Rival Darling: A Young Adult Hockey Romance (The Darling Devils Series)

“HEY, Reed. Is that your girl over there?”

I skidded to a stop, the ice flying up from my skates, as I looked in the direction Matt had nodded toward. Violet was standing at the edge of the rink, and she lifted her hand slightly to wave. I was surprised to see her here so early. I’d told her she only needed to make an appearance for the last few minutes of practice. Given her feelings about hockey, I knew this would be boring for her to watch. Plus, we only needed Hoffman to see us leaving the center together, so it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d arrived a little later.

I still couldn’t believe Violet’s ex had expected her to watch him train. I knew she was set on avoiding jocks, specifically those with big egos, so I couldn’t fathom how she’d ended up with a guy who had one bigger than the rink we played on.

“Yeah, that’s her,” I replied, smiling in her direction as I raised my stick to return her greeting. I was genuinely excited to see her, but slightly nervous too. I’d enjoyed our tactics meeting far more than I should have yesterday, and the little golden rule she’d thrown in at the end had me worried. She didn’t want any feelings involved, but I was already well on my way to breaking that crucial part of our agreement.

“Dude, you are such a goner.” Matt laughed, and I realized I must have looked like a total loser waving my stick in the air at Violet. I shoved my shoulder into him as I went to skate off, but it only made Matt laugh harder.

I hadn’t told anyone the truth about me and Violet and how our relationship was fake. Not even Grayson, and I usually told him everything. I think a part of me just didn’t want to admit it out loud. Matt was right. I was a goner—and I had been ever since I’d seen her swing her foot at her car.

The guys were all grilling me about her in the locker room before practice. We’d made quite a scene with our kiss on Saturday night, so everyone was understandably curious. Even at school, people had been asking me all day about the new girl from Sunshine Hills, and I’d been more than happy to tell them she was my girlfriend.

Matt, especially, had been asking a lot of questions about her. It was fair enough considering I hadn’t shown any interest in dating since freshman year, and suddenly I was going out with our biggest rival’s ex-girlfriend. It had all happened so fast, and Matt seemed to realize something didn’t quite add up. Surely, he’d never guess our relationship was a complete lie. I could barely believe it myself.

Coach barked at us to grab a quick drink, so while the rest of the team headed over to the bench, I skated across to Violet.

As I approached, she greeted me with a slightly anxious smile. She looked cute tonight with a large jacket that seemed to swallow her whole. Every time I saw her, I swore she’d become smaller. Either that or her clothes got bigger. I couldn’t deny that winter in Minnesota was cold, but I’d never seen anyone layer on jackets the way Violet did.

“Having fun?” she asked, nodding in the direction of the ice.

“Always.” I pulled my helmet from my head and grinned at her. “But I think the more important question is: are you?”

She shrugged. “I only got here a few minutes ago, but it’s not as bad as I thought it would be.”

“Are you talking about me or the hockey?

“Uh, both?”

“So, what you’re saying is, you’re not all that impressed by my hockey skills.”

“I didn’t say that. It seems like you know what you’re doing.”

“Jeez.” I ran a hand through my hair. “That’s like the nice way of saying I’m simply adequate.”

“Well, I meant it in a good way.”

I couldn’t hold back my grimace.

“Okay.” She slowly started to smile. “What I meant to say is I’ve never had my breath taken away quite like I did when I first saw how you handle that stick. I’ve been swooning ever since…”

I burst out laughing. “Yeah, that’s much better.”

She rolled her eyes, but there was still a playful smile on her lips.

“If you want to be impressed by someone’s stick skills, you should have been watching me,” Parker said as he attempted to shoulder me out of the way and take my place. The little shit.

“Hey. Parker, right?” she said.

“The one and only.” His broad shoulders straightened with confidence. “It’s nice to see you again, Violet.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“So, what do you say? Want me to show you my skills?” he asked.

I really struggled not to shove him out of the way. The only reason I held back was because I didn’t want him to know how much he was getting to me.

“We better still be talking about hockey,” I warned.

Violet didn’t seem nearly so bothered by him though, and she released a bright laugh. “I’ll keep an eye out for you,” she replied.

“Well, in that case, I might just have to show off a little bit,” Parker replied as though he didn’t already spend every minute he was on the ice doing just that. “So, what brings you to our practice tonight?”

She shot me a cautious glance, and I realized she was probably wondering how much of the truth I’d told my brothers.

“She came to meet me here because we’re headed to dinner together after practice,” I answered for her. “Isn’t that right, babe?”

Violet frowned slightly, but I gave her a look that encouraged her to play along. I could hardly tell my brother she was here just so we could show ourselves off in front of her ex. And Parker would have called bullshit if he thought I’d asked her here simply to watch us practice. Dinner was the only thing I could think of that made sense.

“Yeah, dinner, right,” Violet said, quickly masking her surprise.

When Coach started yelling at us from across the ice, I knew we’d pushed our break too long.

“That’s our cue,” Parker said, winking at Violet before skating off.

