WHAT WERE THE ODDS?
Closing the door to the penthouse behind me, I walked to the elevator, pressing the single button to travel down. The brushed nickel doors opened, and I stepped inside. Eyeing the panel of buttons, still in disbelief, I pressed the one marking the seventh floor.
Of all the apartment buildings in downtown Hartford, Cal Berg and I lived in the same one.
Pulling up my rideshare app, I thought it was glitching when I plugged in my address, only for it to kick it back with an error saying I was already at my destination. Switching to the maps app, the blinking blue dot confirmed I was indeed inside my own building, only fourteen floors up.
Cal was like a bad habit I couldn’t shake. Since taking my job with the Comets, he had become my shadow. Worse, he was a bigger cock-blocker than my dad.
Last night, I’d been livid when he stomped onto the dance floor, assuming the role of the overbearing protector. There were no words for the embarrassment that had flooded my body when he implied that I was minutes away from becoming the internet’s next porn star.
I hated that he was right. I had been reckless.
Being so close to claiming the ultimate prize had clouded my judgment, and I took a risk.
That still didn’t give him the right to drag me out of there like a petulant child.
Reaching the seventh floor, I shuffled to my apartment door, unlocking it with my four-digit code. The lock disengaged, and I pushed inside.
Bending, I slipped off my heels, leaving them in my entryway. Looking around, I was hit with the glaring reality of how my place was a shoebox compared to Cal’s.
Of course, he would have the penthouse. The size of it only rivaled that of his ego.
Slipping into my bedroom, I shimmied out of my dress. I needed a shower—badly—but there was a pressing need to hash out the details of last night while they were still fresh in my mind.
Throwing on a black silk cami and shorts set from Lucy’s intimate apparel line, I reclined on my bed.
I grabbed my phone, dialing the one person who would be awake at this ungodly hour. Turning on the video call function as it rang, my face came into view, and I winced.
Jesus, I looked like a hot mess, resembling a raccoon with dark makeup smudged around my eyes, my hair tangled in knots. Thankfully, the recipient of my call was the least judgmental of my friends.
The call connected, and Amy’s face filled the screen. She always was the most classically beautiful woman I’d ever known, but being in love filled her with an inner glow. Amy was radiant, even on her worst day.
With it being early afternoon in Europe, I could see how smartly put together she was for her role of princess. Her auburn hair was blown out to perfection, and the lapels of a blue suit jacket were visible at the bottom of the screen.
Taking one look at me, she blinked, trying to process the train wreck staring back at her.
Breaking the ice, I murmured, “Morning.”
Finding her bearings, she smiled. “Morning. Have you been to bed yet?
Looks like you had a wild night.”
A puff of air rushed past my lips. “You could say that. I woke up in Cal’s bed this morning.”
Amy’s emerald-green eyes bugged out of her head. “Our Cal?” “He’s not our Cal.”
“You know what I mean.” When I nodded in the affirmative, she tilted her head, and I could see the gears turning in her brain. Amy was nothing if not methodical. “I’m confused. I tried telling you forever ago that I saw him checking you out, but I woke up this morning to a text from Natalie all giddy about you going out with a guy on the Indy Speed staff. How does that translate to you falling into bed with Cal?”
“All right, you can’t tell Natalie about this. She would only lecture me, and I already have a mom.”
“Oh boy. This is gonna be good.” She was grinning from ear to ear. “Not in the way you think,” I grumbled.
“I’m a very busy woman. I don’t have all day to listen to you talk in riddles,” she teased.
“So, I kinda led on the guy from the Speed, Jake, luring him to Spades, hoping he would bring players.”
“Did he?”
“Did he ever.” I sighed. “Four hunky hockey players. It was like a buffet of hotness.”
“Sounds like your dream come true. How does Cal come in?”
“It was better than a dream. I had the captain, Maddox, eating out of the palm of my hand. We did the s*xy flirting thing upstairs, then moved it onto the dance floor. It was so hot I thought I might burst into flames, Ames. So. Fucking. Hot.”
Smirking, Amy’s voice held a hint of humor. “Let me guess. Cal took it upon himself to play guard dog.”
Amy knew a thing or two about overprotective alpha men—Liam was over-the-top protective. Urban legend had it that he’d crushed a wine glass in his bare hands when Amy shared the story of her first s*xual encounter being a frat-boy bet.
Groaning, I covered my eyes with a forearm thrown across them. I couldn’t look her in the eye when I shared why Cal jumped in.
“Worse than that. Cal caught Maddox with his hand up my skirt.” I heard Amy gasp but pressed on, “And then he proceeded to tell Maddox who my dad was. He couldn’t get away from me fast enough after learning that little tidbit.”
“I’m sorry, Hannah.” I knew she meant it.
Lowering my arm, I looked at my sympathetic friend. “That was the last thing I remember before waking up in Cal’s bed this morning.”
“Did you two . . .”
Grimacing, I replied, “He says no. I’m ninety-nine percent sure I believe him.”
“Cal’s not the kind of guy who would go out of his way to stop you from being with another man, only to take advantage of you himself.”
“Yeah, he told me he didn’t know where I lived, so he took me to his place.”
Nodding, she mused, “That checks out.”
“Doesn’t help that he changed my clothes while I was unconscious.”
