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  Then all that remained was the sound of their heavy breathing and the feel of his naked skin against her.

  Chapter Four

  Kyle figured he wasn’t going to get to sleep next to her tonight. He figured she wouldn’t let him.

  Besides, he had practice in the morning that he couldn’t miss and a game the following night. It’d be his first start since coming back and he planned to make it a good one.

  But when she shifted to his side and quietly said, “Stay,” there was no way in hell he was going to say no.

  Which was how he woke up wrapped around her the next morning at six-thirty when her phone rang.

  She groaned a little as she leaned over to grab her phone off the table but then shot straight up as she answered.

  “Char? What’s wrong?”

  He couldn’t hear the other end of the conversation, but it was obvious from Leah’s expression that something was very wrong.

  “I’ll be right there. No, it’s okay. I’ll handle it. It’ll be okay.”

  A second later, she rang off the call then sat there staring at her phone, looking a little dazed. And not in a good way.

  “Leah. Everything okay?”

  She shook her head and sighed. “No. Water pipes burst at the studio. A neighbor noticed water seeping out the front door and called Charlotte, but she’s at her in-laws’ house in Pittsburgh. She’s on her way back but it’ll take her at least four hours and there was snow overnight—”

  “Then we better get over there.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and reached for his jeans. “That’s gonna be a mess.”

  He didn’t realize until a few seconds later that Leah still sat on the bed, looking at him like he’d grown a second head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  She blinked. “Don’t you have practice?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. Not ’til ten. I got a few hours. Let’s go.”

  He wasn’t happy about her disbelieving expression, but he ignored it. She needed help. He’d give it.

  Three hours later, Kyle wanted to forcibly make Leah take a break.

  They’d worked nonstop since they’d gotten to the studio. He’d taken one look at the damage and realized they were looking at a disaster.

  Yes, the building was still standing, but the pipes had been spraying water all over the main studio for hours, soaking the walls and the floor and seeping out into the changing room and the front desk area.

  Charlotte had called their insurance agent, but ice on the turnpike had turned it into an accident-strewn parking lot and Charlotte was stuck there for what could be hours.

  He and Leah had gotten the water to the building turned off, but the plumber wouldn’t be able to get there for another two hours because of similar problems all over the county.

  And he could tell from Leah’s expression that Charlotte’s response to Leah’s question about the insurance wasn’t good. The adjustor wouldn’t be able to get to the studio until later in the day: same problem as the plumber.

  The studio wasn’t high on anyone’s list. Except it was Charlotte and Leah’s only source of income so it was high on their list.

  Leah’s face showed more stress with every passing minute, and glancing at the clock, he realized he needed to leave for practice in a half hour or he wouldn’t get there in time. If he blew off practice, he wouldn’t start the next game.

  “You need to go. I can handle this.”

  Kyle looked up from where he was gathering water-logged yoga mats to toss them in a pile near the front door. The insurance agent had said they could start cleaning up but not to throw anything away yet. Which meant the mostly undamaged front room looked like a dumpster.

  “You need me.” He shrugged. “I can stay.”

  “Don’t you have to be at practice?”

  “Coach’ll understand.”

  Which he would. He just wouldn’t give Kyle any leeway and he didn’t expect any. But he also wasn’t going to leave her alone with this mess.

  Nibbling on her bottom lip, Leah didn’t look convinced. Hell, she looked downright skeptical.

  “Kyle, you don’t have to—”

  “I know I don’t have to. But I’m staying.”

  She blinked several times and took a deep breath. But she didn’t say anything else. And she went back to work.

  He took a few seconds to text Coach, to explain the situation and to apologize. But he also made it clear he wasn’t going to leave Leah up the creek and that he understood there’d be consequences and that he fully accepted them.

  A few minutes later, he got texts from at least four of the guys on the team, wondering where the hell he was. He answered Nate’s and asked him to tell the others.

  Three hours after that, the insurance guy still wasn’t there, and he and Leah had spent an hour on their phones making calls to everyone who took classes, telling them the studio would be closed for the rest of the week and possibly into next week. Kyle was pretty sure they wouldn’t be open next week either.

  The floor in the studio had to be torn up and replaced. That was going to take time. And money. The drywall needed to be replaced in the studio and the changing room.

  The only good part was that the studio was already scheduled to be closed for five days around Christmas. Still, that wasn’t going to be enough time to find a contractor, tear out the floors and the walls, and make it a usable space again.

  Apparently, Leah had realized the same thing.

  “This is a losing fight.”

  She stood in the doorway to the studio, shaking her head. The defeat in her voice ate at his gut.

  “It just seems like it now. Let’s go get some lunch. We’ll be back before Charlotte gets here. You need a break.”

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, her expression bleak.

  “Sure. A break. I guess I can eat.”

  Since they were walking distance from Penn Avenue and four blocks full of restaurants and cafes, they put on their coats and headed out in the cold. Kyle had spent most of his life in ice rinks. The cold didn’t really get to him anymore.

  Leah shivered in her down coat and he put his arm around her shoulders. She stiffened for a second before he felt her relax against him.

  When they got to Penn Avenue, she automatically turned left, and he followed her lead to a bar he wasn’t sure he’d ever been in before.

  Apparently Leah had, though, because a pretty brunette he didn’t recognize came rushing out from behind bar, heading straight for them.

  “Leah! Derek told me what happened. You need a drink, girlfriend. And some food. And oh, hey, sorry, I’m Sophie.” The woman stuck her hand out at Kyle, which he took with a smile. “You must be Kyle. Derek said you were helping Leah. Come on, you guys sit down and I’ll get you some food. What are you hungry for? Dad made some amazing soups today…”

  Leah was mostly silent during lunch, but Sophie kept up a running stream of conversation that kept the silence from being noticeable. Or awkward.

  But finally they were headed back to the studio, Leah’s head down.

  “You okay?”

  They were stopped on a corner two blocks from the studio, waiting to cross. Leah hadn’t said a word since they’d left the bar. He felt helpless and it sucked.

  After a few seconds, she looked up at him. “Charlotte asked me to become partners with her. A month or so ago. I think she just figured I’d accept.”

  Well, shit. If she bought into the studio, what would happen if he moved up? Or got traded again? He’d been counting on the fact that she wasn’t tied down to ask her to be with him. He knew it was asking a lot, to ask someone to always be ready to move, possibly across the country, maybe to another country. Hell, a lot of guys did a few seasons in Europe. He could be traded tomorrow, or he could be here for a few years. Or he could be sent to Philly, which was the ultimate goal.

  So, yeah, it meant a possibly huge sacrifice on Leah’s end. And he was assuming a hell of a lot considering he