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  THE PLAYBOY

  Redtails Hockey

  Stephanie Julian

  Copyright © 2018 by Stephanie Julian

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher at [email protected].

  All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.

  DEDICATION

  To my Royals, my first hockey loyalty.

  Chapter One

  Kyle Deangelo stared at the door in front of him like it was the offensive line of the New York Renegades on a breakaway.

  The last time he’d faced that line, he’d had his ass handed to him.

  Shit.

  He took a deep breath, shook his head.

  Just knock, for chrissake.

  Easier said than done.

  Maybe he shouldn’t be here. At her door. He should just leave her alone and stay the hell out of her life.

  He’d left her without looking back more than a year ago. She’d moved on. He’d moved on.

  Of course, the past year hadn’t gone to plan, had it?

  Which was how he’d ended up back here.

  Just knock on the fucking door already, you chickenshit.

  Fuck.

  He made a fist and rapped his knuckles against the wood. Then he waited. He didn’t hear anything at first. The silence was practically deafening.

  Then he heard voices, muffled. And a weird sound he couldn’t identify.

  Like a...baby crying?

  What the hell?

  Footsteps now. And another pause.

  He was pretty sure she was checking through the peephole to see who was knocking at her door at eight-thirty in the morning. Probably should’ve waited until at least nine. But he knew she was an early riser and would be up.

  And he hoped to hell she didn’t have company. Specifically, male company.

  His jaw clenched and his fingers curled into fists.

  Chill the fuck out, asshole. You’re not here for a date. You’re here to say hello.

  Yeah, right.

  Okay, he was here to warn her that he was back.

  Like she’s going to care.

  He gritted his back teeth as the door finally began to open.

  Forcing what he hoped was a friendly grin, he told himself not to say anything stupid.

  And his mouth dropped open as the door swung wide and Leah Wilson stood in the center.

  Holding a baby on her hip.

  Holy shit.

  His eyes wide, he looked back at Leah. Then back to the baby. Then back at Leah.

  Who now stared at him with arched brows over her pale blue eyes and an expression that clearly said, “You have something to say, spit it out.”

  “Uh. Hey. Leah. How are you?”

  The baby, who was probably only five or six months old, had to be a boy. His blue pajamas had trucks all over them. His brown hair curled all over his head, little face scrunched and red, as if he’d been crying.

  “Kyle. What are you doing here?”

  It took him a second to get his brain in gear. For a guy who prided himself on being quick on his feet, it was kind of a kick in the balls.

  “I just wanted to stop and say hi.”

  Damn, how fucking lame did that sound? But his brain was glitching like a meth addict and he had to be really careful he didn’t say something completely insane.

  Then he paused and, as the silence drew out, her eyebrow rose while the baby on her hip began to babble.

  And he couldn’t stop his gaze from dropping down and examining that kid’s every feature for similarities to Leah’s.

  He hated to say there were a hell of a lot, from the pug nose and the big blue eyes to the dimple on her chin and glossy light brown hair.

  “So, you’re back?”

  Okay. She really didn’t sound happy to see him.

  What’d you expect? A brass band and an invitation back into her bed?

  Nodding, he tried to keep his eyes on hers, but the baby kept drawing his attention.

  Holy shit. Was it hers? If it was...

  Was it his? His brain started to do the math and the numbers were adding up to a big, fat Holy fuck.

  Would she have kept something like this from him? Would she not have told him she was pregnant?

  “Yeah but, Leah, what the—”

  “Hey, Leah. I can’t find my briefcase. Is it out there?”

  A man walked out of the bedroom at the back of the apartment, headed straight for them. He had his head down, fiddling with his tie. He was almost to them when he looked up and realized Kyle was there.

  The guy’s expression went from mild annoyance to outright hostility in zero seconds flat.

  A split second later, Kyle’s back stiffened as he realized why.

  “Hey, Rob. How’s it going?”

  Leah’s brother didn’t look happy to see him. In fact, Kyle was damn sure that if the baby hadn’t been in the room, the guy would’ve punched him.

  Kyle might’ve given him the first one free.

  Rob’s jaw flexed, like he was chewing nails. Or glass. Then he glanced at his sister, and the look Leah gave him must have convinced him to keep his mouth shut.

  Though Leah was younger than Rob by two years, her older brother had always deferred to her. As did her other older brother and her parents. Leah was the calm in the eye of any storm.

  “Kyle.” Rob paused, took a breath. “Back down again, huh?”

  Kyle took the jab with a nod, figuring he owed Leah that much. She’d never take a shot at him. It just wasn’t in her nature. But her brothers would gladly pummel him.

  Nodding, Kyle looked her brother in the eye. “Traded back to the Colonials two days ago. Glad to be back east. Too hot in Phoenix. I’m looking forward to seeing some game time.”

  And after a year of being odd man out in Phoenix, he wanted to play. The Colonials could’ve sent him down to the ECHL and he would’ve been happy. He just fucking wanted to play.

