas admitted. “Long road trips really take it out of me. Imagine what would happen if I actually played.” He did a face-plant on the other bed.
Leo laughed, and then his phone buzzed with a text. He picked it up quickly, hoping to hear from Georgia. But it was his mom. Are you okay? I waited 90 minutes to ask. My new record.
He had to laugh. Nice work, and I’m fine. I’d feel better if I’d scored, though.
We love you no matter what. Even if you lose to the Rangers next week. But try not to.
I’ll see what I can do.
The game is on my birthday. Can you have a late lunch with us beforehand?
Sounds great, Leo replied, feeling guilty that he’d forgotten that his mom’s birthday was coming up.
There was a knock on the door, and Silas picked his head up. “You order room service?”
“No, but I like that idea.”
Silas slid off the bed and went to open the door. Leo heard him greet somebody, and when he reappeared, there was amusement on his face. “Leo, a visitor.”
Georgia appeared behind him, looking tentative. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I just . . .” She cleared her throat. “Are you okay?”
Aw. “’Course I am, baby. Come see me.”
Silas pulled off his suit coat and loosened his tie. “You know, I think I’ll have a drink downstairs after all. See you in a little while.” He tossed his jacket on a chair and made a quick exit.
“I hope he doesn’t tell the whole bar he’s giving us a few minutes alone. You and Coach don’t seem to be getting along as it is,” Georgia said, still hovering near the door.
“Who cares? Come here and kiss me.”
She approached him slowly, eyeing the ice packs under his shirt. “Are you really okay? Would you tell me if you weren’t?”
“Probably.” Leo chuckled. “Your dad got really weird about the whole thing. He wouldn’t let me skate. He kept sending the trainer over to prod me.”
“Maybe he was worried about you?”
“No way. I think he’d run me over with the Zamboni himself if given the chance. Tonight I felt like he wanted to make me look weak, or something.”
Georgia shook her head. “He doesn’t embarrass anyone. It’s not his style.”
Leo used to believe that was true. But he didn’t want to trash Coach to Georgia any longer, either. It wasn’t fair to make her choose sides. Instead he lifted his shirt. “See, it’s not that bad. Give me a day, I’ll be fine.”
She made a low, concerned noise in her throat. And when she placed gentle fingertips on his bruised skin, something in Leo’s chest tightened. It had been a long time since anyone he’d dated had worried about him. The Amys of his past had found the game-day bruises sexy. Like warrior’s marks. But Georgia’s touch was all worry, no glee.
“That wasn’t a fair hit,” she whispered.
“Coulda been worse,” Leo pointed out, tugging her closer. She grabbed the headboard to avoid falling on his injured chest. But Leo would risk a little pain for a kiss. I love you, he thought, pulling her in. Their lips met softly, and the tenderness made for a wholly different sort of ache in his chest. He kissed her again, knowing that his meddling brother had been right. Nobody had ever mattered to him the way Georgia did. Kissing her felt like coming home.
He grabbed the backs of her knees and swung her onto his lap. “Missed you today,” he whispered between kisses.
“Mmm,” she said, her sweet lips brushing his. Then she tipped her forehead against his and peered at him seriously. “I hate that asshole who hit you.”
“You’re very loyal,” he whispered. “Even though you avoided me at the rink earlier.”
Her expression turned guilty. “You were busy.”
“Uh-huh.” Leo kissed her on the nose. “You had on a different sexy publicist outfit today. And I couldn’t get close enough to you to admire it.”
Georgia rolled her eyes. “You can’t admire me with your hands, mister. That’s not allowed.”
“Sure it is.” He gave her ass a little squeeze, and then wondered how long it would take for Silas to have that drink . . .
She caught him by the chin. “Be good.”
“Baby, I am good. You said so yourself the other morning.”
Another eye roll. “Leo, we can’t be a couple right now. There are complications. It’s not that easy . . .”
He grabbed her in a hug and buried his nose in her hair. “It’s exactly this easy. You and me, alone together. There’s not one thing about it that’s complicated. You’re mine, Georgia Worthington. I don’t care what your fucking dad thinks. I spent six years trying to get over you, and it didn’t take. Our time is now.”
Georgia took a deep breath and seemed to relax against him. One soft hand stroked the whiskers on his chin. “The whole guns-a-blazing thing is sexy, hunk. But you need to remember that the trade deadline is in two weeks.”
He grunted. “You think your father would trade me for spending time with you?” Though “spending time” was a euphemism, and they both knew it.
“Maybe. I don’t know what he’s got against you, but this couldn’t possibly help.”
He nuzzled her neck with his lips. “So you’re saying we need to stay in the closet for two weeks? I can do that.”
“At least.” She sifted her fingers through the short hair at the nape of his neck. “Then there’s my job to worry about.”
“Why?” Leo moved his head back so that he could see her face. “Is there, like, a policy against it?”
“I’m not sure. I never had any cause to go digging through the employee guidelines for a fraternization rule.”
He grinned. Maybe it made him a Neanderthal, but he didn’t like the idea of Georgia dating anyone else in the organization. Surely she’d had boyfriends, but he didn’t want to meet any of them.
“A few weeks before you showed up, the head of PR quit. Nate and Hugh Major aren’t sure yet what they’re going to do with the position. I only have the chief job on an interim basis. And that press conference you bombed? It was my first one.”