Skating on Thin Ice: Seattle Sockeyes (Game On in Seattle Book 1) by Jami Davenport Read Free Book Online

wrong—so very wrong because whether she knew it or not, he was her boss, and he’d been down this very wrong road once before.
    Even worse, he’d told her too much, but something about her, despite her distrust of him, drew him in and made him open his mouth. Her suspicious gaze cut right through him, as if she saw through all the bullshit, and Ethan hated bullshitting her, but nothing could be done about it. Unless he walked away and didn’t emerge until after the team finished its season. Only that wasn’t the way he rolled. He was too hands-on, too anxious to get a handle on what he had and didn’t have. He was several steps behind the league’s other owners, and he was sprinting to catch up.
    Ethan sat back and rubbed the back of his neck. He stretched and stood, walking around the modest hotel suite. The team had the day off tomorrow and played another game in Montreal on Friday, before flying home for the third of seven playoff games in the first round. The league played a best of seven series with four rounds before the final two teams played for the big prize—the Stanley Cup. There wasn’t a more coveted prize in all of hockey and in Ethan’s opinion, all of sports.
    Brad had flown back to Seattle for a few days to do some schmoozing of politicians as they readied to break ground on the new arena and worked on all the upgrades needed to make the old arena usable for an NHL team. It barely passed muster, and the Puget Sound Hockey Alliance would be lucky to break even until they moved to the new place. Regardless, his group was well aware of the issues and were all-in regardless of the risk.
    Pausing, he stood in front of the large picture window with a view of the city of Montreal. The view didn’t come close to what he saw from the windows of his historical mansion in one of Seattle’s most exclusive neighborhoods overlooking Puget Sound. It’d been in his family for over a century, and he’d been lovingly restoring it for the past two years.
    Yet lately, something had been missing in his life, and he’d assumed owning a hockey team would provide the ultimate challenge and fill in the empty spaces.
    Of course, his mother claimed his restlessness was due to his wandering ways when it came to women—his reluctance to settle down and raise a family. He’d never intended to be a bachelor into his thirties, but the right woman had never come along. He’d begun to wonder if his standards were too high, and he should just settle for a nice, sweet woman whose ambition centered around being a stay-at-home mom and a good wife.
    Bloody hell .
    That type of woman would bore him into an early grave. He liked ambitious, driven women, and that type of woman would never give it all up for babies and relative obscurity.
    A picture of a pregnant and happy Lauren flashed through his mind. She’d been invading his thoughts a lot lately, though the pregnant part was a new twist. Thank God. She’d make a good partner with their common interests and growing chemistry. Stupid idea, really. She’d never trust him once he revealed his secret. Who could blame her?
    Ethan rubbed his eyes and sighed wearily. He’d always been honest in his business dealings and was proud of his well-earned rep as a straight shooter. The deception he’d been forced to perpetuate on his team weighed heavily on his conscience.
    He raked a hand through his hair, noting it needed a cut. Whenever he was in the middle of serious negotiations, he totally forgot about stuff like that, as his appearance didn’t score high on his priority list. As a fifth generation Seattleite, he embraced flannel, jeans, and T-shirts, and like most natives, didn’t own an umbrella. He loved the outdoors and exercise and hated being cooped up inside for too long.
    Leaning against the railing, he distracted his busy mind by watching ducks circle in the pond below. The distraction didn’t last long. His mind drifted back to the subject currently troubling him and