  Yeah, he knew that was a hell of a change in his attitude from when he’d been here more than a year ago. A hell of a lot had changed since then.

  Apparently, Leah could say the same.

  Their gazes caught again, and this time, he saw something in her eyes he’d never seen before: a cool detachment that made his gut ache.

  Fuck.

  “Phoenix kept you on the bench.” The sneer in Rob’s voice was tough to miss but Kyle let it slide off his back. “Tough to work your way up to where you think you should be when you can’t even get on the ice.”

  “Rob.” Leah’s soft voice got between them like a physical barrier. “You’re going to be late for work.”

  Her brother nodded slowly, but his gaze remained locked with Kyle’s. Because it wasn’t in Kyle’s nature to back down, he didn’t look away.

  The baby made a noise then, flapping his hands at Rob, as if wanting him to pick him up.

  Rob looked away, his face softening when he looked at the baby then leaned down to kiss his dark curly hair and ran a hand down his back.

  “Be good for Aunt Leah, bud.” Then Rob leaned in to kiss Leah on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything. Marie’ll be in court all day. I’ve got that meeting this morning but then I’ll be free.”

  “JayJay and I will be fine.” She waved Rob out the front door with a warm smile. “We’re going to the studio for Mommy and Me class.” Now she looked down at the baby and affectio
n showed in her eyes and her smile and every inch of her face. “We’re going to have so much fun, aren’t we, JayJay?”

  “Let’s hope some of that zen rubs off on JayJay and he sleeps through the night tonight. Thanks again, brat.”

  Then Rob glared at Kyle, still standing in the hallway outside Leah’s door.

  “Hope you get that call-up soon.” Rob shook his head as he walked away. “Like tomorrow.”

  And finally, he and Leah were alone again. Kind of.

  The baby had started to babble, loudly, staring straight at Kyle. The kid had a lot to say apparently. Unlike his aunt, who continued to watch him like she was expecting him to do something stupid.

  So when the kid reached out to him, Kyle didn’t hesitate.

  “Hey, kid. How’s it going?”

  As Leah’s eyebrows arched, Kyle reached for the baby, but he looked at Leah for confirmation before he lifted the kid into his own arms.

  She gave the baby over without hesitation. At least she knew he’d never hurt a kid.

  As the baby continued to babble away, Kyle grinned. The kid had his aunt’s eyes. A blue so dark they could be mistaken for black. Unless you looked straight into them. Then you could see how unusual they were.

  Just like Leah’s. His aunt.

  “He’s strong,” Kyle said as the baby gripped his free hand with both of his. “Gonna be a bruiser.”

  “Why are you here, Kyle?”

  That cool tone was back in her voice, the one he’d only ever heard her use with him. And only in the past few minutes.

  That pit in his gut threatened to open again.

  Stop being an asshole and say what you came to say.

  “I’m planning to go back to the studio while I’m here. If it’s okay with you.”

  It didn’t look okay with Leah. She definitely looked like she wanted to tell him no, it really wasn’t okay with her and would he please fuck off and die.

  Then again, maybe he was reading a little too much into her silence.

  After several long seconds, she huffed out a quiet sigh. Then she shrugged. “Sure. No problem.”

  Okay, not exactly the response he was expecting. But he’d take it. Unless...

  “Great. Are you still teaching?”

  “Yes.” Her brows arched over those cool blue eyes. “Is that all? I need to get ready.”

  No, that wasn’t all. That wasn’t even close to everything he wanted to say to her.

  But now wasn’t the time because, while he’d never seen that look on Leah’s face before, he’d seen it on his mother’s face plenty of times, when she’d looked at his dad after another one of his “indiscretions.” Leah had had enough.

  So he smiled then as he looked down at the baby he was unconsciously bouncing in his arms. As the oldest of three and the oldest cousin of fourteen, he actually liked babies. He wanted kids. Someday. In the future.

  “Okay, bruiser. Back to Aunt Leah.”

  The kid babbled something as he smacked his hands together and reached for Leah as she took him back. And managed not to accidentally touch Kyle. Hell, her fingertips didn’t even brush against his arm.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you at the studio.”

  Her smile was totally fake as she took a step back.

  “Sure. See you later, Kyle.”

  Then she shut the door in his face.

  Sighing, hands on his hips, he stared at the door for several seconds before he turned and headed for the stairs, back to his new apartment on the fourth floor with his new roommate.

  When he’d lived here before—before he’d gotten traded, before he’d been injured, before he’d been sidelined for so goddamn long—his apartment had been on the third floor and he’d known, he’d known he was destined for bigger things.

  Hadn’t quite worked out that way yet, had it?

  But he wasn’t opposed to hard work. He’d work his ass off on the ice to get back to where he wanted to be. And he was prepared to grovel to Leah if that’s what it would take to get back in her good graces.

  He just wasn’t sure any of it would work.

  He didn’t know if he’d ever make it back to the NHL. And he didn’t know if Leah would ever take him back.

