The Penalty Box (A Vancouver Wolves Hockey Romance Book 3)

I HAD the rest of the week off work, since Krista was going away for the holidays and she had decided to close the office a few days early. Tonight was Mica’s last game, and then he had four days off.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and Yelena and I had secretly decided we would make a traditional Russian meal together for Mica. On Christmas Day we would cook the turkey.

I had already bought a gift for Mica and one for his mom, and they were wrapped and under the tree. This morning, I had driven Mica to practice, so I could take the car to get groceries for our meals.

I watched as Mica walked across the parking lot. His eye had opened, and the bandage was off his cheek. His bruised black eye and the row of angry stitches below his eye gave him a badass appearance.

I moved to the passenger seat, and he got in beside me. Only he didn’t drive. He just sat there, looking out the windshield.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked at me as if debating how to tell me his news. “So, I was talking to Logan. He’s one of the rookies and he’s from out east. He’s not going home for Christmas, so I invited him over for Christmas dinner.”

My breath came out with relief. “That’s nice of you.”

He hesitated. “He was telling some of the other guys about my invite, and then I was getting hints that they didn’t have any place to go for Christmas.”

I started to laugh. “How many are coming over?”

He rubbed his neck. “It started at eight guys.”

“Okay, that’s fine.” I tried to reassure him.

“Plus someone is bringing his sister and his mom.”

“So ten.”

“And someone is bringing his girlfriend.”

“Okay, eleven guests.”

“And then it snowballed from there.”

I spoke slowly. “What does snowballed mean?”

He winced. “Maybe twenty guests.”

I tried but failed to keep the shock off my face. “Twenty guests?”

“Tops, twenty-five. Worst case, thirty.”

“Mica,” I breathed, unsure how I would possibly cook for that many people.

“I know.” He sounded sad. “They kept hinting, and I kept inviting.”

I started to laugh. “Holy shit.”

“I can help cook.” His eyes searched my expression. “How pissed are you?”

I loved his generous spirit. I loved that he would invite people who didn’t have a place to go into his home. “Not pissed at all.”

He looked skeptical. “Really?”

“It will be fine.” I thought about the eight-pound turkey in the trunk. “But we will need to buy more food.”

He started the car and threw me one of those smiles I seemed to live for. “Okay, let’s go shopping.”

TWO GROCERY CARTS of food later, we were at the till. I unpacked food onto the conveyor belt while on the other side, Mica bagged the groceries like a boss. My phone rang.

“Hey, Jasper.” I held my phone under my ear while I continued to unload our last cart.

“Charlie?” His voice wobbled.

I stood up straight and held the phone to my ear. “What’s wrong?”

His voice broke. “I left Mark. And I didn’t know what to do, so I went to the airport and I’m such a mess. I think he’s cheating on me.”

“You’re at the airport?” I made eye contact with Mica, who listened but kept on packing. “Are you flying here?”

“I’m already at the Vancouver airport.” He sucked in his breath. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“I’m on my way. I’ll get there as soon as possible.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

I hung up my phone. “Jasper just flew into Vancouver. He broke up with his boyfriend.”

Mica didn’t even bat an eye. “We can go pick him up.”

I looked at my watch. It was already 2:00 p.m. Usually, Mica liked to have a nap before he played a game. “You have your game tonight. Want me to take a cab to go get him?”

“I’m rested. We can go get him.”

JASPER, to put it plainly, was a mess. He had obviously been crying for most of the flight. We squished him in the back seat with his carry-on suitcase on his lap, surrounded by bags of groceries and the two cases of wine that Mica had bought.

I twisted in my seat, looking back at him while holding his hand. He sat, his face scrunched up as he worked not to cry.

“I’m sorry for showing up like this,” he wheezed.

I squeezed his hand. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I didn’t know where else to go.”

“We’re here for each other, remember? Always.”

He nodded and his face crumpled. “Yeah.”

Jasper sniffed hard and swallowed, looking at Mica for the first time. “You weren’t exaggerating how hot Mica the Savage is. For years you talked about him and his looks, but I never really understood what you meant until now.”

I dared not look at Mica. Instead, I mouthed shut up at Jasper. “Are you drunk?”

“Completely shit-faced. I drank the whole way here.”

I tried to recover from his indiscretion. “I don’t think I mentioned Mica that much.”

Jasper rolled his eyes. “Please. For two years, every other text was about him.”

Mica looked at me, his face amused. “Two years, hey? What else did she say?”

I squeezed Jasper’s hand hard in a warning. Which he ignored. “She’d always give me these detailed updates about when you came into the office. And she was usually pissed about something you did. It was totes obvious she had the hots for you. Which she denied.”

Mica’s smile broadened. “The fact that she was pissed about something tells me this story is true.”

My neck and ears began to burn. “Jasper has a tendency to exaggerate.”

Mica geared down to a red light and then tilted his head at me. “Why Mica the Savage?”

Oh shit. “No reason.”

Jasper talked over me. “Once she mentioned that she thought you’d be a savage in bed, and the name stuck.”

I needed him to stop talking. “Jasper tends to overshare when he’s drunk.”

Mica looked with interest in the review mirror at Jasper. “I think we should drink some vodka together.”

THE GROCERIES GOT UNPACKED and Jasper passed out on our couch. Mica went to the garage and came back with a huge camping mattress which he started to inflate in the other guest bedroom using a little air machine.

I watched him from the bedroom doorway. “Thanks for doing this.”

He tested the mattress with his foot. “He seems like a good guy.”

I crossed my arms. “He’s been my friend since I can remember. He’s like family.” I looked at my watch. Mica had to leave in 45 minutes for his game. “I’m heating a few chicken breast burgers for you.”

