Shutout E-Book

Melody Heck Gatto

• Herausgeber: Melody Heck Gatto
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

Love can be the best trophy and the sweetest consolation prize.

Shutout is the story of Dominic Zanetti (Renegades goalie) and Hailee Valentine.

Dominic is flirty, swoon-worthy and tattooed. He's only ever truly loved one woman - Hailee - the one that got away. But that was a lifetime ago. She left a scar on his heart so deep that no bunny would ever fill it. No girl measured up to his Hailee – not that he wanted anyone to. If he was lucky enough to find her again, he wasn’t going to let her go so easily.

Hailee is stubborn, talented, tattooed, and not the kind of woman to let a man take care of her. She refuses to sit in the kitchen and bake pies for anyone. She is her own woman and plans to stay that way. That's why she had to leave Dominic all those years ago. Hailee kept herself hidden away in a hockey-free bubble, avoiding all aspects of the game and eliminating the possibility of running into him. Her heart missed Dominic, but her brain knew that she couldn’t be what he needed. It was just better this way. She had her own dreams and wasn’t about to give up on them, even if it meant giving him up.

When all things in her life finally start to fall neatly into place, one thing is still missing. Dominic.

Dominic was used to shutting out teams on the ice, but didn’t like being shutout by her. Hailee already had his heart, all she had to do was take down the walls she built, and stop playing games.

Leseprobe

Shutout

Renegades 5

The Renegades Series

By Melody Heck Gatto

Shutout – Renegades 5

By Melody Heck Gatto

Copyright © 2016 by Melody Heck Gatto

License Notes

All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Pittsburgh Renegades™ is a fictional sports team. Their name and logo are created for the sole use of the owner and covered under protection of trademark.

Editing by Bree Scalf - Vivid Editing

Cover Art by Kat McCarthy - Aeternum Designs

CHAPTER ONE

Hailee

Hailee shoved her gloved hands deeper into her coat. The rink was chilly, as always, while she sat and watched her friend Alison steady her five-year-old student on her skate blades. As Alison bent down closer to the little girl, Hailee caught Alison’s calm, soft voice as she instructed her student to keep her ankles straight.

Alison was an amazing ice skating instructor. She had the patience of a saint. Hailee smiled to herself. Alison would have to be a saint in order to be my best friend. Not to mention, she even looked like an angel. Alison had long hair, light blond with hints of almost white, as if the sun was always highlighting it. The short white faux fur jacket accented her creamy pale skin and made her crystal blue eyes pop. Not a single mark of ink on the girl and her only piercings were one in each ear lobe.

Such a strong contrast to Hailee. Alison often asked why Hailee needed so many tattoos, but never discouraged her from getting more.

“Do we have to go through this every week, Alison?” Hailee called from the open Zamboni door where the skaters entered and exited the ice. She shivered and rubbed her gloved hands together. Her cold-weather jacket was fluffy and soft, but wasn’t keeping out the bitter cold wind. The weather people kept saying warmer temps were on the horizon, and Hailee hoped they would arrive soon. It was open skate hour and the rink was full; no one else seemed to mind the winter weather. Hailee joked with Ali just as she did each week. “Tell her, Cassie.”

“Miss Alison, Hailee doesn’t ice skate.” The little freckle-faced red-haired girl said with a giggle. Her laughter made her legs wobble, and as she waivered her ear muffs almost fell off. Alison caught her before she fell, shooting a glare in Hailee’s direction.

“Sorry,” Hailee squeaked out, although knowing Alison probably couldn’t even hear her. Hailee spent every lesson standing here watching her friend teach little tykes how to skate, some for figure skating, some so they could learn ice hockey. Occasionally she had an adult student. Every week Alison reminded her of that.

Right on cue Alison called out, “You know I teach adults all the time, right? You wouldn’t be the first.” She twirled around so she was now skating backwards, showing off obviously, and holding Cassie’s hand. “Plus, if you learned you could teach lessons on the side. More money towards your goal.”

“Like I don’t work enough as it is. Anyway, as soon as I find a market to sell my paintings, I’ll be golden.” Hailee’s paintings could rake in more money than she made at the club if she found the right buyers. Her mind wandered as she looked out over the rink. It was so calm and crisp out there, a nice way to spend an hour or two. She would never admit to Alison that gliding around the ice did look like fun.

They’d been friends long enough for Hailee to know that confession would lead to days of Alison’s relentlessly trying to get Hailee into a pair of ice skates. There had been a time in her life, not all that long ago, that she’d been ready to learn how to skate…

Her mind flitted back to when strong hands had held her steady on the ice, despite her argument that she didn’t need his help. The deep laugh that rang in her ears when she stumbled and he’d caught her, and warm kisses that made goose bumps spring up on the back of her neck… A pang of regret gripped her, and Hailee shook her head to clear those memories away. Those thoughts had to stay in the past where they belonged.

Looking at her phone, she was relieved to see the hour was almost up. Alison normally took one solo lap around the rink while the student left the ice and started to gather their things. Right on schedule, Cassie was headed her way.

“Hey there, short stuff.” Hailee smiled at the girl. “Need any help with those skates?” She helped the young girl off the ice and out of the way of the other skaters who had the same idea.

Her back was to the ice as she untied each skate, and Cassie stepped out of them. “So you’re never going to learn how to skate?” The little girl’s voice waivered as she plucked the white crochet beanie off Hailee’s head.

Hailee’s dark violet hair fell into her face as she bowed her head and stared at the skates. She had no intention of dimming the little girl’s excitement about skating. Cassie was getting really good and finally wasn’t afraid to be out on the ice.

Hailee swept her hair away from her eyes and ran her hand down her face, lightly skimming her fingers over the metal stud that adorned her left nostril. “Well, don’t tell Alison, but I don’t know about never. Maybe someday. It does look kind of fun watching you glide around out there. By the way, you’re really getting the hang of it. You’ll be doing triple axels in no time.”

