Bennett (On the Line 2)

Shuck looked like he was about to die of embarrassment. I felt bad for the guy. I was about to go over and save him when the locker room started to quiet.

“Bennett.”

I turned my back to see Keri, our team PR person, looking at me expectantly.

“Yeah?”

Thank fuck I had my pants on. Our new owner Sid and Keri both went in and out of the locker room with no care for whether or not we were dressed. I didn’t like it since I knew Killian was with Sid and suspected Liam was with Keri.

“I’ve got some exciting news,” Keri said. “You’ve been named one of the Hottest Men on Ice by Glamorous, a national magazine.”

The loc

ker room went silent.

“What?” I asked, confused.

“A reporter and photographer will be coming to interview you and take photos for the article.”

The snickers started. I shook my head and shot a few dirty looks around the room.

“Is this a joke?” I asked Keri. “If Liam set you up to do this—”

Keri rolled her eyes and glared at me. “Really? Is this where you tell me you’re not that hot and I reassure you that you are?”

“No, I just wasn’t expecting anything like this.”

“It’s an honor. I’m sitting in on the interview if you don’t mind. They’ll be here Thursday.”

I pulled a T-shirt on over my head and nodded. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

“And I think we’ll do some shirtless photos on the ice.”

“I’ll freeze my balls off.”

She gave me a big, fake smile. “It’s for a great cause. You’ll have women beating down your door soon.”

Then she turned and left before I could protest further.

“This is gonna be fuckin’ awesome,” Killian said, laughing.

“Fuck you.” I covered the few steps between my locker and his and shoved his shoulder.

Liam struck a cheesy seductive pose, looking over his shoulder and biting a fingertip.

“Fuck you, too,” I said. “You’re just jealous.”

This was nothing but a pain in my ass, but I’d have to put on a good face for the team. For once, I didn’t want women beating down my door. There was just one I was interested in.

I closed my eyes and winced. I hadn’t done that in so long—wanted just one woman. And the only other time I’d committed myself to a relationship, it had ended very badly.

It was too soon to go there. Charlotte and I were expecting a kid together and had slept together a second time. I just wanted to enjoy her without letting thoughts of the past cloud everything.

Forcing memories of Kelly from my head, I vowed to do just that.

The guy who owned the Chinese buffet was glaring at our table when we sat down with our third round of food. He’d accused us of trying to eat him out of business in the past. We worked up massive appetites at practice, though.

“So how’s it going with Sid?” I asked Killian.