Holiday Shot: Lauderdale Knights, #7.5

By Kat Mizera

Welcome to Fort Lauderdale... where the days are hot and the Knights are hotter!

Divorced at forty was never in my game plan. Neither was being a long-distance dad. But when the chance to coach the Lauderdale Knights hockey team came knocking, I couldn't resist.

I was so focused on the major changes right in front of me, I never saw Autumn Nicholls coming. Blindsided by a whirlwind romance with a woman much younger than me, I'm torn between making her mine and letting her go.

She's young, beautiful, and just starting out in life, she doesn't need me or my baggage. But that doesn't stop her from taking her shot.

The ice may be cold, but our passion is red-hot.

And this Christmas, she's going to be the gift I give myself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kat Mizera
• Release date: Dec 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9798224696345

Kat Mizera

USA Today Bestselling author Kat Mizera was born in Miami Beach with a healthy dose of wanderlust. She's lived from coast to coast, and everywhere in between, but home is wherever her family is. A devoted mom and wife to her wonderful and supportive husband (Kevin) and two amazing boys (Nick and Max), Kat loves to travel the globe with her adventurous, hockey loving family. Greece is at the top of that list. She hopes to one day retire there, spending her days writing books on the beach. Kat is former freelance sports writer who now writes steamy hockey romance about her favorite fictional teams, the Las Vegas Sidewinders and the Alaska Blizzard. The library of novels she's penned also include sexy contemporary stories about baseball stars, alpha sex club owners, special forces heroes, rock stars, and royalty. Regardless of genre, her books about bad boys with hearts of gold will steal your breath, rock your world, and melt your heart.

Book preview

1

Henrik

It was never a good thing when my ex-wife called at the ass crack of dawn, especially when our children were here with me. My phone rang again, and I rolled over wondering what catastrophe would require my attention.

I’m bored, she announced by way of greeting.

I gritted my teeth.

Lydia, it’s 6:30 on Thanksgiving morning. What do you expect to be doing?

I don’t know, but the gym at this hotel is lame and I already had breakfast.

Okay.

Henry! Her voice had an annoying little whine that had been cute when we first met. Not so much anymore.

Lydia, I don’t know what you want from me. I’ve got the boys so you’re free to do anything you want. I paid for you to fly out here and for your hotel. We agreed this was how we were going to do things until they’re old enough to travel alone, so I don’t know what you want from me.

Well, why can’t I spend Thanksgiving with you? It’s not like you’re remarried or anything.

I nearly groaned with frustration.

Because we’re not together anymore.

The last thing I wanted was to spend Thanksgiving with my needy, clingy, completely narcissistic ex-wife. She was beautiful, but that was probably her only redeeming quality. The fact that she was hot didn’t make up for how awful it had been to be married to her. I didn’t want to spend five minutes with her, much less a holiday. Especially since I had plans to spend Thanksgiving with the head coach of the professional hockey team I worked for. My boss.

Getting the job as an assistant coach for the Lauderdale Knights had been a dream job for me, and I loved almost everything about it. The only issue was the schedule. I was busy. Always. Travel, games, practices, meetings, watching video. It was a lot, and it often meant not being able to spend time with my seven-year-old twin boys, Aiden and Adam. If I wanted to see them during the season, I had to pay for my ex to fly out to me with them, and put her up in a hotel until they left.

Nothing about the arrangement was ideal, but it was the only way I could see them since she lived in San Diego and I lived and worked in Fort Lauderdale. I spent the summer in San Diego, but this was only my second season as assistant coach, so we were still trying to adjust.

That’s ridiculous, she said. We’re raising children together. There’s no reason we can’t spend holidays together. Last Christmas was wonderful, so what’s the difference?

"Last Christmas was not wonderful, I said. Your family was either rude to me or ignored me completely. The only people who had fun were the kids."

You’re such a buzz kill, she muttered.

Daddy, I’m hungry. Aiden padded into my bedroom, his hair sticking up on top.

Gotta go, Lydia. I disconnected before turning to Aiden. Good morning. How do pancakes sound?

Yum! Do you make them like Mommy’s?

I don’t know, I hedged. But they’re pretty good. Is your brother still asleep?

No. He’s watching TV.

Great.

He was probably watching porn or something.

Adam was definitely the wilder of the two.

I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

I loved my boys, but it was hard to intermittently step into the role of dad. I’d had them for Christmas last year, and that had been rough. I’d flown into San Diego on the morning of the twenty-fourth, spent all of that day and the day after—at the house with Lydia and her family—and then got on the first flight out on the morning of the twenty-sixth. It had been awkward as fuck, and I’d vowed to never do that again. So here we were, with me footing the bill to fly Lydia and the boys across the country.

Daddy, look at the hockey! Adam pointed to the TV where he was watching recaps of last night’s games.