Cassie giggled at the silly thought of her going straight to Olympic figure skating acrobatics. Normally she fired off the wall questions about Hailee’s nose ring, like “Doesn’t that hurt?” or “How do you blow your nose?” But the little girl just stood there staring past her, a goofy smile on her face.

That’s when Hailee realized something or someone was behind her. Slowly turning around, she knew who was there before she saw. Alison. “Crap.”

“It looks fun, huh?” Alison beamed with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

“No, I didn’t say—”

“Don’t even try to weasel out of this, Hailee. I heard you. And you’re in luck because there’s still another hour in the open skate. I’ll go get you some skates.”

“No, Alison! Don’t—” But her friend was already out of earshot and at the skate rental counter. Hailee let out an exhausted sigh. “Cassie, how do I get out of this?” She realized the ridiculousness of asking that to someone who was learning how to ice skate.

“Simple. You don’t.” Alison handed her a pair of skates. “Put these on.” Without missing a beat, Alison turned her attention to her student. “Cassie, I see your mom over there, so I’ll see you next week, okay?”

Cassie’s smile widened. “Okay, see you next week!” she said, before she ran to her mom.

“And why aren’t your skates on yet?” Alison looked down her nose and asked in a teacher type voice.

“You were serious? Don’t you have to get back to the pet salon?”

“No, I don’t. Do I look like I’m playing?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked down her nose at Hailee. “Now get the skates on.”

Hailee wanted to laugh. Even though Alison was only a part-time skating instructor, she was totally pulling this teacher crap on her. But part of Hailee was afraid that she wasn’t joking, and that part told her brain to shut up and put the skates on. Maybe this will be fun. They had both been so busy since the beginning of the year, it was nice to finally hang out together, and Hailee didn’t want to end the day by annoying Alison.

She could do this. One quick lap around the rink, holding the sides if necessary, then I’ll be done. How hard could it be really? It looks so easy.

After lacing up her skates, she stepped out onto the ice. Her skate blades slid over the frozen water as she grabbed for the comfort of the rink wall. Who in the world decided that balancing on two thin little metal blades on a hunk of ice would be a fun time? Something was wrong with this picture; this wasn’t easy at all. There was no graceful gliding. Maybe my skates are faulty? The only thing holding her up was the wall. I’m obviously not doing this right.

She wasn’t used to doing this by herself. Last time she tried to learn, there was a pair of strong hands holding her up. At least the boards were doing their job keeping her upright. For now, anyway. But her feet wouldn’t stop sliding around.

She moved inch by inch until there was no more wall. The curved end of the rink was flush from the ice to the glass, with no ledge to hold onto. She paused, looking at the distance around the end of the rink. Why does it have to be so long?

A pair of skate blades behind her made a whooshing sound against the ice. “You want me to help you?” Alison asked, holding her arm out for Hailee to grab.

“I’m a grown ass woman. Thank you, but no thank you; I don’t need your help, so you can put your arm down,” Hailee snapped in response.

She could do this. She took one more look across the rink before she bowed her head and solely concentrated on her skates. Skating directly across to the other side seemed the shortest distance, even though she would be out in the middle of the ice with nothing to cling to. Surely if she built up a little speed, she would just glide. Sounded easy enough.

Her arms out to the sides for steadiness, she wobbled a bit before pushing off with her right skate. The metal blades dug into the frozen surface and she moved less than gracefully across the ice. Planting her right skate in front of her body, she bobbed front to back as her balance waivered. Her arms flailed at her sides and did nothing to steady her.

The noise of the other skaters suddenly went from loud to muffled, as the beating of her own heart overtook her ears. Her feet frantically tried to dig into the slippery surface to no avail. Stranded in the very center of the ice, Hailee’s body tilted backwards, and before she could correct her posture, the skates slid forward and out from under her, landing her ass on the hard, cold rink.

The noise of the other skaters returned as she lay flat on her back staring at the ceiling. This did not just happen.

“Hailee!” Alison’s voice was high pitched and frantic, but soon turned to laughter. “Are you okay?” She fought to stifle a giggle.

“Shut up.” The nastiness in Hailee’s voice was not intentional, but lying on her back in the middle of the ice rink was not her idea of a good time.

“No really, are you okay?” Alison put her hand in front of her mouth, doing her best to cover up her amusement, but eventually she gave in and doubled over in a fit of laughter.

Before Hailee could answer, a young man’s face popped into view. “Are you okay, miss?”

Oh my God. Crawling into the ice and disappearing sounds like a great idea about now. “Fine.”

The boy was younger than she was, probably about sixteen, and wore a fleece pullover with the name of the ice rink on it. He held out his hand to her. “Here, let me help you up.”

Glancing around the ice, Hailee decided that she had no choice. Before she could answer, a second young man appeared and the two of them grabbed her arms, quickly lifting her up off the ice. Her face filled with heat. Embarrassing, to say the least.

Alison was still laughing as the boys helped Hailee over to the side of the rink where she could safely hold on to the wall again. “Thanks,” she whispered to the young men before they skated off.

The brisk air bit against her heated, and presumably now red, cheeks as she glared at her friend. Her body was cold from lying on the ice and her face felt like it was on fire. Staring at Alison who had tears starting to stream down her face from laughing so hard, she wished her eyes could shoot daggers with the look she was giving her unhelpful friend.

“Hailee, I’m so sorry.” Alison muffled her enjoyment and wiped the tears away. “You went down just like a rag doll…” Her words trailed off as her giggles returned.

Hailee knew Alison meant well, and if she were in the same position, she’d probably be rolling around on the ice laughing too. “It’s fine.”

“Hailee, let me help you off the ice.” Alison finally finished laughing and smiled empathetically, holding out her arm to her friend. “I’m done laughing, I swear.”

“Good thing. Now let’s get out of here. I’m hungry.” Hailee gripped tightly to Alison as they glided together off the ice.

* * *

“I didn’t realize you meant we’d eat here. I assumed we’d eat in a real restaurant. You know, where the girls wear clothes.” Alison whispered the last part as they sat down at the bar.

“I’m getting takeout, so stop your bitching.” Hailee waved and smiled to a girl with dark black and blue hair. “Hey, Sasha! Do you know if my order is ready yet?”

