Skate the Line: A Single Dad Hockey Romance (Blue Devils Hockey Book 2)

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I keep a hold of Scottie’s eye while she finishes her story about how she got into photography before pulling it out.

I glance over at Ellie, who is busy making a bracelet with the beads I had her paint a week prior. I bend down and move her braid over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

She tilts her delicate chin in my direction, stares into my eyes for a few seconds, and then relaxes with a nod.

Scottie shoots me a soft smile before getting on the floor with Ellie and making a bracelet too.

She’s kind.

I like her.

It takes less than a minute to reach the familiar hallway.

The last time I met Rhodes down here, he scolded me for wearing his jersey.

He can’t do that today, so there’s that.

“Let her through,” I hear.

The security guard dips his chin toward me and quickly leaves. Rhodes, with his damp, unruly hair, stands in the middle of the hallway, seeming more stern than anything. I meet him halfway and pretend like my heart isn’t skipping beats with every step.

“Is everything okay?” I ask.

Rhodes’s heavy brow furrows. His gaze skips past my face and lands on my chest. “Did you wear that to irritate me?”

I drop my head and look down. “The jersey?”

This again?

Rhodes steps closer, and it takes everything in me not to back away. “Yeah, Sunny. The jersey. Kane’s jersey.”

Confusion fills me. “Well, considering you were angry when I wore yours…”

He scoffs. “I got over that when you explained yourself, which is why I bought you the same one yesterday, only in your size.”

A breath that sounds more like a laugh slips from my mouth.

Rhodes jerks backward from my reaction.

I stare up at his tall frame, even taller with his skates on. “Rhodes, this was the jersey in the bag. You must have made a mistake and⁠—”

He pulls his glove off angrily, and I quit talking. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs loudly. There’s a faint red mark on his jaw, and I think it’s from where the other player hit him. To my surprise, he didn’t hit him back.

“Chertovski, Kane,” he grumbles.

There’s that foreign language again.

“What?”

Rhodes drops his hand. “Kane must have switched the jerseys out to irritate me. I did not buy some other man’s jersey for you to wear.”

I shift on my feet. “Why does it irritate you?”

His green eyes spark with something that makes me do a double take before he darts them away. His faint growl echoes around us in the empty hallway, and I stare at the flickering of his jaw.

“Because—” his voice is throaty. “He wants to fuck you, Sunny. It’s his way of trying to get in your pants.”

I laugh out loud.

Rhodes immediately glances at my mouth.

“That’s never going to happen. Jersey or not.”

He squints, like he’s trying to read me.

“You heard Ruby yesterday.” My cheeks grow warm. “I don’t date, Rhodes, and I surely don’t let random hockey players fuck me.”

Plus, why does he even care? Other than the fact that it’s his teammate.

Rhodes swallows.

“Not to mention, I’m your employee, Rhodes.” I take a step closer to ease his concerns. “I’m Ellie’s nanny. I’m not going to let some hot-tempered boy be the one to end my year of⁠—”

My words cut off. There’s no need to embarrass myself again.

We stand in silence. Rhodes stares at me with a look that I can’t figure out. I’m hoping my honesty will ease his worries, and we can get on the same page—like putting Kane in his place. I know it’s all fun and games. Teammate pranks and all. But I don’t appreciate being the center of the joke.

“Well, take it off,” he demands.

I cross my arms at his sour tone. My eyebrow arches. “Ellie would put you in time-out for that.”

He shakes his head because he realizes his mistake. “Please take it off.”

I still don’t move to follow his command. He rolls his eyes and pulls off his other glove.

Both drop to the floor beside my feet. Next comes his jersey, up and over his head. My eyes follow his every move. He’s so sure of himself as he stands mere feet away, towering over me with his jersey outstretched in between us.

“First you’re mad that I wear your jersey, and now you want me to wear your sweaty one?”

He scoffs. “It’s not that sweaty.”

I laugh and grab it regardless. “This is ridiculous.”

“What’s ridiculous is Kane,” he snaps.

“Well, what are we going to do about it?” I slip my fingers underneath the enemy’s jersey and wait for his clever answer.

