“Wow, that sounds like bullshi— Er, my bad,” he pleaded and she grinned.
“Don’t worry, Mom says bad words all the time and she apologizes. But I know she can’t help it. I know I’m not supposed to say them, and that’s all that matters. Yeah, I don’t like dance, but I love hockey. I want to be like my uncles, or even my aunt Baylor. She’s amazing.”
“She is,” he agreed before leaning over to whisper to her. “And also hockey is the best,” he said with a wink and she grinned back at him.
“Absolutely!”
Standing up, he reached for his stick and then cocked his head toward the rink. “You ready, Hart?”
She pushed the cage of her helmet down and locked it in place. “I was born ready.”
Determined little thing, he thought as he tapped her on the head. He liked her. Starting for the rink, he looked down but noticed she hadn’t moved yet. Stopping, he looked back at her. “Hart?”
She smiled up at him through the cage. “Thanks for this. You’re a great replacement.”
Clipping the strap of his helmet to the other side, he nodded. “Thanks, I hope I do ya right.”
“You are,” she said as they started for the rink where Adler and most of the girls were already skating around. “Mom won’t tell you that, though.”
When he glanced over to where Lucy was watching, her phone resting on the tips of her fingers, he smiled. “No?”
“No, Jayden says she’s mad all the time, and I guess she is to them. But she’s awesome to me.”
Benji grinned. “I don’t think she’s mad.”
“Oh, she is, but I love her.” When Angie waved wildly at Lucy, she smiled big, a real one that reached her eyes as she blew Angie a kiss and pumped her fist in the air, cheering her name. “She’s basically the best mom ever.”
“She seems like it.”
Lucy’s eyes cut to Benji’s, her eyes narrowing as her lips went into a straight line. It was easy to tell that she didn’t like him. For no reason at all, of course, except that Jayden set him up to be hated from the jump. But he didn’t mind. He liked her, and her sassy mouth and resting bitch face wouldn’t stop him. No, he’d change her mind. He’d get her to like him.
Wow. What?
As his foot hit the ice, he almost busted his ass and he braced himself with his stick as Angie laughed.
“It’s ice, it’s slippery,” she teased and he grinned.
Smartass.
But instead of saying that, he found himself looking up to where Lucy sat.
Grinning.
A little kitten grin.
That shot hot desire straight into his soul.
Ooh-wee, she’s trouble.
The kind of trouble he was starting to think he needed in his life.
“All right, ladies… Ladies,” Shea hollered out.
But the girls didn’t stop giggling or laughing as most of them fell, while the others did circles around them. It was like the Bad News Bears, well, except Angie. She stood beside Benji, her eyes on Shea and her stick hanging in her hand. She was determined, and he didn’t know why, but a grin sat on his face. He liked that she was ready and focused. It really didn’t matter, but in a way, it made him proud.
Shea hollered out some more, but it was easy to tell that he was taking it easy on the group of girls. Like Angie, though, his girls, Shelli and Posey, stood tall in front of their father, waiting for instruction. Shelli was built like Shea, big and tall, while Posey was on the chubbier side, a little shorter, but just as determined as her older sister.
“This is a fucking clusterfuck.” Glancing over at Vaughn, Benji scoffed.
“Eh, it’s the first day. Adler’s feeling out the crowd.”
It was easy to see the frustration on Shea’s face and Benji almost laughed. The guy was used to leading a bunch of grown men who all had the same mind-set as him. To win. Now he was dealing with a bunch of girls who did not have that mind-set. At. All.
“He’s right. This is insane,” Angie said up to him and Vaughn nodded.
“Exactly, cutie patootie. What’s your name?”
“Not cutie patootie,” she said with a bit of sass in her voice, reminding Benji of Lucy. “Angie Hart.”
Holding his glove out for a fist bump, Angie did as he wanted and he said, “Nice to meet ya, Hart. I’m Johansson.”
She only nodded before looking back up to where Shea was telling people to quiet down. Vaughn leaned in. “Sinclair’s niece?”
“Yup.”
“She’s scary for being so little.”
Benji laughed. “You should meet her mom.”
As Benji cocked his head to where Lucy was sitting, Vaughn’s mouth dropped. “Holy crap, it’s Sinclair in a skirt with tits.”
Benji rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”
“No, really, that’s Sinclair. Wow, those genes are strong. She’s hot, though. Single?”
Benji cut him a look, nodding his head toward Angie, but Vaughn just shrugged. “I’m whispering,”
“And I can still hear you,” Angie said then, looking up at him. “She’s single, but believe me, you aren’t her type.”
Vaughn was taken aback, but Benji just laughed.