“Hey girl.” The goth looking girl grinned. “I think I saw it at the window. Let me go look.” She strutted over to the order window and searched for the name on the bag. “Here it is!”

“Thanks, Sasha,” Hailee said as the girl handed the bag to her. “See you tomorrow!” She hopped off the bar stool and waved as Alison followed.

“I’ll never get used to that place,” Alison complained.

“I don’t know why you let it bother you.” The neon sign outside the building shone the club’s name, The Cat House, brightly in the dusk.

“Did you work on New Year’s Eve?”

Hailee nodded. “Yeah, I had a double shift because they were packed. Lots of needy, lonely men out there I guess, but it was a good night for tips.”

“I suppose that depends on what you had to do for those tips.” Alison grimaced as though she had just eaten a lemon.

“Nothing more than usual.” Hailee winked one eye. That meant letting them ogle her and grab at her while she still had her top on, but once she was down to just her pasties it was a hands-off policy. Not that some drunks didn’t try. The secret rooms behind the back rooms, well, that’s where the real money was made, and she wanted no part of that. Dancing was one thing, but she wasn’t for sale. “How was your party?”

“Eh.” Alison shrugged. “It was full of my brother’s frat house buddies. Nothing like fending off drunk handsy college boys all night. I cut out early and stopped in the Cupcakery. They were having a champagne toast at midnight, and unveiling their new cupcake — Champagne Kisses. It’s my new favorite flavor. The icing really does taste like champagne, and it has tiny red and pink hearts sprinkled onto the white icing. The batter is so fluffy and light I wouldn’t be surprised if it had champagne in it too.”

Hailee loved the Pink Ribbon Cupcakery. It was such a cute little store, and now thanks to all the cupcake talk, she was craving a cupcake. It’d been a while since she’d had one. Maybe she’d treat herself for her birthday. “Sounds like I’ll have to stop by and try one of those.”

“I just wish you would get out of this neighborhood. I’m sure you could find a nice apartment by me, and you know I could use the help at the pet salon. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were neighbors?” Alison said, as they both walked away from The Cat House and past the neighboring bar to a doorway. “We’d see each other all the time and you could go to the Cupcakery every day; I know you love their cupcakes!”

Hailee sighed. If Alison only knew that was the goal. Plus, a daily stop into the Cupcakery sounded wonderful. But she didn’t need a lecture; she just wanted to eat. Alison was an awesome friend, but she was good at lecturing, and as much as Hailee loved her, that could get annoying.

“Home, sweet home.” Hailee unlocked the heavy steel door. Turning on the hallway light, she let Alison in first, then locked the door behind them. “And I like my loft, thank you very much.”

Alison looked back at her and shook her head, keeping her hands away from the walls as they approached the stairs. “I’ll never understand why,” she said. “You’re on the third floor above a bar and a strip club. There are stains on the walls here in the hallway and stairwell that I’d rather not know what they are, and it’s so dingy looking.”

Alison complained about Hailee’s loft all the time; it wasn’t somewhere she would opt to live. This was sub-par compared to her frilly pink and white life. Alison’s apartment was right above her pet salon in a charming old school neighborhood filled with clean sidewalks, cute little shops, and lots of foot traffic. Even the garbage cans on the street were sparkly clean; Hailee swore someone must come along and scrub them every night. To overdose on the cuteness, the streets were even paved with brick. The truth was, that place was adorable and Hailee was a little jealous of her friend. But this was where she called home.

“I’ll help out at the pet salon any time that I can, you know that. And if it weren’t for me, your books would never get done,” Hailee said proudly.

The top of the two-flight stairwell opened up to a spacious loft. One time it was probably an office space that was full of cubicles, back before this neighborhood was taken over by bars and less than desirable clientele. Now it was one big rent-controlled loft, and Hailee made the best out of it. Even though there were no walls to separate the kitchen, the living area, and the bedroom, she had done her best to make it homey.

“I actually meant you could consider working there full-time, you know—”

“Quit the club. Yeah, I know that’s what you want, Ali. Maybe someday I’ll consider it, but right now I’m fine. I wouldn’t make nearly as much anywhere else as I do at the club. You know you can’t pay me that kind of money, and I don’t expect you to.”

It wasn’t just the money that kept her working at the strip club. It was the fact that no one judged her there. Not her choice of hair color, not her tattoos, not even her nose ring. She was able to just do her job and go home. No drama. She had tried waitressing and temp administrative jobs, but they all wanted her to cover her ink and change her hair to a “normal” color. Like it mattered, when she was sitting inside an office doing filing work, whether she had blond hair or pink.

Hailee wasn’t planning on working at The Cat House forever, just long enough. How long that would be, she wasn’t sure. She wanted to have enough income so that even if the cost of renting the space for her gallery went up, she’d still feel secure financially. Returning to The Cat House because she ran out of money was out of the question. That kind of defeat could never happen.

“Are you at least seeing anyone yet?”

“No,” she mumbled, but of course, Ali knew that already. Hailee couldn’t remember the last person she’d dated that she actually liked. Oh yeah, she could, and that was a lifetime ago. He was the reason she stopped following hockey. She had left him and those dreams years ago.

It wasn’t the hockey life that scared her, it was the fact that he wanted to “take care of her”. That meant him out earning the money while she stayed home, cooking, cleaning, watching soap operas, she guessed, raising a family, and waiting for him to return home from whatever city he was playing at. Not to mention, holding her breath with every hit he took, and praying he was going to get up afterward. Hockey could be dangerous.

But that’s not what scared her. Losing herself did. She wasn’t a stay-at-home wife and mommy type. She wanted to excel at painting and selling her art, as well as to help other up and coming artists do the same. She wanted to run her own art gallery.

When Hailee was growing up, her mom had worked, and her dad had worked. Her mom loved her job as a Real Estate Associate, and her dad was a highly respected construction foreman. Hailee had started her first job at age sixteen as well, and had worked ever since.

