Pucking Around (Jacksonville Rays, #1)

by Emily Rath

“What are you doing?” She shoves her bag under the seat in front of her, phone in hand again. “I’m sitting down. Or what—you need this seat too?” I groan. Yes. A few players and staff file past as I build up the courage to tell her to move again. I’m a big guy. I don’t like sharing a row. Taking a breath, I let it out. “Doc…” She glances over at me, one brow quirked up. “Oh god, you do need this seat. You want me to move again. You want that seat and this one.” “Yes.” We hold each other’s gaze for a long moment. Slowly, she crosses her arms. “Give me one good reason why I should respect you, when you clearly have no respect for me.” “What?” “You ghosted me four times this week, Kinnunen,” she snaps. “I worked with Tomlin to get you scheduled for a physical, and each time you were a no-show. You show up on time for every team meeting, every workout, every practice, every press event.” She ticks them off on her fingers. “Notice a pattern yet? You respect everybody else’s time on this team except mine. And I can’t help but wonder why that might be.”