Carolina frowned. “The problem is, my career is just about to take off. The very last thing I need is a relationship. And yes, he is all those things. But love doesn’t fit into the picture for me right now.”
“Oh, how sad that falling in love is so inconvenient for you. Should I open a bottle of wine and we can have a pity party?”
Carolina stood. “What the hell is wrong with you, Stella? Why are you pushing this?”
Seemingly unconcerned, Stella just sat there. “I’m not the one getting all pissed off and shouting in denial over something that’s so clearly obvious. The question is, why are you getting so mad at me?”
Stella was right. She was being a total bitch. She took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I know you, and I know the whole love thing scares you.”
“I’m not in love with him.” She kept her voice purposely low to avoid screaming it.
“Okay. I believe you. Now sit down and finish your pizza and let’s watch the game.”
Carolina ate another piece of pizza, but her stomach was twisted in knots and the pizza tasted like cardboard now. As she watched Drew tangle with the Chicago player, her heart climbed into her throat. It was a tough, physical game. Elbows were thrown, lots of penalties, and in the end, the Travelers lost.
Again.
She felt awful for Drew. That was four road losses in a row.
“Well, that sucked,” Stella said.
Carolina continued to watch after the game as the media interviewed the players. Drew was one of them, and she caught the misery on his face. She ached for him, wanted to be there with him, to put her arms around him and tell him to keep pushing, that the team would get through this road game loss issue.
She wanted to tell him that she believed in him.
She turned to Stella, who had been watching her. “It’s obvious I care about him.”
“I know you do, honey.”
“That loss tonight—” She glanced over at the television. “Watching the interviews, the look on his face. God, Stel, it just kills me inside to see him hurting like that.”
“It means you feel something for him. I understand.”
“But I don’t know exactly how I feel, or how deep it runs. I’ve never taken the time to analyze. I don’t want to think about it. All I have room to think about is the launch of my line. Anything else and I might just implode.”
“Okay. I get that. So maybe after the launch of your line, you can figure out whether you’re in love with him or not.”
She smiled at Stella. “Maybe.”
If he was still around then.
? ? ?
THAT HAD TO HAVE BEEN THE WORST FUCKING GAME Drew had ever played. And he knew the rest of the guys felt the same way. He’d gotten two penalties, including a five-minute for fighting, which had been total bullshit. It had been a physical game and they’d played tough, with everything they had. It hadn’t been enough.
Avery was playing hurt, and it showed. He’d given up four goals, and that just wasn’t like him. But their other goalie just wasn’t as good. It was their job to make Avery’s work easier while his thigh muscle was healing, and they’d failed.
Shit.
They had to find a way to win on the road. They all knew it, and the coach kept ramming it into their heads at the end of every period and after the games.
They were a much better team than they were showing, and they had to figure this out.
His head just hadn’t been in the game lately. He knew part of this was his fault, and it was time he started taking responsibility.
He’d lost focus, and he knew why.
Carolina. He’d been chasing her since preseason, had put all his focus and attention on her instead of the game, and it was costing him, and his team.
It was time he started concentrating more on hockey, and less on Carolina. Though the thought of seeing her less made his gut clench.
Some guys felt that dating women during the season was bad luck. He wasn’t one of those guys. Then again, when he played with his concentration fully on the game, he was an ass-kicker. He had to admit, he’d focused more on Carolina and less on the game so far this season, and it was clearly hurting his game.
Time to change that. As painful as it was, his career was his life, and he wasn’t going to let anything jeopardize that, no matter what—or who—that was.
He showered and dressed, then packed his bag.
There was a text message from Carolina.
Watched your game. Rough loss. I know you can come back from this. I believe in you.
He smiled at the message, then checked the next one.
We need to set a time for you to come in for your final fittings, talk about the advertising campaign, and decide on the date for the photo shoot. Can we get together when you get back?
He stared at it for a long few minutes, then typed a message back to her.
Have a lot of work to do, game-wise. We’re kind of a mess right now so coach wants extra practices. I’ll get back to you and let you know.
He knew Carolina needed him. But so did his team.
And he had to prioritize. As of right now, his priority was his team. His career.
Carolina would have to wait.
TWENTY-SEVEN