Destiny on Ice (Boys of Winter #1)(45)

The bantering never stops with these guys, and half the time I tune it out. But hell, I’m more than thrilled that I didn’t miss that one. Brent “not scoring” lately confirms what I’ve been hoping was true all along—he’s not sleeping with anyone. I didn’t think he was, but I’m not there to monitor him constantly like I could do before the season started.

I want to get up and dance in the aisles to celebrate. But that would be unwise. Nolan would surely notice and have a smartass remark. As it is, I hear him grumbling now about losing his strip club bud, meaning Brent.

I twist around and, in my iciest tone, snap, “You know what your problem is, Solvenson?”

“Oh, pray tell, great life coach,”—he crosses his arms and tries to unnerve me with that damn cool blue gaze—“what’s my problem?”

Standing my ground, I say as evenly as I can, “For someone who’s supposed to be so freaking smart, you’re dumb as a stump when it comes to women.”

“Ooh, burn,” Benny interjects.

That’s right. I can banter with the best of them. I’m quickly becoming one of the guys, though hopefully not to the one I care about the most.

I sneak a peek over at Brent and see he’s trying not to smile. He definitely heard me, which means he’s either not listening to music or the volume’s turned real low.

Nolan, of course, is quick to fire back. “Well, Aubrey, for someone who’s supposed to be such an insightful life coach, you sure are blind when it comes to your own affairs.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I reply.

He nods to Brent. “You think you have a handle on a certain…shall we say, situation. But from where I stand it’s becoming clearer and clearer that it’s doomed to blow up in your face. And you know what? I don’t care anymore. It’s your life to f*ck up, Miss Life Coach.”

I stare back at him, mouth hanging open. He sure is in a rotten mood today.

“Dude,” Benny murmurs, “that wasn’t cool.”

Benny is calm in his response, but Brent sure isn’t. Jumping up from his seat, he glowers down at Nolan. “You need to tone it down right the f*ck now, Solvenson,” he says in this real low, kind of scary voice.

Damn, Brent’s ready to throw down with his friend over me.

Though a formidable force himself, Nolan appears concerned. “Chill out, Oliver,” he says, albeit a little shakily. “Aubrey and I are just giving each other a hard time, like always. Isn’t that right, Aubs?”

He nods to me, and I say, “Yeah, sure, giving each other a hard time…” I smile weakly at the few players seated near us who have taken notice of our little scuffle. “…it’s what we always do. You all know me and Nolan like to fight, fight, fight.”

The players shrug and go back to what they were doing. Once no one is looking anymore, except for Nolan and Benny, I reach out and touch Brent’s forearm. His muscles are corded and taut, until I give him a light squeeze. He then softens.

Blowing out a breath, he says to Nolan, “Hey, sorry, man. I guess I’m still wired from the fight.”

“Yeah, I’m sure that’s it,” Nolan replies dryly.

We all pretend it’s the truth, but we know it’s not. Brent standing up for me is as good as him declaring me his. Like a girlfriend, someone he cares about. I’m not to be f*cked with is the message.

Too bad we’re both f*cked by a contract that forbids me from being more than a life coach to him. A life coach who can’t even see the wall right in front of her, the one she’s about to crash headfirst into.





Who the Fuck is Al?





The game against the Hawks isn’t till the next night. That means we have an entire day to do whatever we want.

A bunch of the guys plan a golf outing. Since it’s a beautiful October day, all crisp and cool and perfect for a few hours spent on the greens, I decide at the last minute to join them.

I meet up with Benny and Nolan down in the lobby of the hotel we’re staying in. They inform me there are rented SUVs, running about every ten minutes, shuttling players over to the course. I have every intention of catching the next one with the boys, so I plop down on an easy chair next to Nolan and Benny.

It’s then I notice Aubrey is seated on the sofa behind us, talking on her cell.

I listen in. Yeah, I’m jealous it may be a guy she’s chatting with. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I figure out she’s talking with her sister.

“Yeah, sure, Lainey,” I hear her say. “I can do that. After we hang up I’ll grab a cab and head over to my townhouse. I need to stop in there, anyway. I could use some different outfits to wear out in Vegas.”

I shouldn’t keep on eavesdropping, but I can’t help myself. Benny and Nolan are preoccupied with their phones, so I take mine out too. But instead of looking shit up or checking messages, I listen in some more on Aubrey.

And this is what I learn…

She’s definitely heading over to her place today. I’d almost forgotten she lives in Chicago. She’s been staying at my house going on two months now, and that makes it sometimes hard to remember she has a whole life outside of me. A whole life she’ll eventually return to.

God, why does that hurt so much?