Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
After Daisy was safely tucked away for the night, I told myself I wasn’t going to fix my hair or do anything special before going to pick up Fox. Yet I found myself with a mascara wand in front of the mirror anyway. Opal had said the rink was twenty minutes away, but I left almost forty minutes early, just in case there was traffic. The road was pretty empty, though, and I wound up pulling into the parking lot at nine forty. I parked right in front of the building so I could see the front door and turned on the radio, intending to sit and wait. But ten minutes later, all the water I’d consumed today to rehydrate and get rid of my hangover was suddenly pressing on my bladder.
I still had a little time until Fox finished up, plus the drive home would take another twenty minutes. So I needed to find a bathroom. There had to be one in the arena, so I went inside and looked around for a ladies’ room. On my way out, I spotted people skating on the ice. It was easy to find Fox since he was so much larger than the others. He glided across the rink as if balancing on a thin metal blade was as easy as walking. When he got to the sideboard, he made a sharp turn and dug his skates in to stop. A heavy spray of shaved ice flew up and walloped the plastic barrier.
I didn’t know much about hockey, but I was suddenly a giant fan. I walked closer to the rink for a better look. If I thought watching Fox skate did something to me, that was nothing compared to what happened when I got a look at the team he was coaching. I’d completely forgotten that Opal had told me he coached a team for players with special needs until I saw the faces of two men suited up in hockey equipment who were standing along the sidelines talking—both had Down syndrome. My heart squeezed. I was torn between wanting to hug the coach and jump him for how sexy he looked out there.
Everyone in the rink continued to go about their business, as if Fox Cassidy hadn’t just skated into a phone booth and come out a superhero. But I couldn’t take my eyes off the man. I watched in fascination as Fox stood in front of the net, and one by one, his team members skated to center ice and took shots. He yelled at one player to move his hands away from his body—something about giving his bottom hand more force. Another he instructed to dig his blade into the ice. I had no idea what any of it meant, but Fox grew sexier by the minute. At one point, he looked to the right side of the rink where I stood. His head had turned halfway back before he did a double take. He said something I couldn’t hear to the next player in line to shoot the puck, and then skated over to the waist-high door nearest me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Opal called and asked if I could pick you up. Her daughter had to work late at the hospital.”
“Shit. Okay.” He nodded. “I’ll wrap it up.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I’m not in a rush. Take your time. I only came in because I needed to use the bathroom.”
“You sure?”
Up close, his green eyes were so much greener when contrasting with his red cheeks. “Yeah. I’m kind of enjoying watching.”
I thought I might’ve caught a smirk, but couldn’t be sure through the helmet. And of course, Fox being Fox, he skated off without another word. Though I didn’t mind the abrupt departure this time, since the view from the back was equally as good as the front.
I took a seat on a nearby bench and watched my grumpy neighbor do his thing. He seemed like a good instructor; or at least there was a lot of head nodding from the players when he spoke. And I especially loved that he didn’t appear to treat the team members any different than anyone else. He laid into them when they did something he didn’t like and joked around in the typical way men busted chops. At the end of practice, Fox took off his helmet and gloves, and one by one the players slapped his hand as they exited the ice.
“I just need to grab my bag,” he yelled over to me.
“Take your time.”
With the rink now empty, and no Fox to heat up my blood, I realized how cold it was. I had on shorts and a T-shirt, and the air in here was cold enough to keep ice from melting. I was rubbing my arms when Fox returned.