Rhodes stands in his thin undershirt and pads with his arms crossed. “There is no we. I’ll take care of it.”

I hum under my breath. “Well, that’s no fun.”

A laugh, or should I say scoff, leaves him. I lift Kane’s jersey from my body, thankful I have a tank top underneath, and hand it out for him to take. He stares at it like it’s going to catch on fire, but eventually, he reaches for it.

When his warm fingers brush against mine, goosebumps race to my bare arms. I quickly release the knit fabric and free his jersey from in between my knees. I pull it over my head and catch him staring at my chest. His jaw teeters back and forth, like he’s still angry about Kane’s joke.

After I’m fully dressed, I tie his jersey in a knot so it’s not completely swallowing my frame. I hold my arms out and spin.

“Better?” I ask.

A tight nod is all I get.

He moves past me with Kane’s jersey draped over his shoulder.

I have no idea what he plans on doing to get back at Kane, but I sort of wish I was there to witness it.

The Blue Devils lose by one.

Ellie sighs dramatically on the way home. I sit in the backseat with her and poke her belly. “We already have one Oscar. We don’t need two.”

Marco smiles at me from the rearview mirror.

Ellie turns in her booster with her blue cotton-candy-stained mouth. “Oscar?”

“That’s what I call your dad in my head,” I admit, trying to make her laugh. “You know…Oscar the Grouch, from Sesame Street?”

Her little brow crinkles. She looks identical to Rhodes when she does that. “Sesame Street?”

I gasp. “You don’t know what Sesame Street is?”

Ellie shakes her head, her braid messy from her jumping up and down during the game.

“Marco!” I shout. “Do you hear this?”

He laughs and nods.

“Next movie night, we’re watching Sesame Street.” I sit back in my seat, still dumbfounded.

Ellie looks out the window. “Does my daddy know you call him Oscar?”

I pause. “Not yet.” I’m sure the more I’m around him, the more comfortable I’ll be, and it’ll accidentally slip.

“Sometimes I call Peter a name that he doesn’t know.”

“Who is Peter?” Marco asks.

I’m wondering the same.

Ellie shrugs. “A boy in my class.”

I shift toward her, ignoring my vibrating phone so she has my full attention. I’ve learned that she doesn’t like when someone doesn’t meet her eye or talk to her directly—something most kids probably wouldn’t notice.

Ellie is different, though.

“What do you call him?” I ask.

“Mudak,” she says fluently.

Is that…Russian?

“And that means?”

The tiniest dimple appears on her cheek. “It means asshole.”

I slap my hand over my mouth to hide a laugh. “Ellie Volkova,” I mutter after pulling myself together. “You aren’t supposed to say curse words.”

She gawks at me. “That’s why I say it in Russian. No one knows what it means.”

A grin moves against my lips. “I think I might need to learn Russian.”

Marco makes a noise, and I’m pretty sure it means he agrees.

“I’ll let you borrow the tapes from my babushka.”

I snap my head to her. “Your what?”

She giggles. “My nana. Babushka is nana in Russian, Sunny!” She shakes her head. “You do need my tapes.”

I’m still laughing when we pull up in front of the house. Marco, the gentleman he is, always walks us to the door when Rhodes isn’t there to greet us. After we both give him a quick hug, we head inside and lock the door. I finally glance at my phone and see a calendar notification.

Ellie is placing our shoes in their rightful spot when I swipe up and see an added event from Rhodes.

He has a date?

I huff.

Is he serious? We just had the conversation yesterday, and he’s already taking advantage of it?

Wait, who cares? It’s a Saturday evening. I’d already told him I’d get Ellie to bed after the game so he could do his post-interview in peace without having to worry about her being near the cameras. It was nice for me not to worry about being in front of cameras too, actually.

I click my phone off and smile at Ellie. “What do you say we have our own movie night? I’ll introduce you to Oscar.”

Her eyes grow large. “Right now?”

I nod. “Your dad will be at the rink for a while.” Rink…in between some woman’s legs… “And it’s the weekend. No school tomorrow.”

Ellie squeals. “I’ll get the blankets!”

I mimic my cute little bestie. “And I’ll get the popcorn!”