Free Off Season (Off #6) by Sawyer Bennett Page A

can’t
imagine what Zane said previously to make him worried about his
man-card with Linc. I come to a halt, just a few feet from the den
door, and listen in.
    “Nah man…
I get it. I’ll deny it if you ever tell anyone, but it was
torture being away from Ever when I moved out here to Phoenix. I
thought about giving up hockey more than once to be with her.”
    My eyebrows raise
and my heart trips a little over the love in Linc’s voice. To
know he’d give up that which was most important to him is so
fucking sweet that my teeth hurt.
    “So you don’t
think I’m stupid for even thinking of such a crazy idea?”
Zane asks, and my heart really starts hammering hard.
    Wait… what?
Zane isn’t thinking of giving up hockey, is he? No way!
    “It’s
not like you’re giving it up,” Linc says. “Just
taking a break. And besides, some of the European leagues are quite
good. Nowhere near the money, but your talents won’t languish
and you’ll still be in prime shape if you want to come back to
the NHL.”
    My head starts
spinning over the implications of what I’m hearing. As much as
Zane and I have talked this weekend, we have steered clear over the
big elephant in the room, which is the fact that we live with an
ocean separating us. It’s a known fact that when I return to
Ireland, it will be a very long time before I can come back to visit…
probably next summer. That has weighed heavy on me. As my return
flight got closer and closer, I was getting even sadder over leaving.
    But never in a
million years would I imagine Zane would think about leaving the
States to be with me. He simply can’t give up his professional
hockey career here. I’ve learned enough to know that
professional sporting careers can be brutally short, given the chance
of serious injuries. I know that he literally can’t afford to
walk away from what he has right now. It would be professional
suicide for him.
    And I’m sorry…
I think I’m pretty fucking great, but I am so not worth that .
    Most people would
tiptoe away, so as not to get caught eavesdropping. Some would just
stand hiding out there, waiting until the conversation changed
course, and then make an entrance.
    Not me, though.
    I storm through the
open den door. Linc is sprawled out in a recliner, and Zane is
sitting on a huge leather couch with his back to me.
    “You
absolutely cannot leave the NHL,” I snap at Zane, who turns
around to look at me with a surprised look on his face.
    “Well, hello
to you too, you hot Irish lassie,” he says with a grin,
completely disregarding what I just said.
    I stomp around the
couch and glare down at him, hands on my hips. “Don’t
evade. I overheard you, and you are not leaving to come to Europe. I
won’t allow it.”
    Linc snickers behind
me, and Zane shoots him a wink. Grinning up at me, his hands shoot
out and grasp my hips, pulling me down swiftly on to his lap. “You’re
so cute when you’re angry and indignant,” Zane quips as
he pushes his face into my neck to nip at me.
    My hands come up to
his shoulders, and I push at him until he leans back to look at me.
“I’m serious, Zane. Please tell me you are not actually
considering this.”
    The carefree grin on
his face slides a little, replaced with a guilty look. “Just
tossing the idea around with Linc. Don’t get your panties in a
bunch. Besides, I couldn’t do it right away. Maybe next year if
things keep on between us the way I think they will.”
    I push up out of his
lap, swatting at his hand that tries to pull me back. “No, no,
no, no ,” I say, punctuating it with a stomp of my foot
on the thick carpeting. “End of discussion. You’re not
leaving the NHL.”
    The remainder of the
smile Zane was sporting slides off his face, and a dangerous glint
sparkles back at me. “I’ll do whatever I want… and
what I think is best for us,” Zane growls at me.
    I snort…loud…
and toss my head back, looking down at him with condescension.
“Puh-leeze. You’ve