Gloves Off: a marriage of convenience hockey romance (Vancouver Storm Book 4)

Later, after multiple concussion assessments by the medical staff and visits from my parents and Georgia’s, I lie in the hospital bed with my wife curled up at my side, her new ring sparkling in the dim lighting. She won’t leave me.

“Georgia, go home to sleep.” I tug on a lock of her hair.

“Alexei.” She brushes a hand lightly over my chest, over the tattoo I got thinking about her, and gives me a smile. The warmest, sweetest smile. My Georgia. “Bite me.”

I stifle a laugh. Her eyes warm.

“I’m not leaving you,” she adds. “I’ll probably sleepwalk back to the hospital.” She gives me an arch look. “Through traffic.”

I suck in a tight breath. “Okay. You can stay.”

Ward appears at the doorway, dark circles under his eyes.

“You’re awake,” he says quietly, a small smile forming on his mouth at the sight of the two of us lying here together. “I won’t interrupt, I just wanted to check in.”

Georgia slides off the bed, and my instinct is to reach for her to keep her beside me.

“I’ll give you two a minute.” She presses a gentle kiss to my forehead. “I’m going to talk to the nurses and get him some food.”

He nods at her as she leaves before he takes a seat in the chair beside my hospital bed. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

“I bet.” His mouth flattens and he glances away. I wonder if he’s thinking about his career-ending injury. I wonder if he’s thinking this is the end for me, too.

Here we go. “I want to talk to you about retirement.”

He shakes his head. “We don’t need to talk about this now, Volkov. I just wanted to check on you, and let you know we’re all thinking about you.”

I think about the guys and how tonight was probably the last time I hit the ice with them, and my heart aches.

It’s right, though. I’m ready for the next phase, both in my career and with Georgia.

“I do want to talk about this now. I’ve made a decision.”

He takes a seat, expression turning amused and wry. “You’ve made a major decision on your career hours after a head injury?”

I laugh, then wince. “Yes. But this has been a long time coming.”

“You’re going to be out for a while,” he says. “You’ve got time to think and see how you recover.”

“My decision is final. I’m ready. It’s time.”

He makes a thoughtful noise. “What changed your mind?”

“Seeing the rookie grow and succeed has been the most rewarding part of this season for me.”

He waits. I glance at the empty doorway that my wife walked through moments ago. I can hear her talking to the nurses in the hall, the musical sound of her voice filtering in and making my heart rate monitor blip. Ward’s gaze cuts to the screen and he smiles.

“But mostly, Georgia,” I say, simply. “She’s everything to me.”

He sighs “Yeah. I know how that is.”

“Your daughter?”

He nods, smiling. “Watching you and Walker work together has been something else.”

“I see why you had your eye on him this season.”noveldrama

Ward gives me a curious look.

“You always pick a guy,” I explain. “Streicher, Miller, then Owens. This season, it was the rookie.”

Amusement glints in his eyes. “You think Walker was my guy?”

Something about his expression tells me I’m off. “Wasn’t he?”

Ward’s mouth twists into a smirk. “No, Volkov. Walker wasn’t my guy. You were.”

I stare at him, not following. Must be the head injury making things cloudy.

“What’s the plan from here, then?” he asks.

“Nothing.”

My future is a blank slate, and three months ago, that would have fucking killed me, but with Georgia, the possibilities are endless. Maybe I’ll convince her to take a vacation. Maybe we’ll have a real wedding. Maybe I’ll volunteer more with the hospital program. Maybe I’ll just help clean up pylons at her soccer practice.

Ward leans forward. “I’ve got an assistant coach position with your name on it, if you’re interested.”

Or that. Deep in my chest, I get the same locking-into-place feeling I get when I look at Georgia. Blindsided, but not in a bad way.

The second he says it, I can picture coaching. Of course coaching is my future. Images roll through my head: agonizing over Walker, watching Georgia at soccer, learning from her, feeling on top of the world when the rookie and I figured things out and he rose to his potential.

How the fuck didn’t I see this all along?

Off whatever he sees in my expression, Ward grins again. “Don’t look so surprised, Volkov.”

“You knew.”

“I had my suspicions. No matter where you end up, whether it’s with the Storm or another team, I think you might love it. Maybe even more than playing. I know I do.” His eyebrows go up. “What do you say?”

“Yes.” Easy answer.

“That’s what I hoped you would say.” He nods. “I like it when things go my way. And I won’t hold you to this. I’ll give you a few weeks to heal up before I come at you with a contract.”

“I’ll sign it tomorrow.”

“Sign what?” Georgia asks from the doorway.

“Volkov’s going to think about coming on board as the assistant coach to the Storm,” Ward tells her, and she lights up, turning to me with a proud, pleased, surprised smile.

“What do you think?” I ask her.

“You’d make an incredible coach.” She sits beside me, handing me a water before she turns to Ward, all business. “Tate, he needs to rest. Get out.”

“You got it.” Ward stands, giving me a firm nod, but suppressing a smile. “Rest up, take all the time you need, and we’ll talk when you’re ready.” He glances between the two of us, me with my arm around her waist, her applying ice to my bad shoulder. “Glad everything worked out with you two.”

He leaves, and Georgia stares after him with a small frown. “Does he know?”

“About us?”

She nods. I think back to her walking past his office, and Ward saying too bad you aren’t married to a Canadian.

“The whole thing was his idea.”