Spying Under the Mistletoe (Love Undercover #2) - Stina Lindenblatt Page 0,43

“No, Whiskey.” She disengages what’s left of the cushion from his mouth. “We don’t chew on pillows.”

Whiskey barks at the cushion as she takes it away and hands me the drooled-on remnants. “I hope this didn’t have any sentimental value.”

“I’ll live,” I grumble, throwing the little troublemaker a stern glare.

Grinning a puppy smile, he wags his tail, not at all threatened by my expression.

15

Chloe

A player from the opposite team slams into Landon, sandwiching my fake boyfriend between the plexiglass and himself.

“Ouch, that’s gotta hurt,” I say. The other team is currently down a point, which is making them rather testy.

“Landon’s tough,” Isabelle tells me. She’s sitting on one side of me while her fiancé flanks me on the other side. Her very hot fiancé, may I add.

Jayden’s super friendly, too. They both are.

“This is nothing compared to when he and I were serving in the SEALs,” he says. “And some of our missions now aren’t exactly about cuddling kittens.”

Isabelle snorts a laugh. “When have any of your missions been about cuddling furry baby animals?”

I snicker and sip my hot chocolate, appreciating the skill level on Landon’s team. Not that the opposition are slackers either.

“Landon’s really talented,” I say, stating the obvious.

I don’t know a huge amount about hockey, but I do know enough to appreciate the game and some of the intricacies of the sport. I learned from the best—Kiera’s husband.

“He spent his childhood training for it,” Jayden says. “And like most kids who train hard for a sport, his goal was to become a professional athlete. It didn’t pan out in the end, but that hasn’t killed his competitive nature.”

“I bet he has a lot of girls after him because of that.” All right, there’s a slim chance I’m fishing for information.

Not that I’m interested in him that way.

Nope, not at all.

But there’s something about Landon that has me curious to learn more about him.

From a purely professional standpoint, of course.

“He’s had his fair share of them. But he’s not a player, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

I feel my eyebrows pinch together, and I look back at the ice. “He looks like a player to me. Isn’t that the idea of him being out there? To play the game?”

“What I meant is that he’s not a player when it comes to women. He doesn’t hook up with a lot of women. But he’s also not looking for someone to settle down with.”

“Ahhh. Got it.” I have no idea why Jayden’s telling me that. As far as I’m aware, I don’t have “Looking for a future husband” stamped on my face.

I subconsciously lift my hand to my forehead, as if searching for a message I didn’t realize was there.

“Of course, I’m sure if he found the right woman,” Isabelle says, “he’d be more than happy to be in a long-term relationship, maybe start a family. It’s like anything. You don’t realize you need something until you have it. And then you wonder how you survived without it.” She smiles at him.

He returns it and winks at her.

I pretend they aren’t having a moment, and I turn my focus to the game.

A player passes the puck to Landon, who races down the rink with it.

The goalie gets into position. Just as I figure Landon is going to shoot at the net, he passes the puck to his teammate.

The goalie had been thinking the same as me. He was prepared to block Landon’s shot, and can’t move fast enough to prevent Landon’s teammate from scoring.

The puck flies into the goal, and Jayden, Isabelle, and I are on our feet, yelling our appreciation.

We aren’t the only ones. The seats are filled with girlfriends and wives and kids, all cheering for someone they love on the ice. All being part of something meaningful to their boyfriend, their husband, or their father. All sharing something that gives them great joy.

They could’ve been at home, doing something else. But they chose to be here.

Just like Isabelle and Jayden chose to be here. I mean, sure, they’re here as my bodyguards. But there’s so much more to it than that. From the way people say hi to them or nod at them in recognition, it’s clear this isn’t the first or second or fifth time the pair have been at one of Landon’s games.

This—their coming to his games to support him—is a normal part of their lives.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve experienced something like that with a boyfriend. And strangely, it makes me feel like