“There’s a lady comin’ in, boys! Cover your junk.”
The door opened again and I stepped inside.
“I can wait out here,” I said. “I mean, you can just grab me one.”
“Come on in. The place is almost empty anyway.”
The locker room was neat and quiet. The dark carpet with the blue and white Flyers logo in its center was swept perfectly clean.
Killian approached an open wood locker along the wall and grabbed two folded up T-shirts.
“You want a Flyers one or one from my college team?”
“Uh, you pick,” I said.
He handed me a gray one. “This one’s smaller. I’ll guard the stall if you want to change in here.”
I felt another player looking at us. “I’ll change in the bathroom. Thank you for loaning me the shirt. I’ll return it.”
I turned and left the locker room. Liam was walking in the door as I was walking out.
“Thanks,” I said. He nodded at me silently.
I went right to the bathroom, where I took off my sweater and replaced it with Killian’s Penn State Hockey shirt. It carried his scent—a mix of leather hockey gloves and his cologne. I was alone, so I let myself inhale it for a few seconds before leaving the bathroom. Though I could have sent Nicole to my condo to get me a new shirt, I knew I wouldn’t. Killian and I were never going to happen for several reasons. Mostly because it would be unethical, but also because we were completely wrong for each other. But I could admit to myself that I found him very sexy and this shirt was as close as I’d ever get to him . . . and I planned to wear it as long as possible.Killian
I had no reason to go up to Sid’s office. I’d lifted weights, showered and packed for the upcoming road trip. It was time for me to go home and do my laundry. But, here I was walking through the open area in her office where a door should’ve been.
“How’s it going?” I asked Barb, one of Sid’s assistants. She reminded me of my mom, her short brown hair sprinkled with gray.
“Good. It’s been quiet since this morning. Guess we got all the excitement out of the way early today.”
I smiled and picked up a heavy silver paperweight from the edge of her desk, turning it around in my hand.
“Did you want to see Sidney?” Barb asked. “She’s in between meetings, so I think she’s free.”
“Yeah, if she’s not busy.”
Barb got up from her chair and walked to the door to Sid’s office, knocking softly.
“Come in,” Sid said from inside.
“Killian Bosch to see you,” Barb said, sticking her head in the open doorway.
“Send him in, please.”
Barb waved me over and opened the door further so I could walk in. Sid’s other assistant Nicole was sitting in a chair in front of Sid’s desk, a notebook in her hand.
“Hey, Killian,” Nicole said, a purr in her voice. “Have a seat.” She patted the chair next to her.
Sid glared at her blonde assistant, but Nicole didn’t even notice.
“So, verify that the right dresses and coats were sent and then pick up those groceries, please,” Sid said. “And if you can grab my dry cleaning, too, you’ll be done for the day after that.”
“No problem,” Nicole said, smiling as I sat down in the other chair in front of Sid’s desk.
“Hi,” I said to Sid, admiring the way she looked in my shirt. It was baggy on her, but it was mine and she was wearing it, which did something unexpected for me. Seeing her dark red hair against the gray fabric made me instantly hot for her.
“Hi.” The corners of her lips tugged up a little in a smile.
“How’s it going?” Nicole asked, breaking the invisible current of electricity between Sid and me.
“Nicole,” Sid said sharply. Her assistant gave her an innocent stare. “Thanks. I think that covers everything.”
Nicole jumped up and left the room without another word, and Sid rolled her eyes as the door closed.
“Thanks again for the shirt,” she said. “How was practice and training this morning?”
“The usual. How’s work?”
“The usual.”
“So the charity thing this weekend,” I said, clearing my throat. It’d been a long damn time since I’d asked a woman out. “You wanna go together?”
She just looked at me for a second before answering. “That would probably send the wrong message.”
“To who, me?” I arched a brow at her.
She smiled. “No, to everyone else. And I have a friend coming into town who will go with me Saturday.”
Was it Lance, the guy I’d seen in photos with her online?
“Okay,” I said, shrugging. “So I guess I’ll see you around.”
“You’ll still be there, right?”
“Yep.”
“See you there, then.”Sidney
I caught a glimpse of my gown in a mirror on the wall of the hotel lobby. It was the perfect shade of Flyers blue. Lucky I’d already had it in my New York closet and it had been shipped here on time.