Page 4 of One Kind Goal
Like his child growing up without knowing her father.
Sawyer knew what that was like and he hated it. His mother, Ellie Lundin, had been—and still was—an amazing parent, but Sawyer always wondered what his father was like. He had zero information on the man because his mother refused to talk about him. When he was sixteen, Sawyer learned the man had died the year prior.
“He didn’t want us, Sawyer,” was the only thing his mother had said.
They never spoke about him again, but Sawyer truly wanted his kid. Trouble was he also wanted the hockey career he’d spent years developing. There had to be a way to balance both, and he’d figure it out.
But first he had to figure out how he’d gotten so lucky tonight and found Morgan again.
“Morgan,” he said as he stepped up to her. Encouraged when she let him take her hand, he ran his thumb over her knuckles, loving the little tremor that rippled through her. “It’s really you.”
“Do you know Teddy Bear’s friend, Morgan?” the dark-haired woman sitting on Teddy’s lap asked.
Morgan blinked slowly, appearing to have trouble tearing her gaze off Sawyer to look at her friend. “Ah . . . yeah. I do.”
The other woman popped off Teddy’s lap and offered Sawyer her hand. “Well, I’m Samira,” she said. “Teddy Bear said your name is Sawyer.”
Sawyer shook her hand and nodded, but his attention went right back to Morgan. “I can’t believe you’re right here right now.” He angled both his hands at her.
A slow smile curved Morgan’s fantastic lips. Lips Sawyer had dreamed about in the time since Morgan and he had been together in Vermont.
“To think I almost went home early.” She patted the stool next to her.
Sawyer sat, images of what he and Morgan had done in her cottage in Maplehaven flickering through his mind on high speed. Man, the urge to whisk her back to Pine River Cottages for a reenactment was almost too much to resist.
“So how did you two meet?” Samira asked.
Right. They weren’t alone. Teddy and Samira sat right on the other side of the table. While Samira had apparently moved right into interrogation mode, Teddy’s facial expression broadcasted a clear This is her, isn’t it? After that night with Morgan, Sawyer had gone to his home in Bristol, Rhode Island. Teddy was his next door neighbor and his best friend. Over beers on Teddy’s yacht, Sawyer had told him all about Morgan.
Morgan, however, had not done the same with her friend apparently. Or at least not this friend.
“Remember when I went to Vermont to visit Austin while he was shooting Hunting Justice?” Morgan crossed her legs and the smooth glide of them against each other made Sawyer’s fingers ache to touch her again. The super short, black skirt she wore molded to her phenomenal figure, and the glittery purple top covering her upper half exposed one tantalizing shoulder.
“Yeah,” Samira said.
“I met Sawyer then,” Morgan said. “His hockey team was staying at the same cottages.”
“Do you follow hockey?” Teddy asked Samira.
She shook her head. “I don’t like sports.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no. Are you a hockey player too, Teddy Bear?”
Teddy laughed. “No. I prefer to let my fingers skate over laptop keyboards. I own an IT company.”
Samira moved her stool a little closer to Teddy. “You’re a nerd then. I like nerds.”
“That’s because you’re also a nerd,” Morgan said, pointing to her friend.
“The hottest nerd I’ve ever seen.” Teddy ran his fingertip along Samira’s arm. He wasn’t wrong. Samira was pretty hot.
If Morgan wasn’t around of course. Sawyer had to award her with the title Hottest Chick in the Bar. No question. Her long brown hair cascading in big waves about her shoulders alone was sexy as shit.
“What are you doing in New York?” Morgan asked. “Your last game was in Vancouver and your next one is in Minnesota.” She sucked in a breath then bit her bottom lip, her pretty blue eyes wide.
“Someone knows the RI Anchors’ schedule,” Sawyer teased. “Have you become a hockey fan for some reason?”
Her cheeks pinked and that only made Sawyer want to see more of her turn that shade.
“Maybe.”
