he told her in a smooth voice. Before Madison could protest, the hockey player thrust a hand into her face – a hand that was so large, Madison was certain it was practically the size of her face – and added, “And I know what you’re going to say, but I don’t care. I’m walking you to your car, Montgomery, and that’s that.” “It’s not that big of a deal,” she told him. “Really, I don’t know why everyone is making a big deal about this.” “Because it is a big deal.” His gentle tone was serious, causing Madison to look at him with an inquiring gaze. “Listen, I know you’re unfamiliar with a lot of the hockey stuff, but the Sharks and The Gulls have nearly as big a rivalry as we do with the Los Angeles Centaurs. I don’t know if you noticed, but the Sharks were pretty scrappy tonight. Well, they’re always scrappy, but tonight more so than normal. They have a big fan base here even though they’re from Frisco and their fans can get pretty scrappy too. Plus, what with the whole Ken Brown and Brandon Thorpe thing – I mean, you must have heard the fans booing Thorpe before tonight, that’s just not normal. In fact, people actually love Thorpe. He’s one hell of a goalie.
