Page 153 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

“Mission complete, darlin’,” Calvin says with a wide smile, clutching the kid’s jersey in one hand and a pen in the other.

“Have you signed it?” I ask.

“Oh shit, yeah.” He laughs before holding it up to the wall and scrawling his name on the arm.

“You’re gonna make his entire year,” I tell him as we walk down the tunnel again.

More seats have filled up, and almost everyone’s attention is on the players warming up on the ice. I get it. The things those men can do with their hips should be illegal.

My core clenches at the thought of Calvin using some of those moves on me.

“Here you go, man,” Calvin says, holding the jersey up for the kid to grab through the rails.

“Holy shit, are you serious?” he asks as he looks it over. “It’s…everyone is on this.” His eyes are wide and glistening with tears. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Calvin nods as the kid’s dad also gives his appreciation, before the sound of more players approaching erupts.

Spinning around, I watch as the Seattle players head toward us.

This is insane.

I watch each of them pass. I know most of their names and positions from years of watching hockey, but there are a few I’m unaware of. The most famous, of course, are Anderson Westly and Andrey Petrov, and it’s safe to say they have the exact kind of aura in person as I was expecting.

They burst onto the ice with cheers from their small crowd, and I watch as they begin to warm up.

“Hey, Killer,” a familiar voice shouts. When I look over, I find Harry, the Vipers rinkside reporter, looking this way with a microphone in his hand. “You fancy answering some questions?”

Calvin looks down at me. “You good if I⁠—”

“Go, go. I promise, I’m living my best life right now.”

I watch him interact with Harry for a few minutes before focusing back on the ice.

“Well, well, well,” a female voice says, and when I turn around, I find Parker grinning at me. “So the rumors are true, huh? You’ve locked down Calvin Keller?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure he could ever fully be contained, but I guess you’d know all about that,” I deadpan, seeing as she’s happily loved up with Lincoln Storm, one of the Vipers wingers.

“Unfortunately, I have a little experience with wrangling hockey players, yes. It’s good to see you here. You need anything, just shout. Hailee will be around, too.”

“Thank you,” I say before my cell buzzes in my pocket.

A loud laugh erupts when I read Garrett’s first message.

Garrett: I just disowned you.

43

CALVIN

I’ve had a love/hate relationship with watching Vipers games since my injury. But I can say hands down that having Sienna beside me made it the best game I’ve watched since.

Not just because we annihilated Seattle, which Rett was beyond happy with, considering it’s his old team. But I’ve learned so much about the woman who's taken up even more space in my head than she did all those years ago.

Sienna Wentworth isn’t just a hockey fan. She’s borderline obsessed.

Listening to her chirp the refs is one of my new favorite things.

She didn’t hold back, and I was there for it.