I gave her a quick smile. “I won’t be too much longer,” I said. “Enjoy swooning over my stick skills…”

“I wasn’t actually…”

I grinned and skated away before she could finish the sentence. I knew perfectly well she’d been joking. Still, I enjoyed making her worry, for a few moments at least, that I might actually think she’d meant it.

I approached the last fifteen minutes of training with renewed vigor. There was something about knowing Violet was watching me that made me want to work even harder than usual. I chose to ignore the fact that she didn’t seem particularly interested in hockey. My efforts couldn’t have been subtle because Matt skated up to me as we were headed off the ice at the end of practice.

“Trying to impress a certain someone?” he asked with a smirk.

“Don’t know what you mean.” I shrugged, trying to act cool as I sat on the bench and pulled off my helmet.

“Well, if you were, it seems you failed,” Matt added.

I looked up, and he nodded toward the entrance to the rink. “Looks like you’ve got some competition.”

My stomach twisted as I followed his gaze and saw Violet talking to Hoffman. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she didn’t look happy to be anywhere near her ex, let alone speaking with him. The sight of them together stirred something inside me. Was it anger? Jealousy? Nerves? Something else? All I knew was Violet looked uncomfortable. We were supposed to be making sure Hoffman saw us together, and I hated that she was having to confront him on her own.

“What’s Hoffman playing at?” Matt continued. “Saints players aren’t allowed in here until we’ve finished our practice.”

“I’m not sure,” I said. “But I’m going to find out.”

“Need backup?”

“With Hoffman?” I scoffed. “Nah, I’ll catch you in the locker room.”

I didn’t wait for a response before I headed over to join Violet.

“Just leave me alone, Jeremy.” I caught Violet trying to end the conversation as I arrived at her side. Now I was closer, I could see she wasn’t just slightly uncomfortable around Jeremy. Every inch of her body seemed to radiate with disgust and anger, and even though she was speaking softly, her words were laced with venom.

I didn’t hesitate as I slung my arm over Violet’s shoulder. Her body was stiff beneath me, but the moment she glanced up into my eyes, she relaxed, and I could clearly see how grateful she was.

“The arena’s closed to Saints during our practice, Hoffman,” I bit out coldly as I turned to face Jeremy. “You know that.”

Hoffman’s eyes narrowed on my arm draped over Violet’s shoulders, and it took him a moment to fully turn his attention to me. “Apparently, the rule doesn’t apply to all Saints.” He glanced at Violet.

“Violet might go to your school, but that doesn’t make her a part of your team,” I replied. “Besides, we’ve already made you an honorary Devil, haven’t we, babe?”

Violet nodded, but the movement looked strained as though she was struggling to keep calm and play along with our act. Clearly, whatever Jeremy was saying to her before I arrived had rattled her.

“So, what are you doing here?” I pressed Hoffman.

The guy had the gall to smirk at me. “Just checking on my girl,” he said. “I got to practice early and saw her come inside. Thought she might have been looking for me…”

“I already told you; I didn’t come here for you.” Violet’s words were edged with steel and her gaze far colder than the ice beside us. For someone so sweet, she was also someone I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of.

The smirk slipped slightly from Hoffman’s face. “I find that hard to believe.”

“Well, believe it.” she continued, pressing into me a little more. “I came here to watch my boyfriend. We’re going to dinner, and I arrived early so I could catch the end of his practice.”

I gave Violet a warm smile and was pleased when she returned it. She might have been tense when I first came up to her, but she’d certainly relaxed since I’d shown up. It felt good to know she trusted me.

“Speaking of dinner, we better head off so we don’t miss our reservation,” I added.

“Yeah, of course,” Violet replied.

“Catch you around, Hoffman.” I didn’t bother looking his way again as I steered Violet in the opposite direction. I needed to go to the locker room and change, but I didn’t want to leave Violet anywhere near that guy. She was glancing over her shoulder and still seemed uncomfortable despite the fact he was walking away.

“What was Hoffman saying to you back there?” I asked.

“Nothing I haven’t already heard,” she muttered. “He still seems to think I’m eventually going to forgive him and take him back.” She paused, and the frown she’d been flashing ever since I’d first seen her talking to Jeremy deepened. “Maybe this isn’t working.”

I struggled not to panic. It was way too soon for Violet to be giving up on our fake relationship. I needed more time with her. To show I was more than the hockey-playing meathead she thought I was.

“This is only our first date,” I quickly replied. “Right now, he probably still thinks you’re just trying to make him jealous. We just need to show him we’re serious. Once he realizes that, he’ll leave you alone.”

“You think?”

“For sure. If we suddenly stop dating now, he’d probably think we broke up because you still want him.”

Violet was quiet as she considered what I’d said, and I did my best not to blurt out something else to try to convince her. The last thing I needed was to sound desperate.

Finally, she responded, “Maybe you’re right.”

I felt like I could breathe again.

When we arrived at the locker room, I paused by the door. My muscles ached with exhaustion, and I needed a long hot shower before we went to dinner, but I was reluctant to leave Violet alone for any longer than necessary with Hoffman lurking about.

She glanced up at me and a raised an eyebrow as though she could see exactly what I’d been thinking. “I don’t need a babysitter, Reed. I’ll be fine out here on my own. You go and get changed.”

