She nods. “Don’t forget about Mr. Burrows. He doesn’t seem like a guy who likes to wait.”
I inwardly roll my eyes and walk away from my dad’s… er, my new office and toward my old office, but at the last second, I take a detour down the elevator. Through the concrete hallways, I follow Kane’s authoritative voice to the ice.
The players are doing drills and he’s yelling, blowing his whistle, and yelling more.
I smile, spotting Imogen in one of the seats higher up in the stands, and join her. “Hey you. What are you doing?”
She scribbles something on her notepad. “Trying to see who we should hype this season. It might be Kane, actually.” She looks at me from the corner of her eye as if worried I might object.
Kane is now one of the youngest coaches in the league, and the fact he’s head coach means even more. I can’t overlook that.
“Plus, he’s single, which you always like.” She elbows me.
“But I’ve been proven wrong, first by your guy and then Cory.”
Imogen is married to Warner Langley, our starting left wing, and just gave birth to their baby boy, Jalen.
“They are loving the pictures of Jalen.” She smiles in a way I’ve only seen new mothers do when they think about their babies.
“Maybe because his mom dresses him in the cutest outfits and has made him an Instagram sensation.”
We both laugh, but the whistle blowing startles me.
“Damn him and that whistle. Someone should take it away.” I scowl at Kane even if he’s not looking this way.
“The boys look exhausted. Warner said the practices are rough. I think Kane’s trying to make sure they see him as coach and not teammate.”
I lean back in my seat, observing. He is being hard on them, so I agree with Imogen—he’s clearly making a point.
“Okay, that’s it, guys. Shower up and don’t forget to be at the airport on time for our flight to Oregon,” Kane says to them all.
Warner looks up at Imogen and she blows him a kiss, a strangled cry leaking out of her once he’s skated off the ice. I usually try not to pry—oh, who am I kidding? I always pry.
“What’s up?” I rub her back for a second.
“It’s the first time Warner will be away from us… from Jalen.”
“Oh.” I nod.
A tear trickles down her cheek. “We knew I couldn’t go with them. Jalen needs to be set in his routine. It’s just hard. And next week they’re gone, like, three days. I’m being stupid.” She wipes away another tear.
I wrap my arm around her, thankful the guys are filing out through the cave and to the locker room. “It’s okay. I can help. Or I mean, maybe Lena’s a better option. But I’ll be there for moral support.”
She laughs into my chest, most likely agreeing that I’m not the one to call when you need help with a baby. “It’s okay. We’ll be fine. It’s just… you know… when you miss someone.”
I think for a moment and get this weird feeling in my chest because at no time in my life have I missed someone like that. Other than my parents when they sent me to camps as a child, and maybe Paisley while she was in school. But I don’t tell Imogen that. I just say “uh-huh” and continue running my hand down her back.
The sound of a throat clearing interrupts us, and we both look over at Kane.
“For heaven’s sake, you married a hockey player. What did you expect?” Kane asks her.
I shoot him a glare. She’s hormonal. Give the girl a break.
Imogen draws back from me. “I don’t expect you to understand, Mr. I Sleep With Whoever And I Don’t Want Any Strings.” She stands and stomps away.
I watch her go, ignoring the fact that Kane is staring at me.
“She’s gone,” he says, and I tear my vision away from where she went and over to him.
“What do you want?”
“We need to talk.” He sits down next to me.
I blow out a breath and roll my eyes, preparing to defend my decisions yet again.
“Barbara is bothered by the fact that you won’t leave messages for her to write down,” I say as an attempt to detour away from where I know this conversation is going.
“Tell her I’m sorry.” He leans forward with his arms on his knees and his hands clasped together. “Your dad always plans an annual trip for the guys. Right after the exhibition games, he’d plan a team outing before the season starts. The guys are asking.”
Shit, I completely forgot about that. But then again, my dad was always there with them on whatever team-building event he chose, and I didn’t have to be a part of it.
“He didn’t have anything planned already?” That seems completely unlike my father. He never even gave me a heads-up to plan something in his absence. He really did just throw everything in my lap to figure out.
“My guess is no. Usually we’ve heard by now. Warner is especially wanting to know.”
I hem and haw. “Can’t blame the guy. He has a newborn at home.”
“Imogen has plenty of help. He needs to suck it up.”
Shocked, I study Kane. I’ve never heard that bite to his tone. He and Warner started on this team at the same time, and I thought they had a closer bond than he has with a lot of the other players.
“What? I’m not all teddy bear,” he answers my questioning glare.
I know exactly how all not teddy bear Kane Burrows can be. The thought is a reminder of Kane in the bedroom, where nothing about him is as soft as a teddy bear. It’s what makes us so compatible. He likes to be bossy, and I don’t mind being a tad submissive if I get what I want in the end. It’s kind of nice not having to make all the decisions all the time, and the bedroom is one place where Kane likes to be the one making the demands. My body heats from my memories of our time together. The screams, the pleas, the begging, the exhaustion. The man knows his way around a woman’s body, that’s for damn sure.
I look up at him and he smirks as though he can read my thoughts.
“What?” I scowl.
“Nothing. I just love seeing you blush.”
I cover my cheeks with my hands and groan. They’re warm.
“Back to team building,” I say, wanting to escape this and go bury my head in work in my office.
“I’m not sure you’ll find many options now. We could try to find a company…”
The thought of me going away on a trip and having to be around Kane twenty-four seven for days on end feels like a punishment. With my luck, we’d be on the same team, and I’d have to hold myself back from making a move the entire trip. He does this whole flirting thing that makes my body float toward his as though we’re in the water and he has me attached to a string he keeps tugging closer.
“I think we’ll just cancel it this year. Most of the team hangs out together on a regular basis. We don’t need to do anything special.” I stand from my seat. “Anything else?”
His gaze rakes over my body, and it takes all my concentration not to squirm under his appraisal. “I’d ask you for dinner, but I already know the answer.”
“Very well then. Have fun in Oregon. Make sure the guys stand out in these exhibition games.”