3. Xander

CHAPTER 3

XANDER

I t’s been less than twenty-four hours since Coach told me to stay out of trouble and here I am eye-fucking a mom. Sure, she’s one of the most gorgeous women I’ve ever seen. Those huge doe eyes, full pink lips, glossy golden waves spilling over her shoulders.

Not good, Kovac.

Tumbling into bed with a hot-as-fuck MILF is not on the rehab checklist, I’m pretty damn sure.

“Okay, guys. That’s it for today!” Jackson says, high-fiving a few of the players closest to him. “Great work. See you Wednesday!”

The kids scatter, skating off the ice to their parents, and I focus on helping Jackson gather the equipment. I can’t afford to peer up into the stands again and lock eyes with the MILF.

“Glad you could help out, Kovac,” Jackson says, taking the sticks from me. “We had a much bigger group than I thought we would, so this all worked out.”

“Yeah.” I shrug, although how this is working out for me is yet to be seen. “Thanks for the offer. And the rental.”

He and Harper rented one of their properties to me, which is a real lifesaver. He’s in the home renovation business now and luckily had a house available in town.

“Happy to help.” Jackson slaps me on the back and warmth spreads through my chest. He’s being genuine, not something I’m used to.

“If you need anything while you’re here, you have my number. Shoot me a text.”

“Thanks, bro. I owe you one.” I shoot him a two-finger salute as I sink onto the bench to unlace my skates.

“Hi honey.” Harper and the MILF glide over together, the two boys right behind them. I focus on my skates and stay quiet. Not engaging is the safest course of action here.

“Hey, Harps. You ready?” Jackson gives her a quick hug and I’m struck by how happy and content they seem.

“Yes. Boys—it’s time to go!” Harper takes her son by the hand and the MILF does the same. The five of them file out of the rink and I follow behind at a distance.

Jackson, Harper, and Luke climb into their truck, waving goodbye to MILF and her kid. I saunter away to my car and toss my gear into the trunk. I’m about to head out when I notice the MILF still in the lot.

The sun’s sinking fast and the wind’s picked up, knocking the temperature down a solid ten degrees. She’s behind the wheel, cranking the engine. There’s a faint click-click-click sound and she’s shaking her head. Another crank, another click-click-click.

Even from this distance, I know the battery’s dead.

Well, shit. We’re the only two cars left in the lot. It’d be a real dick move to leave a mom and her kid alone in a dark, cold parking lot with a dead SUV.

Huffing out a breath, I shove my hand in my jacket pocket and stride over.

I tap on the window. “Car trouble?”

Her hand flies to her chest, those full lips forming a perfect pink ‘O.’

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I heard the clicking from across the lot.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She inches the door open and flips her blonde hair over her shoulder. “The car won’t start.”

“I’m pretty sure you have a dead battery. You have jumper cables?”

Huffing out a sigh, she shakes her head. “No. I let my brother borrow them and never got them back.”

“You have AAA?”

“Also no. Cancelled that to save some money.” She pinches the bridge of her nose, her brow furrowing. “Looks like that wasn’t the best choice.”

“I’ll check to see if I have any cables in my car, but I kinda doubt it. I’m Xander, by the way.”

“Rachel. Again. I mean, I know you already knew that—” she babbles, her cheeks staining pink.

“Right. Rachel. I’ll be right back.”

I jog across the lot to my car, but I don’t have any cables in the Porsche. Well, shit. Now what? I could call a tow truck and wait with her, but that’s gonna take forever. Plus, the sun’s all the way down and the wind’s whipping. Her kid’s sitting in the back seat, playing on her phone. He’ll freeze to death by the time anyone gets here.

Kicking around my options, I hustle back. “Sorry, no cables. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“What? No, it’s fine. I can call my ex.”

Her ex. So she’s single.

I study her face, her shoulders slumped in utter defeat, and put two and two together pretty quickly. She does not want to call that guy.

“It’s no big deal. I’m assuming you live close, right? Like, I’m not taking you to Boston or anything?”

She laughs, the sweet, melodic sound lightening the tension. “No, not heading into the city tonight. We live a few blocks away. Are you sure, though? I hate to put you out.”

I shrug, acting nonchalant. Like rescuing this woman’s not going to be the highlight of my whole damn day.

“Yeah, c’mon.”

Rachel and Jett climb out of the Kia—the SUV’s gotta have almost one hundred thousand miles on it, at least—and she grabs the booster from the backseat.

Together, we trudge over to the Porsche and I take the booster from her, our fingertips brushing. Electricity sparks down my arm at the touch and her breath hitches, but she looks away.

I push the passenger seat forward and try to figure out what to do with the booster seat, but I’m clueless. Kids are way out of my wheelhouse.

“Uh—I don’t have a lot of experience with these sorts of things.” I gesture at the car seat. “You might want to do it.”

“Oh, right. Sure.”

I slide over so Rachel can get to the backseat. She leans in and I can’t help but notice how perfect her ass is, nice and round.

“Coach, you have any kids?” Jett asks, pulling at my pants.

“Me? No. Definitely not.”

“How come?” Jett squints up at me with bright blue eyes.

“I play hockey. Doesn’t leave a lot of time to have a family.”

“Huh. How come you’re here now?” he asks, shuffling his feet.

“Like Coach Jackson said, I’m taking a little break. But I’ll be going back.”

“Oh. Why did you need a break?”

“Jett, stop asking Coach Kovac a million questions,” Rachel says, scooting out from the backseat. “Climb in and let’s get going. We’ve already held him up long enough.”

“It’s fine. I’m not in a rush.” I run my fingers through my hair to keep my hands busy. My fingertips itch to reach out and trace her cheek, my thumb gliding over the seam of her lips. But I’m definitely not in a position to do that right now, not with her kid clambering into the back of the car.

Rachel leans in and secures Jett’s seatbelt, then I slide the seat back and offer her my hand. She rests her palm in mine, and my heart pounds way harder than it should.

What the fuck, Kovac. It’s a hand.

But the way her eyes dance over my face, the tip of her tongue darting out to lick at her lower lip, has me all twisted up inside. Blood roars through me, every muscle tight and ready for action.

“Thanks.” Rachel gazes up at me as she tucks her legs inside.

“Sure. No problem.”

I close the door behind her and hustle around to the driver’s side, wondering how I can prolong the ride home.