She held a hand up so I could see it on screen, halting me. “Whoa. Back it up. What?”
“Yep. Woke up in one of his T-shirts. Cal claimed he wanted me to be ‘more comfortable.’ I have a rocking body, but there was the tiny matter of not wearing a single thing beneath my dress. That fucker saw me naked.”
“Oh, shit,” Amy breathed out.
“You know I have a very strict ‘if you see mine, I get to see yours’ rule.” “Does that mean . . .”
I made a show of fake gagging. “What kind of hypocrite would I be if I didn’t concede that some rules were meant to be broken? I think we will grant him a very rare exception.”
Amy bit back a smile. “Don’t ask me how I know this, but I’ve heard that the bigger the man, the bigger his . . . joystick.” Unable to hold back, she burst into a fit of giggles. “Might be worth your while to get a peek. Cal’s a freaking giant. Just saying.”
Glaring at her, I hid how proud I was of how far she’d come. Amy had gone through a hell of a dry spell between that jackass frat boy and Liam. She even went so far as to swear off men altogether. First, she had seduced her husband when he deemed their marriage platonic. Now, she was comfortable enough alluding to dick size.
My corruption was nearly complete. Next up was Natalie, but I wasn’t holding my breath—if that girl didn’t have four kids, it would be hard to believe she’d ever had s*x.
“Monster cock or not, Amy, a girl’s got to stick to her principles. One, he plays for my dad, so he’d never be game. Two, he’s a bossy asshole—not exactly my type. I can think of nothing worse than a man telling me what to do.”
Raising an eyebrow, she countered, “Don’t knock it till you try it. Bossy man in the bedroom . . . Phew.” She fanned herself, and her freckles disappeared beneath the blush rising up her cheeks.
“Glad it works for you, but it doesn’t sound like my cup of tea.” Suddenly remembering one crucial detail, I sat up in a rush. “Oh, I forgot the craziest part!”
She eyed me doubtfully. “How could it get any crazier?”
“When I went to call myself a ride home, I discovered we live in the same building!”
“Seriously?”
“I almost couldn’t believe it myself. Granted, he’s got the penthouse and I’m slumming it in a one-bedroom, but yeah. Same freaking building.”
A mischievous grin lit up her face. I warned, “Don’t you dare say it.”
Amy’s shoulders rose in a shrug. “Everything happens for a reason.” There it was.
Natalie was our hopeless romantic, but Amy believed in fate. Go figure.
I need new friends.
“I said not to say it,” I groaned. “You’re reading this all wrong. Cal hates me, and I hate him. No way are we meant to be.”
“You deserve to be happy, Hannah.”
“And I will be. When I find the hockey player of my dreams.” Giving her a pointed look, I added, “Not Cal.”
“Okay. So, what’s the plan?”
Huffing in annoyance, I grumbled, “Well, we can cross the Speed players off the list. I’m sure Maddox ran back to his boys, telling the tale of how he narrowly escaped the wrath of the great Ace Moreau. We are headed out west next week, so I’ll try again.”
“What cities?”
“Denver, Salt Lake, Portland, and Calgary.” “Yikes. Sounds cold.”
“Weather’s a little touch and go in early November, sure,” I conceded.
“Have you thought this through? What happens if you find the guy and he lives on the other side of the country? What then? Are you willing to move for him?”
“Tell me, Amy. Where are you taking this call? At home in Hartford or across the Atlantic?” I had no problem shining a spotlight on her hypocrisy.
“Point taken, but it’s not the same. If you’re with a player, say, in Portland, you’ll be in Portland for eight straight months. Whoever he is probably has a summer home where he’s from. Hartford will become a blip on your radar. You wouldn’t even pursue your music career because you didn’t want to leave.”
“Maybe I could broker a trade to the Comets.” I knew I was grasping at straws.
“Come on, Hannah. You think your dad would ever let that happen? He’s spent nearly two decades keeping players away from you and your sisters. If you make this happen, he’s not going to lie down and accept it. Your player, whoever he may be, will become public enemy number one. I would even go so far as to place bets on head hunting when he plays against the Comets.”
“Seems a little extreme.”
“So does the dating ban. Maybe you’re not interested in a bossy man because you grew up with one. Daddy issues and all that.”
Damn, I hated her ability to pick apart a situation. Whining like a toddler, I griped, “Why does this have to be so hard? All I want is a hockey player. Just one. I’m not greedy.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Thinking ahead isn’t exactly my strong suit. I do better in the moment. It seemed simple in my head, but I don’t want to leave Hartford, and Daddy dearest won’t let me have an adult playdate with one of his players.”
“Sounds like maybe you need to take a step back and re-evaluate,” Amy suggested.
“Maybe,” I conceded. “I’ll let you get back to whatever important royal shit you’ve got going on over there.”
“See you when you get back from the road. I can’t wait to get home.” “Girls’ night?”
“Yes, please.”
We hung up, and I dragged my body to the bathroom, gripping the side of the sink as I stared at my reflection. The smudged makeup resembled war paint, reminding me that I wasn’t one to back down from a challenge. The season was still young.
I would take this next week to reset, maybe hook up with a random on the road to get my head straight. Then it was back to work.
Come hell or high water, I would chase my dream until it became a reality.
No one would stand in my way.
