The event is held in a room at the arena. It’s a whiskey and wine tasting with small plates of food that pair well with the alcohol. Leo says most of the older guys opt out of this one in favor of events where they get a real meal, which makes me laugh. I’ve seen how much food they put away, so I guess I get it.
I hang with Leo and Scarlett, tasting wines and snacking on bread and cheeses all while keeping a clear view to the door. Fifteen minutes late, he comes through the entrance adjusting his bow tie and looking so good it takes my breath away.
I walk toward him, body tingling as he gives me an appreciative once-over, smiling big when his gaze lands on my face.
“Wow, Piper. You look…” His deep voice trails off and he takes my hand and tugs me flush against him. “So fucking hot.”
He kisses me hard and groans into my mouth. I forget where we are until I hear someone laugh next to us. I pull back and blush. “Ooops.”
“This is why I wanted to ride over with you. I could have gotten it all out of my system.” He kisses me again, quicker and softer this time.
“Do you really believe that?” I ask, smiling and wiping my lipstick off him.
“No, but I still wish I’d been there. I could have felt you up on the ride over.” His arm circles my waist and his fingers dip low on my back until they’re almost palming my ass.
“I’m starving.” He glances around the room. “Anything good?”
“Lots of cheese, some crackers and bread, nuts.” I lead us back through the room and to one of the tasting stations.
His arm never leaves my waist as he tries different whiskeys and eats his weight in nuts and cheese. He introduces me to more of his teammates and then his coach.
“This is Piper Vaughn, my girlfriend.”
I vibrate with happiness next to him. It’s the first time he’s called me that since we’ve been back together, and it feels even better than it did then.
“You’re Tim’s niece,” Coach Miller says, and lifts his glass to take a sip.
“That’s right.”
“How’s he doing? I haven’t seen him in a couple of years. He did some skill clinics and drop-ins for a junior team I coached. Great hockey player, great guy.”
I catch him up on Tim, and Coach tells me a couple of stories from when he watched him play early in his career. Uncle Tim retired by the time I was in middle school, so I don’t remember it that well, but I love hearing stories about him.
Eventually the Wildcats’ head coach gets pulled away and Tyler and I are alone.
“Someday people are going to tell stories about you like that.”
Tyler’s brows lift up toward his hairline. “Comparing my hockey skills to your uncle will get you everywhere, baby—not that you need an advantage.”
Laughing, he pulls me off to the side of the room where Scarlett and Leo are standing.
“Having fun?” Tyler asks his teammate.
“A blast.” He looks at Scarlett. “How much longer do we have to stay?”
Scarlett elbows him and shakes her head.
“An hour?” he asks.
She smirks.
“Two?” His voice borders on a whine, and he sighs.
“We have to stay at least as long as my parents, but Mom is tired so that shouldn’t be much longer.”
“I’m starving.” He makes a sound like a growl, and a smiling Scarlett brings her lips up to meet his.
“Yeah, I need to get some real food soon or I’m going to die,” Tyler says, and brings our joined hands up to his mouth to kiss my fingers. “I see the VP of marketing. I’m going to say hi and make sure she sees me so we can split soon.”
“Coming with you,” Leo says, walking behind him.
Scarlett takes a step closer when they’re gone. “Leo hates these things. I spend more time getting ready for them than we do at the event. His agent has him signed up for so many functions, he’s getting a little grumpy.”
“Why so many?”
“His contract is up at the end of the season. She’s trying to make him seem indispensable to the team and the community. If the guys don’t make it to the playoffs, he’s afraid he’ll be traded.”
I wonder about Tyler. Is that true for him? I never asked about the terms of his contract or thought about how he could be sent somewhere else. Then what would we do? Sure, we’ve done long-distance but look at how that ended.
I’m still worrying about it forty-five minutes later when we leave, hand in hand. Leo and Scarlett took the car back, but Tyler wanted to take me to dinner and make the most of our night out.
“What do you feel like having for dinner?” he asks, scanning the street. There are several restaurants on the blocks surrounding the arena, but most are likely busy, and I don’t feel like sitting across from him in a nice restaurant. I want to kiss him and touch him and enjoy this night out. Who knows when we’ll have the chance again?
“Do you remember that time when I came to visit you in Green Bay, and we went downtown to explore and got caught in that crazy rainstorm?”
“Yeah,” he says, mouth tipping up on one side. “I had a whole day planned around the city and we didn’t get to do any of it.”
“We sat in your car talking and eating gas station food for hours.”
He nods. “Not the day I imagined for us.”
“It was perfect. I loved that day.”
“Me too.” He squeezes my hand. “You want to walk around downtown?”
“Not in these heels.”
His gaze drops to my feet, and he gives them an appreciative brow lift. “They’re worth the pain.”
“Easy for you to say when you’re not the one they’re inflicting pain on.”
“Oh, trust me. Looking at you in those shoes is painful. My dick has been trying to wrestle through my pants all freaking night.”
I laugh at the visual, and then lean in under the guise of hugging him and cop a feel. “Oh, you weren’t kidding.”
He groans. “You’re killing me, woman.”
Peering up at him, still plastered to his front, I say, “Let’s get food and take it somewhere where we can sit and talk with no one else around. I want to be able to kiss you and talk all night long. Just the two of us.”
I start to pull back, and his arms circle my waist and hold me there. “I know the perfect place.”
