An image of Hannah pressed against my bike, pinned between its metal and me, flashes through my mind. But as quickly as it surfaces, I brush it away. The last thing either of us needs is for me to blab to one of my teammates about what’s going on between us.

I follow the guys into the bar, and a small group of women are already waiting for us in the lobby. I haven’t met them all yet, but as the guys start to pair up with them, it’s pretty easy to figure out who’s attached to whom.

While Theo’s telling the hostess how many people we have, Noah steps up with a beautiful woman whose blonde hair tumbles across her shoulders. I recognize her right away from the team’s PR. His wife Margo.

“I’m glad you came out with the team,” Margo says with a warm smile as she greets me. “Welcome to the Aces family.”

“Thanks, and thanks for everything you do to make us look good out there.”

She waves that away. “No need to thank me. I’m just doing my job.”

“But speaking of, when are we going to get you into a PR spot?” Noah asks, and I feel my insides twist. Being out on the ice in front of hundreds of adoring fans is one thing, but I’m not sure I’m ready to make a total clown of myself for the whole internet to see. My captain chuckles when I don’t answer. “Well, no rush. We’ll ease you into it.”

Theo overhears and laughs at Noah’s phrasing until the lithe woman with wavy dark hair who’s holding his hand slaps his shoulder lightly.

“What? It was funny.”

She rolls her eyes fondly, kisses him, then turns to me. “I’m Becca, by the way,” she says, offering me her hand. I shake it and smile at her.

“Nice to meet you.”

The hostess comes back to seat us before I get the chance to say hello to the woman who Sawyer is clearly dating. But I end up seated between Grant and Sawyer at the table anyway, so I introduce myself to Sawyer’s girl.

“I’m Violet,” she says, shooting me a friendly smile. “Reese’s sister.”

“I should’ve figured that out faster on my own. I can definitely see the family resemblance,” I tell her as my eyes bounce back and forth between her and Reese.

She laughs wryly. “Yeah, we get that a lot.”

“Did you guys get a sitter tonight?” Margo asks her, and Sawyer nods.

“Yeah, Jake’s at home. I thought about inviting him, but I figured we might get too rowdy for a little kid to be around.”

“I hope I get to meet him next time then,” I tell Sawyer, who smiles at me.