Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“I don’t need to go,” I say, pointing to my shoulder. “I’m out for the season. My job is rehab and staying in shape. No point for me to go gameplan.” I don’t mention the guilt eating at me for missing them. Sure, I don’t have to go to avoid being cut or fined. But I should be going. Andi’s right, after all. The guys treat me like a captain, and what kind of captain stays home and watches his brothers go to war from his TV on the couch? I make a quiet promise to do better from here on out.
“That has to be hard,” Andi says.
I feel a temptation to open up about it and admit that yes, next to things ending with Sarah, the injury has been one of the hardest things I’ve had to go through. I’m aware that makes me one lucky bastard, but it is what it is. “It’s fine,” I say instead.
She works her lips to the side, considering me. Her eyes always seem to dance with playful energy. “Wanna help me figure out how I’m going to pay you back?”
For a split second, I’m not sure if she’s implying something completely different with her question. My eyes fall to her thighs–endless lengths of wool-clad, well-shaped leg. I drag my gaze up to her face and the shape of her full, upturned lips and the seductive tilt of her eyes. And then reality slaps some sense into me.
She’s talking about making money, dumbass. “Well,” I say, drumming my fingers on the counter as I think about it. “I could ask around.”
“Can I come?”
“What?”
“With you. To ask around. What else am I going to do? Sit here in your cool cabin? Snoop through your room for ideas about what awesome hockey nickname I can give you?”
“You’re still trying to think of a nickname for me?”
“Of course. I already got one for Nolan and Maddox.”
I grin. “What did you come up with?”
“Nolan is the goalie, right?”
I nod.
“Okay, good. Because he’s ‘Goalie Gourmet.’ Do you like it?”
I chuckle. “Yeah. He’d like that one, too.”
“And Maddox can be ‘Mojo Maddox’. Because he’s into all that superstitious stuff, right?”
I nod. “You figured them out pretty quickly. I’m surprised it’s taking you so long to give me a name.”
“I just want to get yours right.” She narrows her eyes at me, and for a moment, I think she’s about to blurt something out. But she just shakes her head, looking disappointed. “Nope. Still not coming to me.”
“What is it you’re going to do with these nicknames, exactly?”
“It’s just for fun. Maybe I’ll write them on your Christmas gifts. Or, I’ll use them if you guys are being naughty. Goalie Gourmet, put down that expensive cheese!”
I grin. “Nolan can afford the expensive cheese. Trust me. It tastes terrible.”
She laughs. Then she tilts her head as she seems to see me in a different light.
“What?”
“Captain Jesse.”
I shake my head. “That’s not even a nickname. It’s a title, and it’s a title I don’t deserve.”
“Well that’s not how this works. You don’t get to change it. If I let people change their nicknames, we’d have to call Carter Throbbing Heartbulge or whatever it was he suggested.”
“Heartstopper,” I say.
Andi shivers and we both laugh.
“You get to be Captain, because I can see how the guys all respect you and look up to you. I mean, just look at the fact they’re all here in Frosty Harbor with you for the holidays even if it means extra travel to keep up with practices and meetings.”
I open my mouth to argue, but I can see she’s completely right. Something in my chest catches, so I just nod my head. “They’re good guys.”
“Yeah. I think all of you are,” she says. Our eyes meet, and I feel a sudden jolt of something that feels a hell of a lot like danger. Warning bells go off in my brain. “Why don’t we save the job hunting for when Jake gets here? He can join us.”
“Do we have to?”
“What? Are you worried about when he comes back?”
“I mean…” Andi shifts in her chair, then tucks her legs under her butt and folds her arms like she’s suddenly trying to contain her huge personality in as small a space as possible. “I did just kind of drag my whole family along for months of wedding planning, a rehearsal, and Jake probably had to rent a tux to go to the ceremony. He had to ask for time off from the team. All that and I got out of there so fast I couldn’t even keep my shoes on? Yeah,” she says, lowering her eyes. “I’m not exactly thrilled to have to face him when he gets here.”
I sit down across from her on the couch. “You’re sure you don’t regret it?”