Fresh Ice by Rachelle Vaughn Page A

staring at him?
    * * *
    Nathan looked up from TJ and saw Sarah listening in the wings. He gave her a wink and she smiled hesitantly.
    The more Sarah tried not to be noticed, the more Nathan noticed her. Every time he saw her, she seemed to be trying to shrink herself down to blend into the background. Little did she know that with those big, beautiful blue eyes and hair the color of spun gold, she could hardly pull off the look of a wallflower. The only time she seemed genuinely comfortable was when she was standing behind a client seated in her chair at the salon. Then, her posture was confident and her hands steady. He couldn’t see her eyes when she was doing hair but he bet they lit up.
    Eyes like hers should be bright and glittery with happiness all the time. Instead, Sarah’s eyes had a haunting sadness inside them like they’d seen gruesome things that couldn’t be unseen. It was a shame because she looked too damn young to have endured such devastation.
    * * *
    Sarah clasped her hands together to keep from fidgeting. Those gray eyes took in everything. She should have felt intimidated or afraid when they looked in her direction but all she felt was…intrigued. For some reason, Sarah’s instincts told her she didn’t need to be afraid of him. But that didn’t keep her from being cautious. All men should be feared no matter what her gut was telling her.
    Nervously, she looked down at her shoes and then back to TJ who was still telling the story.
    “Okay, so we’re playing the Flurry,” TJ continued. “And Nobokov had been trying to get one by Con all year with no luck. Right before the game, Nobs skates over to our bench and tells Con “I’m coming for you, Con, I’m gonna get one by you tonight.”
    “What did Nathan say?” someone in the crowd asked.
    TJ guffawed. “Con didn’t say nuthin’, man. He’s fuckin’ cool as a fuckin’ cucumber out there. So,” he continued with the story, “ All during game Nobsy is peppering shots at our net like a fuckin’ mad man and Con is stopping every single one of ‘em. So we get into the third period, the score is three nothing and it’s lookin’ like Con’s gonna get a shutout. Con’s still makin’ saves left and right. I mean, he’s stoppin’ stuff that should’ve gone in, but he’s movin’ like a fuckin’ cat. With five minutes left, the puck takes a funny bounce and Nobs gets a breakaway. He skates down the ice and shoots the puck toward our net like a fuckin’ rocket.
    “ Con sees him comin’ and squares up. He scoots back and even opened up the five-hole for him. Nobsy takes the shot and Con slammed the door and robbed him! So, Con gets his shutout and right before we go to the locker room, Con gave him a nod to say “good game.”
    “What did Nobs do?”
    “He saluted him!” TJ exclaimed. “Fuckin’ coolest thing I’ve ever seen on the ice.” TJ smacked Nathan on the back. “Best goaltender in the league, this guy.”
    * * *
    When Abigail arrived, Sarah was relieved to see another familiar face.
    Abigail carried a plate of cupcakes and thrust them at Kim. They looked cute enough, but looks could be deceiving. “I made cupcakes!” she announced. “My hubby is out parking the car.”
    “Thanks,” Kim said through a tight-lipped smile and set the cupcakes at the back of the counter.
    Peach eyed the cupcakes over her wine cooler and chuckled. “You hear that everyone? Abigail made cupcakes!”
    Kim shot Peach a dirty look and asked Abigail if she could get her something to drink.
    “No alcohol for me. ” Abigail paused for dramatic effect. “Wanna know why ?” She looked like she had a secret to spill and would burst if she didn’t let it out in the next five seconds.
    Peach’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped like she already knew the answer.
    “Because I’m pregnant!” Abigail exclaimed.
    The girls swarmed around her and offered hugs and congratulations. Sarah added her congratulations and then stepped back from