Page 43 of A Shot at Love
“I think the professional female hockey players disagree with you about the cage,” she said, putting a finger under his chin to turn his head to the side. “You know who Sarah Nurse is? She was asked once on a podcast why women still wear masks and not visors like you all do and what did she say? She said theyjust got health insurance as pro hockey players and that she’s a pretty girl who likes her teeth.”
“Half my teeth are fake…”
“Exactly.”
He clued into something right then and glanced around the room. “How’d you get back here? I never gave you a pass.”
“Why? You worried your sister is going to embarrass you in front of all your cool friends?”
Cam rolled his eyes but laughed and gave his head a shake. “I think we’re well past that.”
“Frank…” Jules trailed off, thinking better of getting too personal.
She wasn’t ready to share the extent of what her relationship was with Frankie, not when she felt the way she did. Not when looking at Frankie made her feel more than a friend should feel, when looking at her made her feel like someone actually saw something in her that no one else did.
“Coach Stevens, she found me after the game and brought me back. She thought I might want to check in on you.”
Cam stood and tossed the bag of ice into a trashcan. He didn’t seem fazed by Frankie being the one to help Jules and started to re-dress, moving about the locker room like he could navigate the space with his eyes closed.
“Some of the guys have been harping on her lately,” he said. “Our power play has been struggling a bit these last few games and I’ve had to tell more than one of them to keep their mouths shut. They don’t have enough respect and it’s starting to piss me off.”
“They have to understand how much pressure she’s under,” Jules said, eyes narrowing in frustration on Frankie’s behalf. It was hard enough knowing the outside media and so called fans had such little faith in her but it almost hurt worse to know that some of her own players felt the same way. “She has it twice as hard as every other coach on your team.”
“They don’t care.” He shook his head and sighed, tugging on a hoodie and a toque. “But there’s only so much I can do and we…dear sister…have a party to go get ready for.”
Jules stood but motioned to his face with a frown. “You still can't seriously be thinking of going to that party tonight. Can…look at your face. You need rest and you need more ice.”
”Jules, I love you, but…” He put his hands on her shoulders and smiled. “After the day I’ve had, the only thing that would keep me from a party and a pretty girl is if I got knocked out cold. Do I look knocked out cold to you?”
“No…” She grumbled, more than relieved that he was only walking away with a broken nose and nothing worse. His last bad hockey injury – a severe knee strain one step away from an ACL tear that kept him off the ice for months – was hard for them to navigate. This was a walk in the park compared to that even if it was already starting to look like he got in a bar fight. “Thank God.”
“Party it is then.” Cam winked and cradled her face in his hands before ducking down to give her a kiss on the forehead. “Lighten up, kid.”
Easier said than done.
Chapter 21
It was safe to say that the GM was not happy with the team’s performance as of late but Frankie knew it had nothing to do with her gender and everything to do with the expectation that came with being a new team under a microscope.
They’d played forty games between the beginning of the season and New Year’s Eve and had won a respectable twenty seven of those games. For a new franchise, it wasn’t that bad statistically when compared to some of the teams that have been competing for years but Frankie was disappointed in herself. She was doing her best, and something wasn’t clicking during the previous handful of games. She couldn’t put her finger on why but she was determined to fix it.
The entire coaching staff had been invited to a party by the GM at a swanky hotel in downtown Halifax and after meeting with Neil for their own post game breakdown of what went well and what didn’t, Frankie had gone home to get ready for a party she knew she wouldn’t enjoy.
It wasn’t her job to reassure Jules that her brother was okay but something had compelled her to ease her worry after the game when she found Julesstanding by the no access point, her body curled around itself, so unsure of what to do or who to ask for information, she knew it was the right decision.
She expected Jules to thank her, expected her to show her appreciation and Jules did both but what she didn’t expect was to pull Jules into her arms again for the second time in a week, and didn't expect for Jules to hug her back the way she did.
But Frankie couldn’t let her stand there and cry without offering some comfort and it just feltright. Jules in her arms, it…made sense. They fit together.
Now she was standing alone at a party with a guest list comprised of sports bigwigs and industry leaders from the area, people who gave the team sponsorships and financial support, and all Frankie could do was sip her white wine and watch the clock.
The relationships she had with her fellow staff members were friendly, courteous, and incredibly surface level at no fault of their own. They had a job to do, a very demanding and time consuming one, and that left little time for chit chat about things like kids, spouses and hobbies.
But those surface level relationships meant that since her arrival tonight, she’d barely had a full conversation with anyone.
The only person she really wanted to talk to was across the city somewhere at a different party and before she gave it a second thought, Frankie pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her favourite tailored grey slacks.
She’d still dressed nice despite knowing she’d likely entertain herself for most of the evening, pairing a yellowish gold silk blouse with the slacks and a pristine pair of patent leather loafers.
