TROPICAL HAT TRICK (Hockey Hotties #3.5)

“This is going to be sooo much fun!!” Nala clings to my arm the minute we arrive at the resort. I stare down my former teammate, Casen. Nala is the best friend of Grey, Casen’s girlfriend. The four of us are on vacation in the Caribbean since it’s off-season. Do I need this vacation? Hell yes. Should I have agreed to come here on some weird version of an extended double date? Hell no. But I’m here and I know exactly how Casen convinced me. After I got traded last year to the Florida Fury, where my former best friend and now enemy plays, my job has been a source of constant stress and I could use some relaxation. Ford, my former best friend, only has former in the title because I fell in love with his sister. There’s more to the story, but none of that matters right now. The minute I saw Imogen at Ford’s, it was as if my former life never existed. For years I pushed her out of my head, telling myself she’s better off without me, but now that I’m playing with her brother again, all those feelings I pushed down for so long have erupted out of me. And rumor is Imogen’s moving to Florida to be closer to his daughter. Which means we’re going to live in the same vicinity once again. Everyone has that person—the one who tattoos themselves onto you. That’s Imogen for me. So I agreed to this ridiculous vacation as a way to get her off my mind. I’m not using Nala for s*x though. I thought Casen knew me better than to bring a woman who’s clearly a puck bunny with us. All she talks about is how hot she is, snapping photos of us and posting them on social media. Which Casen knows I f*****g hate. “Did I tell you I was named after The Lion King?” “I thought the lion king was named Simba?” Casen says, handing his credit card to the woman behind the resort’s check-in desk. “That’s the male lion. I was his best friend, Nala. My dad always said he named me that because I was fit to be a princess.” “I think I’m missing something,” Casen says. I’m more than happy to let him take the reins on this. Thankfully, one of the other hotel employees hangs up the phone and waves me over to his computer. “Langley. Just checking in.” He types on the keyboard. “She wasn’t a princess,” Casen corrects Nala. “He’s the king after his dad dies, but I couldn’t be the queen because his mom was alive still.” “Wait!” Grey holds up her hand and I wonder if maybe the teacher in her still thinks summer break hasn’t started. “Are we assuming Nala and Simba married?” “I have your room, Mr. Langley.” Luckily, the employee gives me an out of this stupid conversation about a Disney movie. The only thing I’m getting from it is that Nala wants to be a queen, which only cements my theory of her being a puck bunny. “Do you have a room right next to his?” Nala knocks me in the shoulder when she comes beside me. I step aside and give the man a look that says if he does, he’s a dead man. I take my key card before she can see what room I’m in. I’m going to walk her to her room, then I’ll go to mine so she never figures it out. “Let me check. What’s your full name?” After she gives it to him, his fingers type along the keyboard. “I’m very sorry, ma’am, but you’ve booked a garden view room and Mr. Langley’s is oceanfront. Would you like to upgrade your stay?” Thank f**k. “Oh.” Nala’s smile dims. “Um, no. Thank you though.” Guilt eats at my stomach lining. I hate seeing someone feel lesser than because they can’t afford what’s deemed the best. With a sigh, I ask, “Do you have any oceanfront rooms?” The man’s perfectly sculpted eyebrows crinkle. “Let me check.” “Hey, we’re all checked in. See you in twenty down by the pool.” Casen and Grey get on a golf cart and drive away with their guide to their room. I give them a wave. “We do have one. Right next to you actually, Mr. Langley.” He smiles. I try to do the same, but it probably looks more like a cringe. I take out my credit card and slide it over the counter. “Go ahead and charge my card.” “Oh, thank you!” Nala lifts on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “My own knight in shining armor.” I huff and the man behind the desk smiles to himself. “You’re very lucky, Nala, because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to move you. We have a high-profile wedding here this week and most of our rooms are booked up.” “Oh, a wedding.” Nala rests her cheek on my shoulder. “What a beautiful place to get married. Would you do a destination wedding?” “I don’t plan on getting married.” I slide her her room card and pick up my bag, heading over to the golf cart. The bellhop takes our bags. She slides in next to me on the golf cart. “What do you mean you don’t want to get married, silly?” She playfully swats me. Imogen used to do that. She’d pinch me in the bicep when I joked with her. “Exactly that. I don’t want to get married.” Her lips turn down, but then she smiles. “You just have to meet the right girl.” She pokes me in the side with her finger. “No, that’s not it.” “Yes, it is.” She pokes me again. “No, it’s not.” “A guy like you has to reproduce. You can’t leave your gorgeous and talented gene pool not replicated.” God, this woman doesn’t stop. Annoyance grates on my last nerve of the day. “That’s the great thing about it being my life, Nala, I can do whatever the hell I want.” The bellhop stops the golf cart, and I get out and grab my bag, then tip the man. “I’ve got my bag, please just take care of her.” With that, I head upstairs to my room, eager to be free of her. “Don’t forget the pool, Warner!” she calls. I raise my hand back at her without turning around. “Got it.” I’m busy shaking my head in annoyance as I walk up the steps and run right into a big body. “s**t. Sorry,” I mumble. I look up and—you have to be kidding me. “Drake?” I have to blink. Aiden Drake is standing in front of me in board shorts and flip-flops. Since he’s Ford’s new best friend, I have an inkling whose wedding the hotel employee was talking about—Ford’s. That’s one hell of a coincidence and if I were another man, I might think of it as fate. “Crashing the wedding?” Aiden asks with a smirk. Ford might just put me in the hospital when he finds out I’m here, but even so, all I can think about is the fact that Imogen is here somewhere and she’s probably wearing a bikini.