Despite what she said, she still seemed shaken from our confrontation with Jeremy.

“Unless, of course, you want to take me in there with you,” she continued. “And introduce me to your half-naked teammates.”

My hands clenched tightly around the handle of my hockey stick. Violet must have noticed my reaction because she laughed. “Just go get changed, Reed. I’ll be waiting out here when you’re done.”

I grunted before turning toward the locker room, but Violet stopped me.

“Reed, wait,” she said, reaching out to touch my arm. “Thanks for backing me up with Jeremy. You’re a good fake boyfriend.” I smiled down at her, trying my best not to flinch at the sound of the word fake.

I had the world’s quickest shower and changed in record time. Once again, I was far from subtle, and all the guys noticed.

“What’s the rush, Reed?” Matt asked, not even attempting to cover his smirk. He’d always been the nice guy on the team unless, of course, the opportunity arose to taunt me. I guessed that was the price of being his best friend. My other teammates were enjoying it just as much.

“Never seen Reed move so fast.”

“Nothing stops a Darling when he wants to score.”

“This wouldn’t have anything to do with the hot redhead waiting outside, would it, Cap?”

“Hey, hot redhead has a name.” Parker countered. “It’s Violet.” I was somewhat surprised he’d come to my defense, but then he continued. “And it has everything to do with her…”

A few of the guys laughed, but thankfully I was done getting changed. I pointed a finger at all of them as I went to leave the room. “Keep this up, and I’ll make Coach give us extra sprints next practice.”

That only made them laugh more, and I pushed through the door and escaped into the corridor. As captain, it was very rare that I became the butt of the team’s locker-room jokes. Usually, it was only Parker, Grayson, and Matt who had the balls to give me shit that way. I didn’t mind so much today. Not when I couldn’t deny they were right; I was rushing because I couldn’t wait to see Violet again.

She was staring off into the distance when I emerged from the locker room but perked up when she saw me. “That was quick.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to keep my girlfriend waiting.” I took her hand in mine, just in case Hoffman was still around. At least, that’s what I told myself. It had nothing to do with how much I liked the way her slender fingers fit between mine. Absolutely nothing.

“Girlfriend?” She glanced briefly at our interlocked hands but didn’t pull away. “Don’t make me correct you again. You know we’re alone out here, right?”

“I know.” I shrugged. “I’m just practicing.”

Violet’s eyes narrowed, but she didn’t argue, and I was convinced I saw the hint of a smile on her lips. We made our way toward the arena exit, and her grasp on my hand tightened when we walked past a few Saints players who had just arrived. They were all glaring at her like she was their enemy too, and she was clearly uncomfortable around them.

“Are you okay?” I asked once we were outside.

“Yeah, I guess.” She slowly released a breath. “It’s just, even though I knew Jeremy would be pissed about seeing us together, I didn’t really think about how the rest of his team would take it. It’s like I’ve made an enemy out of everyone in Sunshine Hills.”

“That’s the thing about teams,” I said. “We tend to stick together. But if it makes you feel any better, those guys were mostly glaring at me.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Unlike me, Violet couldn’t have been used to so much negative attention. She was sweet and fun, and I couldn’t imagine anyone ever having a reason to so much as look at her wrong. She didn’t deserve to be treated this way by Hoffman or his teammates. There wasn’t a whole lot else I could do to help her though. I could always threaten them, but that would just make them even more angry at her.

“If you like, we could go kick a few Saints players’ cars?” I suggested.

A snort escaped her as she failed to hold back her laughter, and her eyes twinkled as she glanced up a me. “I think my car-abusing days are over.”

“I’m glad to hear it, Sunshine.”

She turned her eyes up toward the sky but she appeared to be fighting a smile. It was like she couldn’t decide if I amused her or annoyed her.

When we reached my truck, I opened the door for her to climb inside. “So, where am I taking you for dinner?” I asked. Her car would be in the shop for a couple more days, so I’d told her I’d give her a ride home after practice.

“Dinner?”

“You know, that big meal you eat at the end of the day. I was thinking we go to Nino’s. They have the best pizza around here.”

“I know what dinner is.” She seemed to be leaning more toward annoyed with me right now. “But don’t you think me coming to your practice was enough fake dating for today?”

We couldn’t have spent much more than twenty minutes together tonight, and that was never going to be enough.

“I told my brother we were getting food,” I replied. “If I head home too soon, Parker’s going to think something’s up.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Well, he isn’t great with secrets and has a very big mouth. He can’t be trusted with the truth about us.”

“Ah.”

“Plus, it will be good if we’re seen out together. There are always a few kids from school at Nino’s on a Monday night, and we want our relationship to look convincing, right?”

As if my stomach knew exactly what we were talking about, it gave a small grumble of complaint. It was pretty loud, and I couldn’t even attempt to hide it.

Violet smiled as she caught the sound. “I guess we could grab a quick bite to eat.”

“Done.” I grinned as she pulled herself into the truck, and I closed the door behind her. Our dinner date might not be real, and I might have had to coerce Violet into it, but my stupid heart couldn’t help feeling excited because I had a little more time with her tonight.