Scoring Off The Ice (Ice Kings #2) - Stacey Lynn Page 0,36

is huge. I can feel it hurt my cheeks.

“Wow.” Her eyes sparkle and before I can blink, her arms are around me. “That’s wonderful. Right? I mean, at least to know.”

She’s hugging me. Silly, how good it makes me feel. I hold her tighter. “I didn’t need the test. But it’s… well, yes. It’s good.”

She pulls back but I put pressure on my arm at her lower back, stopping her. “We went for walks this week. And I took him to the team’s practice building.”

“You did?”

Her pride for me sears a heat to my chest. I like that I can impress her. Perhaps I should be embarrassed but I’m needy for her affection. Her belief and confidence in me. I’ve never needed it from anyone before. Outside hockey teams, I’ve never had it before, either.

“That’s great, Mikah. Really. And the nanny company?”

“They’re coming tomorrow. They want to see my place, meet Angelo and talk to me so they can find the right person. I think, though, that I don’t want anyone living here.”

“They offer that?”

“Yeah. But that seems, weird.” I said no immediately when they offered that option. Me living alone with a nanny? Awkward. “But I will need someone who can stay when I travel. Or have night games. It’s not… the easiest schedule.”

“I’m sure they’re used to that.”

“Let’s Go!” I’m jolted out of my focus on Paisley as it sounds like my entire team has shouted the stupid nickname the crowds cheer for me. It makes sense, given my last name. I do not laugh as I look up to find all the men on my team who are here, ten of them, standing by the couch, beers raised.

They do this to me all the time.

Now this, this embarrasses me.

“Hey Let’s Go! When are you going to introduce us all?”

“Never. You are all animals!”

In front of me, Paisley giggles. She flashes me a wink which I return easily.

They throw their heads back and laugh, clink their beers together and I cringe at the thought of the glass cracking and small pieces falling into my rug. Angelo plays there.

“Ignore them,” I say to Paisley but she’s laughing.

“I think that’s impossible. I can handle anything they throw my way, but I think I’ll start with saying hello to Angelo.” She scans the room and shocker, finds him in Hannah’s arms. She takes a step away from me and then, to my surprise, her hand falls to my bicep. “I’m happy for you, Mikah. Make sure no one eats my dinner.”

“I will guard it like I guard the puck.”

“I have no idea what that means.”

She releases her hold on my arm and steps away but before she can get too far, I call to her. “I’ll teach you.”

She shakes her head, smiling, and I don’t know what that means. If she thinks it’s ridiculous I would offer, or that I think she might care. My gaze stays on her as she heads toward Hannah. Regan and Katie are still close by and Hannah introduces them to her.

Unsurprisingly, Sebastian’s wife, Madison is nowhere near Angelo.

I’ve long since stopped wondering why the two of them are together. Or at least… why she stays, unless it’s because of the money. Sebastian Hendrix is one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, and I don’t think Madison has a kind bone in her entire body.

At least, I’ve never seen it.

Not my problem though, and since he loves her, the team doesn’t talk about it around him. But in the last few months especially, she seems even meaner, less patient.

I push his problems out of my mind. I have enough of my own to handle.

And yet, I still smile when I see Hannah hand Angelo over to Paisley and as soon as she has him, she sends me a smile from across the room.

Warmth slams into my gut like I’ve been checked into the boards.

All over a smile.

Fatherhood must be turning me into an emotional sap.

I grab a beer from the fridge and rejoin my team in the living room.

“Who’s the pretty girl?” Jason asks. He and his brother Jude are our starting wingers. Their father used to play for the New York Rangers and their older brother did as well until he retired. Jason is almost ten years older than me and a veteran on the team. At thirty-two, he’s almost a dinosaur in a game that keeps calling up younger athletes and drafting us before we finish college or recruiting us from the European