One minute you're at the top of your game, and the next, you receive a hit that knocks your skates out from underneath you.
Still reeling after an unexpected loss, Ryan Nyberg not only finds himself back in his beachside hometown of Neptune Bay, bu...
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When I'd first seen Ryan's message about his friends having popped into town unexpectedly, I hadn't known what to expect. Had a group of his teammates drove to town? Did he need me to babysit Bowen while he went out with the boys? After a bit of back and forth though, it was revealed Derrick—who I knew was one of Ryan's closest friends—and his girlfriend, Lia, had stopped into Neptune Bay before flying back to Los Angeles tomorrow night.
And they wanted to meet me. No big deal or anything.
Which meant that instead of a chilled night at his house, Ryan had asked his parents to watch over Bowen for the evening while the four of us went out to dinner. Seated in a booth at The Watering Hole—Ryan and I on one side and Derrick and Lia on the other—I was a lot less stressed than I thought I'd be. In fact, I was enjoying getting to know the two of them and liked seeing how at ease Ryan was, especially as Derrick was regaling me with a story from their past at Ryan's expense.
"And that's how Ryan ended up playing a whole game with his face painted like a tiger," Derrick drawled with amusement before taking a swig from his beer.
I snorted with laughter, glancing over at Ryan with a bemused smile. "You really did that?"
"Of course," he replied. "What was I going to do, tell the kid from Make a Wish no? He wanted to see us beat the Tigers while I looked like one, so once I gave the front office a heads up about the request, they brought in some face paint for me, and the rest was history."
"That's really sweet," I said, knocking my knee against his gently.
"Did the Tigers players get pissed at you for it?" Lia jumped in.
He lifted a shoulder with nonchalance. "At first, when they thought it was an attempt at taunting them, but after the first period, the Knights' PR team had gotten the word out that it was at the request of a little boy with cancer. They couldn't really be mad about that. But it wouldn't have mattered either way, because that game still ended in a shutout for me."
"Impressive."
"Your boy here really is a great goalie," Derrick said towards me. "One of the best in the league."
"As much as I appreciate the compliment, considering I don't play for your team," Ryan cut in teasingly, "it's not exactly needed. Sloane follows hockey."
Derrick lifted a brow. "You do?"
I nodded as I took a sip of my cocktail. "Yeah, along with most of the town. It's kind of hard not to when everyone you know is cheering for the hometown sports star."
"Aww, Nyberg, you have your own little fan club out here."
Ryan rolled his eyes at his friend while Lia nudged her boyfriend. "Stop embarrassing him."
"You're right. You're right." He then looked back at me and raised a brow. "Why don't we let Sloane take the reins. Ryan mentioned the two of you grew up together. Any fun stories from Ryan's younger years you feel like sharing. I promise I won't use anything against him ever."
