Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57866 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 193(@300wpm)
“Do you still remember the self-defense skills you learned?”
I smiled. “All of it. Doug stayed after classes to work with me and make sure I could defend myself. I think he knew I’d need it.”
Beau’s brow furrowed. “Nothing serious, I hope.”
I shrugged. “We lived in some rough neighborhoods, and my mom brought home some questionable characters.”
“Damn.”
“When was your first fight?” I asked him, eager to have the spotlight shining on him instead of me.
He laughed. “My brothers and I fought all the time. Since I was in the middle, both of them fought with me but not so much with each other. But my first fight with someone else…let’s see…I guess I was about nine. A teammate and I got into it after a game.”
“Nine?” My eyes widened. “Did you guys get in trouble?”
He shook his head, looking dismissive. “Fighting is part of hockey. You get used to it.”
“Do you still have all your teeth?”
He grinned. “One of my front teeth got chipped in a high school game, so I’ve got a filling. Other than that, they’re all mine.”
He told me about life as a pro hockey player and I told him about working my way through law school as a waitress, tutor, and library clerk. He ate a massive steak, baked potato, and a salad, and I had spicy chicken pasta. The time flew by quickly and before I knew it, a few hours had already passed.
“I should probably get home,” I said. “I have to be up early for work in the morning.”
“Yeah, me too.”
He drove me home and I realized on the way that I hadn’t thought about whether I might be pregnant all evening. Our laughs and conversation had taken my mind off it.
“I had a nice time,” I said as Beau parked in front of my building.
“Me too. We should hang out again soon.”
“Sure.”
He got out of his car and walked up to my door with me, where he waited for me to unlock it and then smiled and held out a closed fist.
I laughed and gave him the fist bump I’d mentioned earlier.
“Night, Shelby,” he said as I walked inside.
“Good night.”
CHAPTER TEN
Beau
Shelby: Can you stop by sometime? I have something for you.
I’d already read the text many times today, and I’d responded to it as soon as I stepped off the plane in Calgary this morning, where I’d played a game tonight. Still, it intrigued me.
What could she have for me? Part of me hoped she’d warmed to me after our dinner earlier this week, but part of me didn’t.
I’d seen Shelby that night. Really seen her, for the first time. Before, I’d known she was a strong, resilient woman who had been through some shit. But some of the things she said the night we had dinner had stayed with me.
Men not liking who she was. Learning self-defense because her home wasn’t safe. And she hadn’t had even one parent to rely on for most of her childhood.
“Fox, get your shoulder back in the ice,” our team trainer Chris said. “Five more minutes.”
I nodded and sat my phone on the chair next to the ice tub in the Calgary visitors’ locker room. It was boring just sitting here, but I had to because I’d taken a hard hit to my right shoulder in the game.
Mila had gotten what she’d wanted. I’d trash-talked my way into two fights tonight, and I was sore as shit. We’d won the game, but we were a different team without Sergei. Mila had been right about that.
“Want one?” Colby held up something wrapped in white paper that looked like a sub sandwich.
“Yeah.” I went to grab it with my right arm but cringed and froze from the pain in my shoulder.
“Here you go, princess,” Colby said, moving the sandwich just a couple of inches from my left hand so I could easily get it. “You want me to cut it into bites for you? Make some airplane sounds and feed it to you?”
“Just give me the sandwich and fuck off.”
He did, and I set the sandwich on the chair where my phone was. I was starving. My shifts on the ice tonight had been long. I ungracefully managed to unwrap the sandwich, which turned out to be a meatball sub—my favorite.
“Fox, get your shoulder back in the ice!” Chris called from across the room.
I submerged myself into the freezing ice and water, just my head and left arm above the surface so I could eat. Shelby’s text returned to the front of my mind.
I’d stop by as soon as I got home from my road trip, and I wanted us to remain friends, but I’d decided not to pursue anything more with her. She was too good for that. Just because I found her intriguing, that didn’t make it right to try to charm my way into her bed.