Dominic hadn’t understood that. He had wanted Hailee to travel with him and enjoy the hockey life, then settle down in some lavish neighborhood and be a hockey wife and a hockey mom. This wasn’t the 1930’s; women didn’t belong in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant. Hailee was proud that she earned her own living, bought her own car, and paid her own way; she didn’t need a man to do that for her.

But Dominic was from a hockey dynasty and had the burden of his family’s high expectations on his shoulders. He was determined to achieve those goals, with a happily ever after planned at the end of it all. His attitudes about family weren’t the same as hers, and even though she loved him, she believed that wasn’t enough. When he had proposed to her, he’d wanted a long engagement, but that meant staying put in Vaughn, Ontario and pushing her dreams aside. She wasn’t that girl.

Her love of painting and following her dream of owning her own art gallery had brought her to Pittsburgh to the Art Institute, a prestige and privately owned art school that had opened in 1921. The school had produced many great designers, and pursuing this dream was something she needed to do for herself.

Tomorrow would mark three years since she’d left her home. Three years since she had made a new life for herself. Three years since she began reinventing herself and doing it all on her own. That’s how she was raised; stand on your own two feet.

Leaving Dominic had been the hardest thing she’d ever had to do. But a clean break was necessary if she was going to find herself. Last she heard, he was a star goalie somewhere in Toronto, and that’s when she stopped paying any attention to the hockey world.

Since then she’d avoided all hockey news and games. She didn’t know where Dominic was and she didn’t care. The few people she still talked to from back home knew better than to utter his name to her. As much as she had wanted him to be, he wasn’t her future. Period.

In two days, it would be her twenty-second birthday, but it was just another day to her. She’d been planning to get a new tattoo tomorrow and then do some painting, maybe even drink enough to forget… everything. But she had been asked to work that next day, her birthday, and a massive hangover would not be a good idea. Some big name clients were having a private party, and she seemed to be a favorite amongst that type of clientele. When the men spent more, not only did she make more, but so did the club. Everyone won.

“Any big plans for tomorrow?”

“You know my birthday isn’t for two days, right?”

“Of course I know that, Hay. I also know you’re working on your birthday. I don’t like that you have to spend your birthday there. So we’ll just have to pretend tomorrow is the big day. Any plans?”

Hailee shook her head as she pulled out a chair at her fifties style kitchen table, and opened up the bag. The aroma of burgers and fries filled the loft. Grabbing a few fries, she shoved them in her mouth to avoid any additional birthday conversation.

“Good, then I’m taking you out.” With her mouth full, Hailee couldn’t even object before Alison added with a sly smile, “And that’s not up for debate. You can’t say no, because it’s my gift to you. Just remember, if anyone asks, it’s your birthday.”

“Whatever.” There was no sense in arguing with her. Apparently birthdays didn’t mean as much to her as they did to Alison.

Hailee took a glance around her loft. This was hers. All the reminiscing about Dominic made her forget how far she’d come. She could see her goal; it was within reach. Just a little more work and she’d have what she’d dreamed of.

CHAPTER TWO

Dominic

He tossed his helmet into his locker and pulled off his pads. Dominic Zanetti was one of the goaltenders for the Pittsburgh Renegades. As usual, today’s practice had him on one end of the ice, and Kaden O’Conner, the other goalie, on the opposite end. It had been a long and grueling hour full of suicide drills, multiple laps around the ice, and working on line maneuvers and one-timer shots on goal. It was physically and mentally exhausting, just the way he liked it. Pushing himself to the limit gave him a sense of accomplishment like no other.

His muscles ached, and he was overheated from the workout, yet chilled from the ice. Sweat caused his Under Armour t-shirt to cling to his torso; he really needed a shower. Looking around the room, he saw that most of the men were taking their time getting undressed. The lucky guys hit the showers first, no chance to run out of hot water, and today was his lucky day.

The veteran players typically forced the rookies to get the last of the hot water and usually a cold finish to their shower, and he’d had too many cold showers as a newbie. Dom was a rookie no longer; Torin, Kyler and Mateo now had that role. He ditched his nasty clothes, grabbed his towel and headed to the shower stall.

The only guys who followed him were Tyler, Kaden, Matt, Patrick and Kris. They filled the room, leaving large gaps between each man. As in typical man-child style, no one man wanted to stand directly next to another. It would only end in twelve-year-old boy humor and a pissing contest, so if the guys knew any better, they just avoided it.

Quickly Dom soaped up, washed his hair, and rinsed before grabbing his towel to dry off. Hurrying back to the locker area, he noticed that the equipment manager had already been through the lockers gathering dirty laundry, so luckily all their sweaty and rank gear had been cleared out, along with the accompanying odor. It was quiet for a moment, but echoes of laughter and crude jokes filled the room as Tyler, Patrick, and Matt filed in. Kaden soon followed.

“Where’d Dom run to?” Matt asked.

“Dunno, but do you blame him for hurrying out of there? Trust me, no one wants to look at your wrinkled old ass any longer than they have to!” Patrick joked as they walked into the locker area. He nodded to Dom.

“How do you know it’s wrinkled? Stop looking at my ass, Pat,” Matt said as he adjusted his towel, unfortunately flashing Kaden and Dom.

“Whoa! Dude! Put that away. Damn.” Kaden covered his eyes in jest.

“Jealous, O’Conner?” Matt grinned as he covered himself up.

“Hardly. More like scarred for life at how wrinkly it was. Is your junk supposed to look like that? Maybe you should consult a doctor or something.”

“Kaden, at his age, things do wrinkle,” Tyler said dryly, hiding his smile.

“Fuck all of you!” Matt yelled before stomping to his locker, purposely dropping his towel altogether. The guys let out a collective groan.

Dom stood facing his locker, quickly dropped his towel and pulled up his boxer briefs in the same movement. His mocha brown hair was shaved on the sides and back, but longer on top. He typically liked to mess around with styles; sometimes he’d spike it, sometimes it was a mohawk, other times it just fell to the side. But right now it was still dripping wet. He grabbed his towel and rubbed his hair until most of the moisture was gone.

