“Is that right? Knowing how much of a hockey fan you are, Stell, I don’t doubt that. So you’ve been to his games?”

“A few.” Stella gave him a knowing smile. “I’m kind of a fan.”

Trick laughed. “We actually met through one of my teammates. Stella’s a friend of Carolina Preston, and she was dating Drew Hogan.”

Greta leaned back in her chair and picked up her drink, taking a sip through her straw. “Interesting. How come you never told me this?”

Stella shrugged. “Not much to tell.”

It was obvious Stella didn’t want her sister to know about what went down between them. He got that. Sometimes your sex life was your business, and he wasn’t about to reveal anything.

He stood. “I won’t take up any more of your time. Good to see you again, Stella.”

“You, too, Trick.”

“And great to meet you, Greta.”

“Same here.”

He walked away, wishing he could have had some alone time with Stella, but this wasn’t the right time or place. She needed to spend time with her sister, and he needed to get back to his friends.

It was good to see her again, though, and it reminded him how much he liked being with her.

He wanted to see her again. The question was—did she feel the same way?

***

Stella resisted the urge to watch Trick walk away, knowing the view would be spectacular.

For some reason, when they chose this bar, she hadn’t expected Trick and his friends to be here. How stupid of her. Maybe subconsciously . . .

Greta grasped her wrist. “You did not tell me you knew Trick. And you could have introduced him as Patrick Niemeyer of the Travelers. I don’t know how I missed that connection when he walked up. Probably because I’ve only ever seen him before in uniform.”

She leveled a benign gaze on her sister. “Yes. I know Trick.”

“Is that why you took me to the hockey game tonight?”

“No. I took you to the game because we both like hockey.”

“Uh huh.” Her sister tapped her nails on the table, studying her, then her eyes widened. “Oh, my God, Stella. Did you have a thing with him?”

“Define ‘thing.’”

Greta rolled her eyes. “Now you’re being coy, and you’re never coy about men. Spill it.”

Having a little sister had always been great. They were only a few months over a year apart, and it had been fabulous growing up together. But it also meant Stella had very few secrets. Though she had managed to keep a couple.

Trick had been one of them.

She waved her hand back and forth. “It was no big deal. We hooked up off and on for a while late last year. It ran its course.”

Greta searched the bar, her attention settling on Trick and his friends. “I don’t think it has run its course at all. Not for him and definitely not for you. I saw your eyes light up when he came to our table.”

Stella tracked Greta’s gaze, and found Trick leaning against the wall, pool cue in his hand. It just so happened right at that moment he looked over. His lips ticked up and she felt the shot of heat all the way across the room.

“See? See? I told you,” Greta said. “God, I can almost feel that zap of chemistry between the two of you. So why aren’t you still seeing each other?”

“I don’t date. You know that. I’m too busy dancing.”

Greta sighed. “Come on, Stell. It can’t always be about work. You’re entitled to have some fun.”

“Believe me, I manage time for fun. I just don’t do long-term fun with one guy.”

“You have weird rules.” Greta stirred her drink. “Why not do a long-term thing?”

She didn’t want to think about how badly that had turned out the one and only time she had allowed a man into her heart. The way she did it now was much better. “Because I’ve been building my career, and men get in the way of that. They’re fun for sex when I need it, and nothing more than that.”

“That sounds cold and lonely.”

Stella laughed. “Honey, I am rarely cold and lonely. I can get a man when I need one.”

“So, random hookups? Bleh.”

“Hey, I don’t see you towing a man behind you right now, sis.”

“And you won’t. After that debacle with Richard, I need a break.”

Stella wrinkled her nose. “Richard was an asshole who didn’t appreciate you.”

Greta raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that, and enough on the topic of my dickhead ex-boyfriend. I’d much rather talk about all those hot hockey players over there. How many of them do you know?”