Watching some video for me? I asked, chuckling, as I scooped him up and kissed the top of his head.

Yes! He giggled, wiggling to get down.

I made myself a cup of coffee and started pulling out the ingredients for pancakes. I’d never been much of a cook, but I’d figured I needed to learn if I was going to be a single dad. Even if I only saw them every couple of months. I tried to FaceTime whenever possible, but I missed a lot. Hell, I missed almost everything.

Putting three pancakes on each of their plates, I cut them up into pieces, drowned them in syrup and then turned back to the griddle. Pancakes weren’t the norm for me, but I’d added protein powder to help counteract the carbs.

I’d just sat down to eat when someone knocked on the door.

Mommy! Aiden raced across the room and threw open the door before I could stop him.

Fucking Lydia.

I walked to the front door scowling.

Hi, baby boy. She picked him up, kissing him.

What are you doing here, Lyd? I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral for the boys’ sakes.

"I was bored, she said petulantly. You made me fly out here, so the least you can do is invite me to Thanksgiving dinner. They’re my kids too." Her lower lip protruded slightly and I had to bite back a snippy retort.

"I didn’t make you do anything, I said as patiently as I could. This is what the custody agreement says. I pay for your travel and expenses, so the boys don’t have to travel alone. But nowhere does it say I have to alleviate your boredom."

She brushed past me into the house. Adam! Mommy’s here.

Mommy! He came running out of the kitchen, his face covered in syrup.

Ew. Go wash your face, please. She held him at a distance and his little face fell with disappointment.

It really bothered me that she played favorites with the twins. For some reason, she worshipped Aiden and tolerated Adam. To be fair, he was a handful and I suspected he had ADHD, but she’d refused to get him tested and I simply hadn’t had time. Seeing the way she’d treated him just now made me realize I needed to make the time.

Sooner rather than later.

There was no way to keep Lydia from joining us without making a scene in front of the boys, so I’d stopped arguing and texted Toli to let him know I had an extra person coming with me. He knew the situation with my ex and had simply said she was more than welcome. He wouldn’t ask a lot of questions, and there were always a lot of people at his house during the holidays. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be a lot of questions about why she was here.

Henrik, hi! Toli’s wife, Tessa, came over to give me a hug before turning to the twins. The boys are upstairs in their playroom. You’re welcome to go join them.

Yay! They spoke in unison before they took off and Lydia cleared her throat.

This is my ex-wife, I said, without looking at her. Lydia, Toli and Tessa Petrov.

Hi! Lydia grinned. It’s so nice to meet you! Is there anything I can do to help?

Sure. Tessa nodded. Follow me.

The two women disappeared into the kitchen and I glanced at coach. Sorry about this.

It’s one extra person. He shrugged. We’ll have enough food to feed the entire neighborhood and you’re not the only one who brought an extra guest. We’re used to hosting a houseful.

Well, I appreciate it. I don’t have the stomach to fight with her anymore—we did enough of that before the divorce. And I really don’t want the boys to see it.

I understand that. And don’t worry—there are going to be so many people, and so much chaos, you’re barely going to see her. I can tell Tessa to keep her occupied.

You’re a lifesaver, I said, chuckling.

You’re going to be in charge of wrangling the boys for dinner, he said. So we’ll see how you feel then.

Totally worth it.

You want a beer?

Absolutely. I followed him to the patio and pulled a Swedish beer called Pripps Bla out of the cooler. You got the good stuff, eh?

I do my best.

I took a pull and looked around, grateful for Toli and not just our working relationship, but our friendship too.

Hey, Coach. Zakk Marcus-Cloutier, one of our star defenders, came over and clinked his beer against mine. Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving. I arched a brow. When did you start drinking Swedish beer?

When you introduced me to it.

I chuckled. Glad to provide a service.

Having a good time with the boys in town?

I guess. Less so since the ex comes along too. I wish I could have the boys without her, but we both feel they’re too young to travel alone. It can be done but neither of us are comfortable with it.

Hopefully, that’ll change in a year or two.

Yeah.

The doorbell rang and I glanced in that direction.

The house was already full, but people were still coming.

Happy Thanksgiving! Toli’s voice carried from the foyer.

Happy Thanksgiving. I recognized Camden Locke’s voice. He was our starting goalie and a good guy. I liked him as a person in addition to his skill on the ice, and I was glad he’d come today.

As a coach for the team, I could be friendly with the players on the team, but I couldn’t be close friends with them. There had to be some distance between us because I was in a position of power. I needed them to respect and follow direction, so close friendship was difficult. Toli managed it with some of the guys, like Zakk, whom he’d known for years, but in general, we didn’t socialize with the players beyond a major event like this, where everyone was invited.

It got lonely sometimes, but Cam was the exception to that rule. He was a goalie, so we didn’t have a lot of interaction on the ice since I worked more with the offensive lines. That unofficially allowed us to hang out