Grabbing his hair dryer, he walked barefoot in only his boxer briefs over to the mirrors. He ignored the chatter behind him and ran his fingers through his damp hair while the warm air started to dry the strands. Turning the blow dryer off for a moment, he sprayed a pile of mousse into his palm, then worked it through his mini mane before continuing to dry it. He ran his fingers through his hair as he styled it. The look was messy, just the way he liked it.

He admired his tattoos in the mirror before returning to his locker. His newest tattoo on his neck had healed nicely, a brilliant orange and black tiger with its mouth open showing its teeth, snarling. He had his last name, ZANETTI, curved around his neckline. The hockey logos for Toronto and New York graced his back on his shoulders, with the Renegades logo at the base of his neck. The word “Dynasty” was inked across his shoulders between the two logos. Various designs covered his arms down to his wrists. He had Z-DYNASTY inked by the knuckles of his fingers.

His family values were solid, instilled in him since childhood, plus he was proud of their hockey legacy. His mom hated his tattoos, but she loved him. She was his rock. All those years his dad was traveling with the team, it was just the two of them, until his brother Dante came along. By then his dad had decided to retire to concentrate on Dom’s hockey quest. His two sisters were older than he was and when he was growing up they were always off playing sports or out with friends.

The logos were in honor of his grandad, who used to play for Toronto, and his dad, who had played for New York. His little brother Dante was being scouted already. Soon they’d add another to their hockey legacy. They were, no doubt, the Zanetti hockey dynasty.

His nephews now played ice hockey, and even though their last name wasn’t Zanetti, someday they’d follow in the family footsteps too. The one girl in the family, his niece Mikayla, even played Lacrosse.

“Yo, Dom! You looked good out there today,” Tyler called from in front of his locker. His was on the other side of the room, facing Dom and Kaden’s lockers.

“Yeah, you were on point this morning, Meatball,” Patrick added, using the nickname some of the guys called him, since he was from an Italian family. “And don’t worry, superstar, your hair looks beautiful as always.”

Kaden laughed as his blond hair fell into his face. He had the typical overgrown and shaggy “hockey hair” and the ladies loved it. He was already dressed; the reporters would be in any minute.

“Your hair takes as long as mine, Kaden, so shut the hell up.”

“I think our goalies have the best hair in the league,” Kris said.

“Can they quote you on that?” Paige Martin, the Renegades PR assistant asked from the doorway. With a pen tucked behind one ear, and dark blond hair up in a bun, she commanded everyone’s attention. Her tight business style skirt hugged her curves, and her high heels accentuated her shapely legs, but no guy dared ogle her — she was Tyler’s girl. “Kidding, of course. Gentleman, this way.”

She motioned for the media folks to enter the locker room, winking at Tyler before she continued. “Okay folks, like I told you earlier, the players you can talk to are as follows: Kaden, Kris, Dominic. Coach Walker is available as well.” She motioned to the men scattered around the locker room.

“No Tyler Kidd? That’s not fair!” one reporter called, and a few groaned.

Tyler gave a nod before Paige gave the okay to the media. “Remember, non-game day interviews are quick; we’re not staying here all day. So just a few questions, and when I say time’s up, you’re done.”

Paige never gave the media much choice in the matter; what she said went. Period. If they didn’t like her rules, she showed them the door or threatened to pull their credentials.

Melanie, Paige’s boss, entered the room. She was tall with dark hair. Her business skirt was not form fitting like Paige’s, but no one really thought of Mel as ‘sexy’. She was more like their sister. “The rest of you men can leave if you’d like. No reason for you to hang around.”

“Thanks, Mel, but we like listening to the boys talk,” Patrick joked. “It’s so motivational.” His voice laced with sarcasm.

Melanie rolled her eyes and stifled a chuckle. “Suit yourselves. Paige, I’ll be in Coach’s office if you need me.”

“Dominic,” one reporter called for his attention. “Do you think you’ll start next game?”

“I won’t know until I know, and by then you’ll already know, I’m sure.” He laughed, because the media seemed to know things even before the players did.

“Dominic,” someone else called from the crowd. “You looked good out there this morning. Any health issues at all?”

“Nope. I’m ready to play.” Odd question.

“Dom, any new tattoos?” A young woman’s voice squeaked out from the crowd.

The reporters were supposed to stick to hockey questions; when they got off topic, it pissed Paige off. Before he could glance at Paige, he heard her heels clicking on the locker room floor as she walked towards the crowd of reporters. “Dom, everything going okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded to her and directed his attention and trademark smile to the crowd.

“Dom, your contract is up at the end of the year. Are you hoping to stay on or maybe get a starting goaltender position with another team? Wouldn’t you rather be a starting goalie?”

Really? Sometimes these fucking questions are so annoying. Being a starting goalie would be great, but right now he and Kaden were doing great goaltending in tandem. They both got equal ice time because of it, plus neither of them was labeled ‘backup goalie’. Typically, the backup goaltender got the most criticism, and wasn’t the favorite amongst fans, in his experience anyway.

Dom pasted a grin on his face. God, how he hated these question and answer sessions. Give him an old-fashioned, one-on-one interview with a single reporter any day. “Haha, I want to stay here in Pittsburgh, absolutely. I think Kaden and I make a great duo, and I have no interest in going elsewhere.”

The reporters slowly dwindled, moving on to other players with their questions. It was only practice this morning; there wasn’t much to ask about.

As the last one left the locker room, Paige waved to the guys before following him out. Tyler got up and followed her out of the room, before returning quickly.

“So guys, you all are coming to my bachelor party tomorrow night, right?” Tyler asked, while zipping up his gym bag.

“The big day is coming up soon huh, Ty?” Patrick asked, as he finished putting on his shoes.

“Yep, few weeks.”

“Dom, you’re going to the party, aren’t you?” Kaden asked, his blond hair hanging in his eyes.

Dominic shrugged. “I guess.”

Kaden lowered his voice. “You have to go. Trust me. I backed out of the bachelor party they had for Kris, and they still don’t let me forget it.”

