When Chase said the gala “nice,” that was a massive understatement. It was by far the most lavish event I’d ever attended. To be fair, that list mostly consisted of family weddings, which, in my middle-class suburban circle, meant they were held at a community center and were sometimes potluck. They were nice in their own way, but they weren’t high-end like this.

On top of feeling out of place at such a formal event, I was beyond starstruck. The banquet hall was stacked with college players, AHL players, NHL players, and management from teams at all levels. I had to stop myself from fangirling multiple times.

And the food? It was freaking filet mignon. Siobhan’s salmon looked amazing too, though I would pick steak over seafood any day.

After dinner wrapped up, Chase excused himself to go to the bathroom and get us another round of drinks, leaving me behind with Siobhan, Zoe, and Kristen. Siobhan and Zoe were immersed in a heated debate about purse designers, which left Kristen and me to our own devices.

Awkward.

We sat in silence for a few moments, and I scanned the hall for familiar faces, hoping I could find an excuse to make an exit. To my dismay, the only people I recognized were Luke and Paul. I quickly looked away, a jolt of nausea shooting through my stomach when I noticed Luke’s gaze on me from across the room, but I could still feel his attention linger on me.

Guess I was out of options. Something about Kristen made me uneasy, but she was still better than Luke. Given the circumstances, I’d make an effort to be friendly.

“Kristen, right?”

She glanced up at me, and the slightest frown grazed her face before she assumed a more neutral expression. “Yeah. You’re Hailey? Hannah?”

“Bailey.” I’d met her multiple times. At this point, the attitude came across as nothing but passive-aggressive.

“Right.”

“You go to Boyd with the guys?”

“Yup.”

Unfortunately, the rest of my attempts to make conversation were just as stilted. I’d have been better off talking to the orchid centerpiece at our table.

Blessedly, Siobhan and Zoe wrapped up their fashion chat a minute after and started a table-wide conversation about the guys’ last game, which I had unfortunately missed. From there, the conversation flowed much more smoothly and eased most of the tension.

Then Shiv started recounting the guys’ funniest and most noteworthy hockey moments. There were some real gems, like the time a guy from an opposing team tried to pick a fight with Chase, then tripped and fell flat on his butt before the fight even started. Another time, Dallas’s shot hit the backboards, rebounded, and bounced into the net against the other team’s goalie. And Ty got himself thrown out of a game last season after getting into a shoving match with a player who took a dirty hit on Dallas.