Juicy Rebound (IceCats Book 1) Read online

  When my phone vibrates in my hand, I glance down to see a text from Shelli.

  Shelli: I get it, you don’t want to put yourself out there. But why not? Have some fun, get to know him. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

  I let my hands drop as I look out at the ocean. What could happen?

  Simple. He could break my heart too.

  Chapter Five

  Chandler

  I check my phone for the third time before I throw Sadie’s ball down the beach for her to run after. She runs like a jaguar, I swear. She looks so majestic, her golden hair moving with her body as she jumps through the waves, retrieving her ball. I holler out to her, praising her as she runs back to me. I bet if she didn’t have the ball in her mouth, she’d be grinning. Sadie is my girl. We have been through a lot together, and she’ll always be my best friend.

  When I check my phone again, I am convinced I have a problem. Perk Me Up doesn’t open for another thirty minutes, and the fact that I know that might be an issue. For the last four days, I’ve been hitting it up before or after morning skate or practice. The first morning, it was apparent from the look on Amelia’s face that she hadn’t expected to see me. I don’t know why; I told her I was coming. I ordered my coffee to go, and I asked her out.

  Again, she turned me down.

  The last two mornings have been the same. She is always surprised to see me, but then she turns me down. This could dent a dude’s ego, but instead, I feel good about today. I’m not sure if I’m ready to date or even get involved with someone, but there has always been something about Amelia Justice that has me wanting to forget everything and hold her. Her smile gets me; it’s just so big, and I love to see it. Then, those eyes? Lord, they can knock me on my ass. We didn’t spend that much time together in college, but during the few moments we did, she kept me on edge. That is, when I wasn’t looking over my shoulder for her brother.

  Ryan is by far the greatest dude I know. He’s loyal and would do anything for anyone. We were roommates and a defensive pair in college, and I owe a lot of my success to him. We spent countless nights practicing and going over tapes together. We worked out together, we traveled together, and we spent holidays together. The Justices are just good people, which intrigues me even more as to why Amelia didn’t go home after she and Drew split.

  With Ryan’s request to keep an eye on Amelia, I know what he is really asking. I also know that even though we’re now five years older, I’m pretty damn sure his sister is still off-limits to me. If he knew I made out with her at a party back then, he’d probably beat my ass even now. That should derail me, but this time… This time is different. I don’t know. Maybe it’s who I am as a man. I have a failed marriage, and I was so unhappy for so long. I want to be happy again. She could make me happy. We were digging each other back then.

  I still don’t know why she chose Drew over me. Guess they had history, but from what Ryan said, Drew was a douche. It stung for a while, but then the IceCats picked me up, and I left. I figured that meant nothing would happen for Amelia and me, even if I wanted it to. I hadn’t expected to still dig her. I should probably take the hint—she doesn’t dig me—and bugger off. I don’t believe that, though, and honestly, I need to know her. I hadn’t expected to run into her here, where I live. I figured seeing her at the wedding would be one thing. I could admire her from afar while she hung with her husband, and that would be that. But that’s all changed now. She’s here. I’m here. We’re both single; that has to mean something.

  When I look up from my phone, which I have pathetically checked six times in the last three minutes, I see my dog has found a friend. A female friend, which is very rare. Sadie doesn’t like other females, another reason my marriage failed. Lana said I loved my dog more than her. She wasn’t that wrong. In my defense, Sadie isn’t crazy and never tried to kill Lana.

  My dog’s friend is wearing a pair of very short jogging shorts and a sports bra, her hat positioned very low over her eyes. When Sadie jumps on her, knocking her into the sand, I cringe, but then the girl starts laughing. I start to jog toward them, but I stop mid-stride when I see who it is.

  “Amelia?”

  She looks up as Sadie knocks her hat off her head and into the sand from her abundant kisses. Her brown hair falls onto her shoulders as her gaze meets mine. “Chandler?”

  I hold out my hand as I push a very excited Sadie to the side. Amelia takes it, and I haul her up. “Shouldn’t you be at work?”

  She gives me a look that says I’m a total weirdo stalker. “I’m off today.”

  “Oh,” I say, trying to get my dog off her. I push Sadie between my legs, holding her hips with my calves, before I look up to Amelia. “Sorry. She seems to like you.”

  “Is she yours?”

  I nod. “Yup, this is my Sadie girl.”

  Her lips curve. “Every time I see her, I throw her a hot dog.”

  Sadie’s ears perk, and I smile. “Ah, so you’re the one who’s been feeding my dog.”

  “Guilty. Sorry.”

  “It’s cool. I was just hoping she wasn’t being poisoned.”

  Her eyes widen as she holds her hands up. “Oh my goodness, never. We had a golden retriever when I was younger. His name was Sammy, and he loved hot dogs. I bought some just for her the other day.”

  “That’s funny and makes sense why she loves you. Usually she doesn’t like females.”

  She gazes down at Sadie. “Protective over Daddy?”

  Now, I know I shouldn’t find the way she says daddy sexual, but in my defense, she’s standing in a sports bra and short shorts. And I’m a hot-blooded, horny dude. Sadie barks happily, and I ignore my horny dude thoughts. “Running?”

  She shrugs. “Or avoiding responsibilities. Same thing.”

  “They’re so overrated anyway,” I tease, and her lips curve a bit. “Surprised you’re not at the gym.”

  She bites her lip. “I haven’t been in the gym in a really long time.”

  “Well, that sucks.” And it does. I can’t imagine not being on the ice.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  She looks up at me, and I can see in her eyes that she does. “Yeah, but you know how it is.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She looks down the beach and then reaches over to scratch Sadie behind her ears. “I don’t know, but listen, I’m gonna—”

  “Can I run with you?”

  I know she wants to get away, and I can’t let that happen. I want to spend time with her. Shit, am I a stalker? She looks down at my jeans and raises a brow at me. “In that?”

  I push down my pants, leaving me in a pair of shorts, before kicking off my shoes. “I was planning on running anyway.”

  “You were?”

  “Yup.” Total lie. “I’ll just blow off my workout with Nico.”

  Her face breaks into a grin, but she doesn’t say anything. She starts to jog, and I click my tongue at Sadie. “Come on, girl.”

  We catch up with Amelia in no time. She’s pulled her hat back into place, and her stride is strong, purposeful. I remember going to practice with Ryan to watch Sofia, but my eyes were always only on Amelia. She was so strong, and even though it looked like their conditioning was absolute crap, she always had a smile on her face. She was so committed and worked hard.

  “Always blow off your unfiltered friend?”

  “No, actually,” I say, matching her stride. It’s tough since she is so much smaller than me. “But he’ll understand I’d rather run with two gorgeous girls than him.” She doesn’t pay me any mind, but I see her lips twitching a bit. “So you must live close to me if you’ve been feeding Sadie.”

  She jogs along, her eyes ahead of us as she answers. “I guess so. I’m in the pink house.”

  “I know where that is. I’m in the yellow one with the bright-red door.”

  “So, like four houses down from each other. That’s funny.”

  “And convenient.”