“Yo, K-dog! You coming to celebrate Ty’s freedom? Maybe I should say the demise of his freedom. Or are you backing out of this one, too?” Matt yelled across the locker room.

All eyes focused on Kaden for a moment, except Dom. He was watching the quiet response from the team. It was as if they were giving Matt the attention he craved and ignoring him all at the same time.

“I’ll be there,” Kaden grumbled, his glare meeting Dom’s. Kaden was always a team player, but for some reason he had a low tolerance for Matt.

“Good, I thought you might be getting your hair done or some girly ass thing like that.” Matt smirked.

Tyler passed by Dom’s locker, half dressed. He tapped Dom’s leg as he paused. “Don’t worry, it’ll be a good time.”

Dom thought about how he could back out of going, but knew it wouldn’t work. Not with these guys. Strip clubs weren’t his thing, a bar maybe. He could drink with the best of them. But strippers? It wasn’t like he was going to go home with one; he didn’t need used goods and he certainly never had to pay for it. Even though he was unattached at the moment, that was an option he’d never consider.

His eyes caught the calendar on the wall. Tomorrow was the twentieth. Hailee’s birthday, his high school sweetheart. His one regret. According to her, he had been stifling her. Since when is wanting to take care of someone for the rest of their lives being stifling?

She had walked out when he’d proposed, leaving a gaping hole in his heart and his trust. He never had understood what he’d done to make her to leave, and he missed her. He hadn’t looked at a girl the same way since.

Hailee was gorgeous — big blue eyes that always seemed to look right through him, long light brown hair, the softest hair he had ever touched, and her lips, they were always light pink from her favorite go-to lip gloss.

That last moment with Hailee, him on one knee, holding out an engagement ring and waiting for her answer was burned into his memory. It still made him sick to his stomach to think about the look on her face, and her answer that tore a hole in his heart.

He’d wanted her and hockey, that was all. Was that really so much to ask for? He wanted a wife that was proud of him and a houseful of mini-hockey players, well, eventually. Hockey was important to him and his family; he had to make sure he lived up to the family tradition. But then Hailee was gone, and before long, he’d been traded to Pittsburgh.

Leaving everything in his past back in Canada was his best move yet. A fresh start with a new team hadn’t healed his trust issues, but who needed trust when he had so many bunnies who didn’t want more than a few hours of his attention? He was a hot new name in the league, and they knew that; a night with him meant serious bunny status for them.

No one back home talked about Hailee, and he was fairly sure they were all under a hush order from her brother. He could be a bully when he wanted; he was large and bulky and could look scary. The one time Dom did try to reach out to her, her number was disconnected. There was no trace of her anywhere — if she’d wanted to get lost, she had sure accomplished that. She was even nonexistent on social media, and nowadays that was hard to do.

He was a different story. Paige was good at cleaning up the messes that the team got themselves into, but it wasn’t always so easy. The girls, the alcohol, the parties, it could all be ugly if it got on social media. Being pegged a party boy was the one thing the Renegades wanted to avoid — Dominic Zanetti was their franchise’s future.

Alcohol sounded like the perfect way to spend tomorrow evening, and honestly, the female attention would surely be welcome. His last girlfriend was more of a distraction than anything — because she wasn’t Hailee — and that wasn’t enough for her, not that he blamed her. He wasn’t ready to trust anyone else with his heart yet. His only interest was a hot body to tend to his, all night. That was the end of that.

Focusing back on reality, Dom found the locker room was full of energy, everyone high-fiving Tyler and voicing that they’d be there.

“So, you going?” Kaden asked.

“Not sure…”

Before the words exited his mouth, Matt was badgering him. “Of course you’re going, Meatball! I’ll even buy you a lap dance.”

“Nah I’m good, Matt. Thanks anyways.” Some bimbo dancing up on guy after guy, then on me? No thanks. He could find his own girl to take home, and not one from the strip club. All he had to do was look out into the parking lot of the arena.

“Yeah, Dom, even Kris and Pat are being let out of the house to go, so you better be there too!” Tyler called from across the room.

“It’s not like we needed permission or something, damn.” Kris shook his head. Tyler always ragged on them about that.

“Maybe you didn’t…” Patrick laughed. Patrick had a bad history of womanizing before meeting his wife, Gia. And his new missus didn’t like taking chances with him, even though he had proven his love to her over and over. He was a love-struck fool and everyone knew it, even his new wife.

“Yeah, that couldn’t have been easy, considering…” Tyler commented with a laugh. Everyone knew the history. Gia used to be with Tyler. Long story short: after an ugly situation with Pat and Tyler, she ended up as Mrs. Patrick Dubois. The details of what happened were no longer important, since the two men had made amends, and Tyler had met the real woman of his dreams, so now it was Tyler’s turn to get hitched.

“Dom, if I’m going, you are too. I’ll keep you out of trouble.” Patrick winked. For some reason, Patrick saying he’d keep Dom out of trouble was laughable. Pat used to be the guy that needed kept out of trouble. He was a media nightmare when he stole Tyler’s girlfriend. But somehow, everything worked out.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” Dom responded. Getting drunk and leaving his fate in Pat’s hands didn’t seem like a very responsible decision. “Kris, you got my back, right?”

“Absolutely, my friend,” Kris said.

Over the last year, Dom and Kris had found what the media liked to call a real bromance. Maybe it was their Canadian heritage, or maybe it was just because Dom was the newbie and Kris was an upstanding teammate, always willing to lend a hand.

Or maybe it was because once, very briefly, Kris had thought his girl Kat, now his wife, was having an affair with Dom. When Kris finally learned she was just writing a story about Dom and his family, that was when the two men started to bond. That article got Kat a promotion and a spot as a feature writer for a popular hockey magazine.

Dom always thought Kris felt bad for his assumptions, and Dom being the newbie on the team, Kris had gone out of his way to make him a big part of the Renegades. But all that was in the past. This team had more drama than an afternoon talk show.

“Great, it’s settled!” Tyler, now fully dressed, swung his hockey bag over his shoulder, grabbed his stick and headed to the door. “I’ll see you all tomorrow night!”

