Rushing the Goal
Page 12

“All right, Iggy,” he teased and she laughed happily, but then he paused. “How do you even know that song?”
She grinned. “My uncle Jace and me used to sing it all the time. He moved to Florida with my aunt Avery and my cousin Ashlyn. We miss them sooooooo much!”
“I bet.”
“And then my uncle Jude and aunt Claire are in California and Vegas, but they have a house here and spent the whole summer here. I got to swim in their pool every day!”
“I bet that was a lot of fun.”
“Oh my God, it was! You should come.”
“It’s a date next summer,” he said with a wink and she grinned. “Okay, now your stick,” he said, and she directed her attention to what he was doing as he taped it very carefully. It was a little too careful for a kid’s stick, but he wanted it to be perfect. He wanted her to be confident, and if he was going to be Jayden’s replacement, he was going to be the best damn replacement in the world.
He had to impress Angie…and maybe her mom too.
He wasn’t sure why, though. That chick practically had signs hanging off her blinking brightly that she was more than unavailable. Yet something made him want to tear down the signs, take that face of hers in his hands, and kiss the stuffing out of her. She had the right lips, the bottom one bigger than the top, all cushiony looking, and those eyes… Man, he had never seen such green depths in his life. Her lashes were dark, her hair even darker, and she was gorgeous. She was like a cat. Angry, but he bet he could make her purr.
What in the…? God, he was a loser.
“Wow, that looks hard,” Angie said, apprehension in her voice.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. We’ll practice.”
He hadn’t meant to call her that, but thankfully, she beamed up at him as he tore the tape and then handed her the stick. “How’s that feel?”
She stood up on her skates and tested the stick like a pro. Or better yet, like a little girl who was trained by three older, hockey-playing uncles. Benji knew all about the Sinclairs. Hell, he was sure everyone did. They had legacy written all over them—all strong, all fast, and all pretty badass. All drafted first, and it was the first time that had happened to three brothers. The NHL boasted about the three, and if they weren’t so damn good, Benji would call bullshit. But they were good. Really good.
But still, it bothered him that Lucy Sinclair had been lost in all the hoopla of her brothers. He hadn’t even known she existed until today.
Too bad.
He thought she should be the shining star.
“It’s good,” she said and Benji nodded at her form.
“Looks good, Sinclair.”
“Hart.”
His brows rose. Duh, Lucy must be married. “Sorry?”
“My last name is Hart. It’s my dad’s name.”
He nodded. “Oh, my bad. Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. I usually don’t care. Everyone else is a Sinclair in my family, and my uncles call me ‘Sinclair’ because they hate my dad. But I told Mom I want my jersey to have my dad’s name, so hopefully, he’ll come to my games.” She seemed unsure and that pissed Benji off.
“I’m sure he will.”
She shrugged. “He doesn’t want me to play. He thinks I should dance like my sister.”
So Lucy wasn’t married?
“Oh, you don’t want to?” With his gaze on her as she pressed her stick into the ground, he slid his gloves on.
“Eh, I mean, I do because he takes me on his weekends. But I’d rather be playing hockey. Plus Heidi is so annoying and tells my dad I have to do it because I’m so tomboyish. But I’m not, she just doesn’t like me much.”
Okay, he was remarried, but was Lucy?
“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.”