Hockey Holidays Read online

  “He’s proud of you, Dmitri—he doesn’t know how to show you.”

  “He could tell me.”

  She laughed. “That’s not your father. You know that.”

  “You have to talk to him. Please. If he’s nasty to Angel I don’t know what I’ll do. I love her and we’re having a baby… I don’t want to lose her.”

  “I’ll try, Dmitri, but you know how he is.”

  He paused. “Are you upset, Mama?”

  “Upset about what? Becoming a grandmother? No. I can’t wait to meet her and start buying baby clothes.”

  “That’s it? I get my girlfriend pregnant and that’s all you have to say?”

  “Should I give you a lecture on using condoms? Marrying her? Being a good dad? I think you know these things.”

  “I love you, Ma.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Chapter Four

  Dmitri got to the arena early, changing into his pads and jersey, trying to lose himself in the routine he loved. Normally, he was happiest at the arena, whether it was for practice or a game, but tonight he was distracted. The situation with Angel weighed heavily on him and he wondered if she would be at the game tonight. She was overwhelmed but so was he and his gut told him they needed to talk sooner rather than later. Especially since he still wasn’t sure what she wanted.

  “Hey.” Royce Lenahan and Zaan Hagen came in, two of his closest friends, and they all high-fived each other before heading back to the dressing room to drop off their valuables.

  When they came back to the locker room to finish putting on their gear, Dmitri looked around to make sure no one could hear him as he said, “Angel’s pregnant.”

  Zaan froze, turning to stare at him but Royce merely nodded. “I knew something was up.”

  Dmitri didn’t respond, focusing on taping his stick as the rest of the team began filtering in.

  “You’ve been dating Angel? Brock’s Angel?” Zaan’s eyes were wide, as if he couldn’t quite believe it.

  Dmitri nodded.

  “You gonna keep it?” Zaan asked after a slight hesitation.

  “That’s up to her, not me, but I think so?” Dmitri hated being so indecisive but he couldn’t pretend everything was okay and was hoping for some advice from his friends. “She’s scared, you know?”

  “Aren’t you?” Royce asked.

  Dmitri shook his head. “I know it’s weird, but no. I want kids and I love her.”

  “Then what’s the problem? Zaan asked.

  “She wants to finish college, my dad is going to blow a gasket because she’s not Greek, and even though we told Brock and Ashleigh, I think he’s pissed at me.”

  Royce whistled under his breath. “When you fuck up, you fuck up good.”

  “If you love her, it’ll all work out.” Zaan went back to getting dressed.

  Unless she doesn’t love me back, Dmitri thought with a grimace.

  “You look like a man with a lot on his mind,” Cody Armstrong, the team captain, said to Dmitri as he joined them in the locker room.

  “My girlfriend’s pregnant,” Dmitri told him. He refused to hide it now that Brock knew and despite what felt like insurmountable obstacles, he was going to show Angel how he felt. One way or another.

  “You have a girlfriend?” Another one of Royce’s buddies on the team, Tore Brekken, gave him a funny look as he ambled into the room.

  Dmitri groaned; so much for advice.

  Dmitri wasn’t sure how things would go when he saw Angel in the family lounge, but he hadn’t been expecting the wave of longing that washed over him. He’d missed the usual intimacy between them and she looked gorgeous tonight, reminding him why he’d gotten involved with her in the first place. He’d been falling hard before she told him she was pregnant and now he wanted to carry her off into the sunset like some kind of knight in shining ice skates. Except that didn’t seem to be what she wanted, which left him at a disadvantage. She was everything he’d imagined in the woman he wound up with: witty, smart, and sexually adventurous. Not to mention beautiful. With her blond hair and bright blue eyes, she lit up any room she walked into.

  All the single guys on the team had been enamored the first time she’d shown up at a team event with Brock and his family, but they’d known she was off-limits. Dmitri hadn’t really thought about it because most girls who looked like her weren’t his type on the inside. Except Angel was. One conversation at a barbeque last summer had been all it took to become friends, take her to bed and then tell her he wanted to date her exclusively. The last thing had happened not long after his disastrous hook-up with Penny in September. He’d known immediately he felt nothing for her anymore and didn’t want to be with anyone but Angel.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He brushed his lips across hers and was relieved to see her smile up at him.

  “Hi. Nice goal tonight.”

  “Thanks.” He rested his hands on her hips. “I want you to come home with me tonight.”

  “I’m leaving for L.A. in the morning.”

  “We need a little time alone, honey.”

  “Okay.” Her eyes were fixed on his as she leaned up on her toes and whispered, “The whole room just noticed we’re together.”

  “That’s okay. I’m not ashamed of anything.”

  “There are going to be questions.”

  “That’s why we need to talk.”

  “I’ll meet you at your place in about an hour. I’ll need to go home and pack if I’m sleeping over.”

  He nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

  By the time she knocked on his door he’d changed into sweats and was drinking a beer.

  “Hey.” He leaned against the door jamb, taking in her tight jeans, leather jacket and high-heeled boots. She looked good enough to eat, to sweep his tongue along her sweet—he managed to stop thinking about sex long enough to kiss her cheek and invite her in.

  “Hi.” She put her bag down and walked into his arms.

  He hugged her tightly, inhaling the scent of her shampoo and letting her nestle against him. She felt so right when he held her, he had a hard time believing she didn’t feel it too.

  “Let’s sit,” he said after a moment, taking her hand.

  She let him lead her to the couch and sank down next to him.

  “I’ve been thinking since dinner the other night.” He gently lifted her chin so she had to look at him. “Do you want to be together, Angel?”

  “Since the first time we met,” she admitted, blushing.

  He leaned in and kissed her, his mouth claiming hers tenderly, parting her lips and searching out her tongue. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before winding her arms around his neck and kissing him back. Tongues tangled, their lips did a sexy dance and he had to force himself to pull away because they were going to be naked in no time if he didn’t.

  “Everything is so good when we’re together, but I know something is bothering you. Talk to me.”

  “In a nutshell, I’m twenty years old and pregnant by a guy I haven’t been with very long. I want to trust you, but you have to prove yourself to me and that takes time. That’s all. My feelings for you aren’t the issue.”

  “That makes sense, but my main concern is that you’re okay, that even though this was unplanned, you’re not going to hate me for ruining your life.”

  “I could never hate you. I’m scared, and I think your parents are going to be a bigger problem than you want to believe, but I won’t let anything ruin my life. Not after how hard I’ve worked to pull myself out of the hell I was living after my parents died.”

  “You’ll never go back to that,” he whispered. “I won’t allow it, no matter what happens with us. I swear.” He took her face in his hands and looked deep into her eyes before kissing her again. He loved how she tasted and if tentative trust was the only problem, he wasn’t worried. There was nothing that would make him break her heart, not even his father.

  He kissed her the only way he knew how, passionately and lo