Breakout (A Dallas Demons Hockey Romance) by Aven Ellis Page B

I shall not slander is an easy one. We dated for two years, but the last six months were nothing but dragged-out drama. She hated that I traveled for my job. It was hard on her, and I could never do enough to reassure her that I missed her when I was on the road. And when I was home I needed to spend every minute with her, and if I wasn’t with her, I was reassuring her that I wanted to be with her.”
    “That sounds suffocating,” I say softly.
    Niko is quiet for a moment. “It was. But I’m gone a lot, and it’s something that a woman has to be willing to take on when they date me. And when I’m home working, I’m not around for dinner. I work late. Then add my family dynamic and it’s enough to send any sane woman screaming. It wasn’t worth it for Jessica. I guess I wasn’t enough for her in the end.”
    Surprise fills me. Niko thinks he wasn’t enough? Jessica was lucky to have him, and she was too stupid not to see it.
    And I’d be willing to deal with all of that to be with him. Niko is worth it. I know he is.
    “So what about you?” Niko asks, interrupting my thoughts. “Did your ex eat more than ten foods?”
    I laugh. “I don’t have many ex-boyfriends.”
    “Come on.”
    I shrug. “Not recent ones. I date, but I haven’t met anyone I’d like to see on a regular basis.”
    Except for you , I think.
    Damn it! I need to stop this. Niko has made it clear to me, and even to guys he works with at TATS, that he doesn’t date coworkers. I need to say it out loud. I need to put it out there and have him confirm it before these feelings get more out-of-control than they already are.
    “Besides, it’s not like I’m going to date anyone I work with,” I lie, taking a sip of my coffee. “And that’s where I am most of the time—at work—so it kind of limits my dating pool, so to speak.”
    I study him for a reaction. Niko’s face briefly changes. Almost like he was upset by what I said. My breath catches in my throat. Hope fills me. Could Niko be changing his mind about that, about dating at work?
    Could I be the one that changes his rules?
    “Right.” Niko shifts his gaze to the sunny streets of Uptown for a moment. Then he turns back to me. “I understand where you are coming from. Dating a coworker. That makes things complicated, doesn’t it?”
    My throat goes dry. “Um, yes.”
    “So it’s not worth the risk,” he says softly. “Right?”
    I force myself to nod as any shred of hope I have evaporates into thin air. “Exactly.”
    But as the word passes my lips, my heart wants to take it back.
    You’re worth the risk, Niko. I’d take that risk for you .
    But I can’t say that. Not when it’s obvious he’s not interested in me in that way.
    My head understands.
    But my heart is struggling.
    And I have no idea how to reconcile the two.
    “I think you’re wrong,” Kenley declares. “Niko likes you.”
    I blush furiously. We’re shopping in Uptown on Saturday afternoon, looking at dresses for Dallas Demons Casino Night. And while Kenley is wandering around trying to find the perfect outfit for the event, I fill her in on the brunch date I had a few hours earlier with Niko.
    “Yes, as a friend,” I emphasize. “Now more than ever I’m convinced of that fact.”
    “I disagree.”
    “Why do you refuse to believe I have once again been dealt the friend card? You have seen this over and over. It always happens when I like a guy. Why should Niko be any different?”
    “Because it is,” Kenley says simply. “And since you haven’t been dealt the friend card, you should try on this one.” She stops and selects a short, gold-beaded dress, smiling as she takes it off the rack. “Niko would like to see some leg I’m sure.”
    “I’m not going,” I say firmly. “I have no business being there.”
    Kenley puts the dress back and rolls her eyes. “Would you stop? Of course you do. You’re coming with me. And CiCi won’t let you get out of it either. If she’s going,