CHAPTER THREE

Hailee

“Knock, knock!” Alison called, as she entered the loft with a handful of colorful balloons and a bottle of wine. “Hey there, birthday girl!” Alison’s heels clicked against the hard floors and echoed in the large open space.

“Well don’t you look like you’re ready for the club versus a restaurant?” Hailee narrowed her eyes and looked her friend up and down. Alison’s stripper heels and short, tight skirt did not go unnoticed, and the bulky sweater with the loosely woven fabric did nothing to hide her gorgeous figure.

Alison shrugged. “It’s a night of celebration. You look pretty hot yourself, lady.” She handed Hailee the balloons and wine. “Your favorite wine.”

“Well, thank you. We could just stay here and share that bottle?” Her joking tone was half-serious, seeing how she had no idea what Alison had planned or where they were going.

Not knowing tonight’s itinerary, and with the addition of Ali’s stripper heels, Hailee didn’t trust that innocent smile on her friend’s face. She had dressed in her usual casual but sexy way, her white one-piece mini t-shirt dress hugged her curves and covered just enough before ending high up her thighs. The half sleeves had the shoulders cut out and exposed her artwork.

“Hailee! C’mon, it’s girls’ night out. It’ll be fun.” Alison flopped down on the gray couch and crossed her long legs.

Since they were both single, it was always girls’ night out. But Alison was trying to make Hailee’s birthday special, so she went along with it. “So, where are we going? I’m starving. Did you bake me a cake, too?” That last comment was an inside joke. Alison was not the best cook. Last year she had tried to make Hailee a birthday cake but forgot to put the eggs in. It was dense and tiny, and very hard to eat. Hailee never let her forget it; therefore, Alison had never made another cake.

“Shut up. No, I didn’t make a cake. Anyways, grab your purse and your keys and let’s get to dinner. I’m starving!”

Hailee’s phone buzzed. She paused at the bottom of the step to check the text message. It was her bestie from back home, Mia, wishing her a happy birthday. I should get back home soon. It’s been too long.

Alison was parked right outside the loft. “I still think you should move. You know I hate driving here,” Ali said, as they walked to her Nissan SUV. The lights flashed when she turned off the alarm. “I’m always afraid my car is going to get stolen or vandalized.”

“God, you’re dramatic. I park my car here every day.”

“Yeah, but you drive an old coupe, and no offense to the car itself, but it’s ancient.” Alison and Hailee slipped into the car, and Alison quickly locked the doors.

“So you’re saying because my car is ancient, that I shouldn’t worry about it being stolen or vandalized?”

“I’m saying I don’t think anyone would take the time to steal it or vandalize it, so you’re safe.” She turned and smiled sweetly. “But you know I love you.”

“Whatever.” Hailee groaned. She loved Ali like a sister, but she was tired of the concern about where she lived. It was no one’s business, but she had her eye on the apartment above the space she was hoping to lease. Alison would flip if she told her, since it was in Alison’s neighborhood, and that’s why Hailee was keeping it to herself. She just needed a little more money for the deposit and the entire first year’s lease. Then she could be secure in knowing it was hers. After that, she would just be working for start-up money. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“You’ll see.”

Alison stayed quiet as she drove to their destination, and sang to every song that came on the radio instead. After a few songs, Hailee relaxed and sang along with her. It didn’t much matter where they were going; it was going to be a fun birthday. Good food, good company and good drinks. Yes, it’s time to get my drink on!

Dinner ended up being at a Japanese steakhouse where the food was cooked right in front of them. It was fun and delicious. Both girls ate way more than they should have, but it didn’t matter. A few hours of talk and gossip easily cured a full belly. A few drinks for the birthday girl didn’t hurt either.

“Ready for dessert?” Alison asked, with a huge grin on her face.

“Please don’t tell me you baked that cake?” Hailee took a drink of her remaining wine.

Alison waved her off and stood up. “Don’t be silly! Get your coat on, we’re off to the next stop!” Grabbing Hailee’s arm, she pulled her out of her seat.

Hailee spilled her drink as Alison yanked her up. “Okay, okay. Let me finish this first.” Leaning over the table, she downed the rest of her wine before sliding on her leather jacket.

Alison looked at her watch. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

“Wow, you’re in a hurry. Is dessert going to disappear if we aren’t there before eight?”

“No, don’t be silly!” Alison looked at her watch again before quickly pulling Hailee to the door. “Off to dessert!”

They ended up on the same street that Alison lived. She parked right in front of her building.

“Ah, the Pink Ribbon Cupcakery?”

“Of course. Is there any better bakery?” Alison asked. In their eyes, there wasn’t.

As they walked towards the business, the aroma of cake and sugar teased Hailee’s senses, making her moan. “My favorite.”

The bakery lights shone bright against the dark night sky. Inside, there was a line at the counter, but there were a few empty tables and available seats at the soda fountain counter. The walls were painted a light pink that matched the pink and white counter tops, and all the appliances behind the counter were either white or pink. You’d think it would be like being inside of a bottle of Pepto-Bismol, but it felt more like everything was sweet and made out of candy.

“Let’s sit over here in the corner.” Alison pointed to a table wedged between the wall and the large plate glass window.

“Man, you’re bossy tonight. Are you going to order for me, too?”

“Don’t be silly,” Alison said, but her attention was outside the window instead of on Hailee or the girl behind the counter.

“You looking for something? ’Cause last I heard, we were here to celebrate me.”

“Yeah, of course we are. Look, here comes the girl now.” Alison danced around oddly, then directed her attention to the young girl coming to take their order.

“Hi ladies, what can I get you tonight?” the young girl asked.

“I’ll take a Birthday Cake milkshake and Champagne Kisses cupcake,” Hailee said.

“I love your hair!” The young girl squealed. “Purple is really your color.”

“Oh, thank you.” Hailee felt her cheeks warm. Normally people couldn’t get past her tattoos to mention her hair, if they even noticed the color.

“I’ll also take a Champagne Kisses cupcake and a water, but can we also get two Vanilla Mocha Dream cupcakes?”

