All Your Pucking Secrets: A College Hockey Romance by A. Rivers

Author:A. Rivers [Rivers, A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Two Roads Press Ltd
Published: 2024-07-25T00:00:00+00:00

16

TYLER

My phone rings as I add a scoop of protein powder to the blender, screw the lid on, and start it up. It’s the ringtone I assigned to Echo. The ingredients whizz together, forming a thick brownish liquid. I glance at the phone, but my smoothie will only take a couple more seconds, so I leave it.

Once the drink is at the right consistency, I turn the blender off and reach for my phone. Unfortunately, by the time I pick it up, the call has gone to voicemail. I try to call her back but get the busy dial tone.

I set the phone down, pour the smoothie into a tall glass, and take both the phone and the smoothie to the breakfast bar. The phone rings again, so I answer.

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Why did you send me a hockey shirt with your name and number on it?” she demands.

I can’t help grinning. She sounds so indignant. I wish I could see her expression. I bet her face is all pinched up and cute.

“I’m flattered you know my number,” I tease.

“I assumed,” she snaps. “It’s not like you’d put your name and someone else’s number on the shirt.”

“I’ve always loved that big brain of yours,” I tell her, amused when she huffs in response. I like her like this. Fiery. Not afraid to fight back.

When we first reunited, she had two modes: scared, and cornered animal. Now, she seems comfortable being snarky with me without fearing that the fate of her world hinges on our every interaction.

“You liked my big brain when I helped you get good grades,” she retorts.

I wave my hand dismissively, forgetting she can’t see. “That was just a side benefit.”

“So,” she prompts. “The shirt?”

I eye the smoothie, which looks about as appealing as a raw egg. “I’d like you to wear it to the game today.”

She sputters, clearly outraged by my audacity. My grin widens.

“No,” she says. “Absolutely not.”

I wrap my hand around the glass, raise it to my lips and sniff. I should probably have drunk it before speaking to Echo. The bitter aroma isn’t doing much for my appetite. I take a sip. It’s tart and the texture is disturbingly grainy.

“I bet I can persuade you.”

She snorts. “I’d like to see you try.”

Bracing myself, I gulp down the smoothie, swallowing mouthful after mouthful until it’s gone. I go to the sink, fill a clean glass with water, and rinse my mouth out as I evaluate her tone.

Is it just me, or is there a little less heat in her words than there used to be? Perhaps her conversation with Soraya went well. I couldn’t get any of the details out of my sister, who claimed to be willing to talk to Echo but not prepared to report back.

“Have you come since our last phone call?” I ask.

A weighty silence follows. She makes a noise, as if she’s about to answer, but then doesn’t.

“I’m going to assume that’s a yes.” I pack both glasses into the dishwasher. “Because you’d have immediately said no if you could have.

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