  And that would suck so hard. Because he’d realized a few things through this past year and a half. He loved to play hockey and he loved Leah.

  And he’d been the one to fuck up their relationship.

  So how the hell was he going to fix this?

  ****

  Leah walked away from the door, picking her way through her apartment carefully because she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t bump into anything.

  Luckily JayJay wasn’t old enough to ask questions about the man who’d just shown up at her door after more than eighteen months.

  Had it really been that long?

  Yeah, it had. And she totally hadn’t been prepared to see him again.

  Damn him.

  And now she had to go to work and smile and pretend like nothing had happened.

  When the man she’d never thought she’d see again had announced he was back.

  “Jerk.” She muttered the word under her breath, even though she knew JayJay couldn’t understand her or mimic her. “Why did he have to show up now?”

  As if he understood her, JayJay began to babble and clap his hands and she couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “You, little man, are the light of my life at the moment and the only man I want to spend time with.”

  Which was totally true.

  Liar.

  She leaned down to rub her nose against her nephew’s then smiled when he giggled and put his chubby little hands on her face.

  “Yes, I love you too. But we’re going to be late for class if we don’t leave now.”

  Luckily, her brother had JayJay’s bag packed and ready for the day. All she needed to do was get her bag, which she’d packed last night, and head to the studio.

  But she couldn’t stop thinking about Kyle.

  She wished she could lie to herself and say she hadn’t thought about him in the past year and a half since he’d left. Wished she could say she hadn’t cried herself to sleep more than she wanted to admit when he’d left her without more than a “Hey, it’s been fun. Have a great life.”

  By the time she and JayJay got to the yoga studio and she’d dropped him off at the in-studio day care, she’d waffled back and forth between asking Kyle to find another studio to telling herself to be strong, be the better person, and just ignore him.

  She snorted. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”

  “Talking to yourself already, Leah? Kinda early for that. Everything okay?”

  Leah dredged up a smile for her best friend, Charlotte, who also happened to be her boss.

  She’d just walked into the tiny office at the back of the studio and had been hoping to find it empty. Apparently, today wasn’t going to be her lucky day.

  Leah didn’t want to talk to anyone right now. And if she said that, Charlotte would know she wasn’t herself. And that would not be good.

  She loved Charlotte. She truly did. The thirty-two-year-old owner of the studio was easy to love. She had a big heart and a calm spirit. But that big heart also meant she was fiercely protective of her friends. And if you hurt someone she loved, she could make your life hell.

  “Everything’s fine.” Leah held her smile until her face started to hurt. “Just have a lot on my mind.”

  “I hope that means you’re giving more thought to my proposal.”

  Charlotte’s hopeful expression made Leah feel even more depressed about lying, but she wasn’t going to tell the woman who’d given her a career and a purpose that she wasn’t sure she wanted to go into business with her.

  “Of course I’m thinking about it. I just need a little more time to chew over the finances.”

  And to figure out if this was truly what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. And not just something she fell into because it was easy.


  Charlotte’s gaze narrowed. “But that’s not all that’s on your mind, is it?”

  Checking the clock, Leah realized she had at least fifteen minutes before she had to lead her first class of the day. Poor planning on her part.

  Sighing, she leaned against the doorjamb, trying to look casual. And probably failing miserably.

  “Kyle’s back.”

  Charlotte’s eyes widened, and her mouth opened, but she couldn’t seem to find the right words. Leah knew exactly how she felt. She didn’t want to talk about him either, but she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him.

  When he’d left before, he’d walked away without looking back, off to the west coast where he’d been sure he was going to make his mark on the NHL. He was going to show everyone he had the talent and determination to become a hall-of-fame goalie.

  Kyle’s confidence had been one of the first things that had drawn her to him. The killer smile, outgoing personality, and his flat-out adoration of her hadn’t hurt. Neither had the athlete’s body. Any woman would’ve drooled to see him naked.

  His determination and his drive to be the best at what he did had only made him more attractive. And he’d been hers. Well, hers and the game’s.

  Until the game had taken him away. He’d packed his bags then knocked on her door to tell her he was going.

  Even though she’d known it would happen someday, that he could get a call and be on the road in a matter of hours, she hadn’t expected to be so...devastated.

  Finally, Charlotte found her voice. “Did he call?”

  “No, he stopped by.”

  “Why—oh jeez.” Charlotte shook her head. “He’s staying in the same building again, isn’t he?”

  Leah shrugged, as if it didn’t matter. “He told me he’s planning to come back to class and wanted to make sure I was okay with that.”

  “I hope you told him to go to hell.” Charlotte scrunched her nose and shook her head before Leah could respond. “Of course you didn’t because you’re too sweet to do that. Well, I’m not. I’ll tell him to find another stu—”

  “No, you are not going to tell him to go somewhere else.” Leah made sure to put some strength into her voice; otherwise, Charlotte would do exactly what she wanted. “I’m fine. It’s been almost two years,” one year, seven months and a few days but who was counting, “and I’m fine. This isn’t a problem.”