He looked faintly surprised that I was cooking for him. “Thank you.”

“You didn’t get your nap.”

“I’ll live.”

I turned to go. “Come out soon.”

A big arm wrapped around my waist and spun me around, holding me tight against his hard body. He looked down at me. “How long did you have a crush on me?”

My struggles made him smile, and he pulled me tighter against him. He felt so good. I loved having my body pressed up against his.

I pretended to protest. “Who said I had a crush?”

He looked amused. “Jasper did.”

I plucked at the fabric of his T-shirt and conceded, “I thought you were cute.”

“You thought I would be a savage in bed,” he teased.

I gave him my most exasperated look. “That means nothing.”

He brought his mouth down to mine, expertly spinning my world with his kiss. God, I missed his kisses. I moaned and opened myself up to him, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He murmured, “I think it means something.”

Why did I ever think I should deny this? This was everything. Being in his arms felt more right than anything else in my life. “You didn’t even notice me.”

He rewarded that with another heady kiss. “Well, I notice you now.”

The stove timer started to beep, which caused Sasha, who was in the kitchen, to yap wildly. Mica ignored the noise and continued to kiss me. Something bumped against my leg. Sniper had come looking for me at the first sign of drama.

I gave a half laugh and stepped out of Mica’s arms, instantly wishing I could step back into them. I put my hand on Sniper’s head. “Your burgers are ready.”

AFTER MICA LEFT for the stadium, I woke up Jasper to get him fed and watered. He confessed that he had walked into a room and caught Mark mid-kiss with someone else. He went home to pack and then took a cab to the airport.

“So you haven’t talked to him?”

“No.”

“So you don’t know if he was being kissed or if he was kissing.”

“Don’t confuse me, Charlie.”

“You should talk to him.”

He shook his head. “Not tonight. I can’t tonight.”

I made up his bed on the camping mattress and led him to the guest room. He curled up and asked me to hold his hand until he fell asleep, which took all of three minutes.

Yelena said she’d babysit him and the dogs, so I took a cab to the stadium to watch the game. Zoey sat with me, and she laughed out loud when I told her about our upcoming Christmas dinner.

“People love that guy,” she mused, still smiling.

“Yeah, I know.” I watched him skate down the ice with the puck.

“You’ve fallen for him, haven’t you?” She touched my arm, almost as if to console me.

I nodded, not speaking. I no longer could deny this. To myself or anyone else.

“What are you going to do about it?”

I gave her a wry smile. “I’m going to sleep with him. And enjoy this while it lasts.”

She patted my arm. “Smart move. I totally approve. When is this big night going to happen?”

I thought about my answer. “After all our company leaves.”

She winked. “Does he know?”

I shook my head.

“Don’t tell him until after they go, or he will be packing their bags for them and shoving them out the door.”

I WOKE to the sound of an excited shriek, followed by Sasha barking to join in on the excitement. I opened my eyes to two blue eyes that were already on my face. Mica was lying on his side, his head propped up on his arm, and he was studying me.

I’m going to have wild sex with you.

“Are you watching me sleep?” I mumbled into my pillow.

He leaned forward and dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Do you know you smile in your sleep?”

“Charlie!” Jasper yelled. I heard feet pounding.

“I did not know that.”

“I’d love to know what you were dreaming of.”

“Charlie.” Jasper’s voice was at the door. It was quivering with emotion.

“Come in,” I called over my shoulder.

He strode in, his hands on his face. “Mark just texted me.”

“Is that good?”

Jasper got momentarily distracted when he looked at Mica’s bare chest. “Holy shit, the Savage is ripped. Are those muscles real?”

Yes, they’re real. Every single one of them.

“What did Mark say?”

“He’s on a flight here. To Vancouver. He wants to talk in person.”

I glanced at Mica, who had an indulgent smile on his face. “Do you mind?”

“My mother has practically moved in and I accidentally invited twenty-five people over for Christmas dinner. You will have to do worse than that to make me mind.”

Jasper clutched his chest. “I need booze to deal with this.”

He strode out of the bedroom and we heard him yell, “Mica, where do you keep your alcohol?”

I studied Mica’s mouth, loving how it curled into an amused smile. “Jasper wears his heart on his sleeve. You never have to guess how he’s feeling.”

LATER THAT AFTERNOON, Yelena and I worked on our Russian dinner while Mica took a vibrating Jasper to the airport to pick up Mark.

“You know, I haven’t seen my son this happy in a long time.” She stirred a pot.

I worked to carefully fold the dough of my pirozhki over the meat. “He likes having you around.”

She cackled. “I’d say it’s married life that makes him so happy.”

I wanted so badly to ask her more about his childhood. I needed to know why he was so against marriage, but before I could think of a way to ask, the front door slammed open. We both paused and watched as Jasper stomped by before heading into his guest room and slamming the door. A tall, athletic guy followed on his heels, and then we heard yelling.

I looked for Mica. “How did it go?”

He stood in front of me, looking at the counter. “Lots of shouting in the car. Are you making pirozhki?”

I looked at my misshapen lumps of dough. “Trying, but I’m struggling.”

He washed his hands before reaching both arms around either side of me. I loved the feeling of his warm breath on my neck. “You fold like this, pinch here, flip and pinch. It’s easy.”

I smiled at the perfect moon-shaped pirozhki. “You’re hired.”

The three of us cooked together, and it was a light-hearted time that included lots of laughter and vodka. Well, Yelena drank most of the vodka. Things had gone silent in Jasper’s room.

“You think they’ve made up?” I listened intently.

Mica shrugged. “Or they killed each other.”

Yelena ushered the dogs onto the deck so she could have a smoke. Mica, with a wicked look on his face, grabbed my hand and dragged me into the pantry.