“Wow, two cupcakes tonight? What’s the occasion? Oh yeah, that’s right, it’s my birthday!” Hailee sang happily. “I love Vanilla Mocha Dream; it’s my favorite.” Her mouth watered at the mere thought of it.

“Oh yeah?” the girl asked. “Have you had the Champagne Kisses before?”

“No. It got rave reviews from this one though.” She motioned to Alison.

“Well, you might have a new favorite after you try it! And happy birthday! Have a seat and I’ll bring your desserts right over.” The server went behind the counter to gather their treats.

Hailee watched when she went over to the soda fountain and mixed up the Birthday Cake milkshake. She loved watching them make their homemade milkshakes; the sound of the mixer took her back to when she was little. Her grandpap used to take her and her brother into town for homemade shakes at the little corner store on Wednesdays. She’d get an Egg Cream each and every time. A chocolatey, delicious Egg Cream.

“Alison?” A blond, Ken doll looking man walked up to their table, and a dark haired guy followed behind him.

“Kurt?” Alison asked.

Kurt held out his hand to her. “Alison, it’s nice to finally meet you! This is my buddy, Dex.”

“Nice to meet you too, Kurt.” Alison shook his hand. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled. Turning her attention to the other man, a sly smile crossed her face. “Hi Dex. This is Hailee.”

Hailee followed the glances between Alison and Kurt. Something was off. What is happening here?

“Hailee, nice to meet you.” Dex held out his hand to her and waited.

This didn’t’ feel right. Why were these guys interrupting her birthday celebration?

“Hailee.” Alison’s whispers were short and direct, as if the men couldn’t hear what she was saying. Obviously, they could. “Don’t be rude. Shake his hand.”

“I’m never rude,” Hailee said snarkishly. “Hi Dex, nice to meet you. Now what am I missing here?”

The server delivered her milkshake and their cupcakes. Hailee didn’t waste any time before she dug into the Vanilla Mocha cupcake. The mocha chocolate icing was piled so high that when she took a huge bite she got a smear on her nose.

“Guys, have a seat. Hailee, we’re on a double date. Surprise.”

A crumb from the vanilla cake slid down Hailee’s throat as she took in an unexpected gulp of air. Her cough was so violent she spat a piece of cupcake onto Dex. After catching her breath, she apologized. “Oops, my bad. Sorry.” She handed him a napkin.

“Hailee!” Alison gasped.

“I said I was sorry. It’s your fault anyway. Don’t do that to a girl when she’s eating a cupcake.”

Dex pulled out a chair beside Hailee, and Kurt sat beside Alison.

How did I not see this happening? Damn Alison. With her mouth full of more cupcake, Hailee studied Dex. He was tall, with dark short hair, military cut, and blue gray eyes. He was clean shaven and dressed well in a gray polo, dark jeans, and dark quilted bomber jacket. A bit pretty-boy for her liking, and no facial hair was a turn off. Did Alison know her at all?

“So, I hear it’s your birthday, Hailee. Happy Birthday.” His smile was wide and very toothy.

“Cupcake?” Alison offered her Vanilla Mocha to Kurt.

“No thanks.” He waved her off.

“Dex?”

“No thank you, Alison, I don’t eat sweets.” Dex answered.

He doesn’t eat sweets?Where in the hell did she find these two?

As if Alison read her thoughts, she quickly replied. “I signed up on one of those online dating sites, and that’s where I met Dex and Kurt for us.”

“For us?” She didn’t mean to say that out loud, it sounded rude. “I mean, what?”

“So, Hailee…” Dex rested his arm on the back of her chair. “I see you have tattoos. How many do you have?” He pushed her hair aside to reveal the ink on her neck and shoulder.

A chill ran through her. He wasn’t just being flirty. The way he just swooped in as if they had some immediate connection was annoying and gross. It didn’t help that she had never consented to this date, and he was the opposite of what she would even look for in a man. “Higher than you can count, I’m sure.” She added the last part with a fake grin, hoping she sounded playful instead of disgusted, like she actually was, at the fact that he was touching her. As she pulled away from him, her hair fell back where it belonged.

“I like the purple hair.” His voice was light and playful and his breath warm on her cheek. A strange smile was plastered on his face, making it difficult to tell if he was serious or being sarcastic.

“It’s actually Vibrant Violet.” Her tolerance for him was already wearing thin. Is this date over yet? She just wanted to go home and down a bottle of Rumchata. She should’ve made pudding shots as a backup in case her birthday outing sucked. She’d remember next time. And maybe next time Ali offered a surprise outing, she’d opt for a quiet night in with those same pudding shots.

The next hour consisted of Hailee listening to college frat stories. Could the dynamic duo be any more cliché? Her stomach twisted and rumbled in disagreement. Possibly ordering this third cupcake wasn’t the best idea.

Hailee grabbed for her coat. “Well, it’s been fun, but I really need to go.” She flashed a look at Alison. I want to leave NOW. “It was a nice evening, Dex, and it was great to meet you, Kurt.”

“Ali, I’m going to get a few birthday treats to go.” Ordering more sweet treats for her overly full tummy at the counter sounded like a better idea than sitting at the table with those guys.

“Okay, I’ll meet you at the counter.”

Hailee was done spending her birthday time with frat boy and his Ken doll friend. It was time to go home.

“Excuse me, Hailee,” a male voice rumbled close behind her.

She turned her head to see who was breathing down her neck while she was waiting for her sugary treat. It was the Ken doll. Alison’s blind date.

“Hailee.” He stood too close to her. His frat boy friend was still seated at the table, talking Alison’s ear off. She knew that, because Alison wasn’t even looking at him as he spoke. She was drawing imaginary circles on the placemat with her finger.

“Oh hey, just waiting on Alison then we’re out of here.” Why was Alison still at the table? Looking away from Kurt, she attempted to get her friend’s attention, but Alison was working too hard to avoid eye contact with Dex to look in Hailee’s direction. She didn’t blame her.

“So Hailee, do you think I could get your number?”