Page 180 of Risking the Pucking Defense

Watching the game with Bea was fun, but she knows everything, and I didn’t need to hide my reactions to Hayden. It will be different with Casey and Freya. I’ll be on edge, making sure I don’t raise suspicion. And if I’m being really honest, I’m still not sure if they genuinely want me around or if they’re doing it out of courtesy to Hayden.

Shaking those thoughts away, I glance at her most recent message.

Bea: They’ve got this in the bag. I can feel it.

Hailee: Are you sure that’s not baby Donnelly kicking your bladder?

Bea: Huh, yeah, that could be it.

Bea: Are you sure you don’t want to join us? We just had more tacos than we’ll ever eat delivered.

Hailee: Thanks for the invite, but I’m going to be working again as soon as the game is finished. Maybe next time?

Bea: Absolutely.

Hailee: Hayden sent me his jersey.

I didn’t intend on sharing that little update, but there’s an excitable teenage girl living inside me that’s buzzing over the fact my boy has given me his jersey.

Bea: Honestly, I’m not sure how he held off so long. I hope you’ve sent him a photo of you wearing it. It drives them WILD.

Hailee: I have, but he hasn’t seen it yet.

Bea: Probably for the best, I’ve been told things get a little too fitted if they see stuff like that before a game

Hailee: The less I know about Donnelly’s private life, the better

Bea: I’m keeping him in check. You owe me a drink.

Hailee: I owe you a lifetime of drinks.

Our messages halt the second our boys start getting announced and shoot out onto the ice.

I watch as Hayden climbs over the boards, pumped and ready for the first shift change.

He might be content with being second line right now, but I see the hunger in his eyes to hear his name announced as part of the starting lineup, to be out there for the first puck drop. It’s gonna happen, I’ve no doubt. It’s just whether it happens with the Vipers, or…

The thought of him getting traded to another team has anxiety twisting up my stomach. It’s been tough, but I’ve tried not to obsess over it. There’s always a risk that even the best player can find their life upended all of a sudden. It’s only ever affected me professionally before, but now…what would I do if Hayden were traded? I love my job, I love the franchise and everything about the Vipers, but could I stay here while he’s elsewhere?

Thankfully, the man in question hops the boards and takes off across the ice, joining the game for the first time, and I force the thought away. There’s no point worrying about something that might never happen.

Instead, I watch as he and Brody work together to protect Cole and our net. They’re a good partnership, but Hayden is obviously faster, his shots more accurate, and his agility better.

My boy has got a successful future ahead of him, and I desperately want to be behind that bench, watching every second of it.

51

HAILEE

Igroan as my cell rings, buzzing relentlessly under my pillow where I must have shoved it after my late-night messaging with Hayden.

Heat surges through me as I remember some of the things we said.

Fuck.

There might have been thousands of miles between us, but that didn’t mean he didn’t affect me as if he was lying right beside me.

“All right,” I cry when it starts up again, only a second after it stopped.