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CHAPTER ONE
MAC
"Are you coming to the family skate tonight?" Nico asked me as we walked out into the parking lot after practice. Wes and Lincoln were following behind us, both of them listening in. The air was thick with humidity, wrapping itself around me. Even though we were in the middle of fall, it still felt like how summer felt in the Northern States.
I shrugged as we reached my car and I unlocked it. "None of my family is here, so it seems kind of pointless."
"We're all your family," Wes said with a smile. "You should just come."
Lincoln nodded as he leaned back against the side of my car. “Come on, Sullivan. Don’t be all sad and shit. You’re not the only one who doesn’t have family here. Just come hang out with the rest of us.”
I stared at him for a moment before looking at Nico and Wes, who both seemed to be waiting for an answer. A sigh of defeat escaped me and I shrugged with indifference. “Fine. But only because you guys are being so damn persistent.”
Nico smiled and Wes winked. “Good answer.”
Lincoln moved away from my car as I pulled open the door and the three of them said their goodbyes before disappearing to their own vehicles. I climbed inside, feeling a touch of disappointment, but I tried to ignore it. I hated the family skating events the team did. They only did them twice a year—as we got closer to the holidays and toward the end of the season.
My immediate family lived in Canada, so I didn’t expect them to fly thousands of miles just to come skate for one night. I never actually asked them either. I was used to being so far away from them that it wasn’t really a thought anymore. They saw me when I was back in the country for games or if I went home for some time during the off-season. My ex lived in my hometown, so it wasn’t exactly my favorite place to visit.
Orchid City was my home now and I was just trying to make the best of being alone here.
My condo was just on the outskirts of the city. Since it was just me, I didn’t need anything big, but it was definitely a decent size. The building was huge, with two condos on each floor. As I opened the door, there was a blue-gray body on the other side, wiggling back and forth as his tail was wagging.
“Hey, bud,” I greeted Thor, my pit bull who looked like he was smiling up at me as I crouched down to pet him. He was always excited whenever I got home, and he licked at my face, almost knocking me down as laughter spilled from my lips. He was now two years old and still acted like a puppy.
After I moved to Orchid City and bought my condo, I realized how lonely it was living in this vast space by myself. I needed something to fill the emptiness, something to help with the loneliness, and I wasn’t in the market for settling down with a woman.
So, one day I ended up at the local shelter and found myself leaving with a malnourished pit bull puppy that someone had found on the side of the road. Thor filled the void; he filled the empty space in my life. It wasn’t the same as having another person around, but he offered companionship and that was more than enough for me. I didn’t want the complications that came along with dating, so I kept everything superficial with anyone I ever showed interest in.
Relationships were fleeting. They never lasted. Love wasn’t a tangible thing. It was more of a mirage than anything.
After giving Thor some attention, I headed through the house with him hot on my heels until I let him out onto the balcony. He wasn't out there for long before he was whining at the door and I let him back in. I didn’t have to be back at the arena until after dinner, so I settled on the couch and fell into a dreamless sleep after the exhaustion from practice settled in my bones.
I was the last one to get on the ice, but no one seemed to notice. I glanced around as I slowly began to skate, watching everyone as they were grouped off with their own little families. Nico and Harper were over by the goal line. I watched as his head tipped back and he laughed loudly as Harper’s feet almost went out from under her. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought about how far they had come.
I may not have believed in love, but they had something special. Something I think everyone was looking for in life. A connection that is deep, that is filled with love… it almost seemed too good to be true.
Then there was Wes and Charlotte. It still blew my mind that he had actually settled down. Lucky for him, he had met his match in her. Charlotte was her own person and Wes was simply caught in her orbit.
Lincoln was single like me, but his twin sisters and one of their boyfriends had come to skate with him. They seemed like the safest bet because I wasn’t about to insert myself into a third wheel situation. My feet moved, the muscles in my legs contracting and relaxing as I powered over to where the four of them were.
“There he is,” Lincoln said with a grin as he hung back and watched his sisters for a moment. His youngest sister, Eva, was a figure skater, so she was fluidly moving across the ice, ignoring everyone. His other sister, Darya, was trying to help her boyfriend and it was quite comical to watch the two of them. The twins knew how to skate but it was clear that Darya’s boyfriend had no idea what he was doing. “Don’t mind him.” Lincoln laughed as he waved at his sister’s boyfriend. “I only brought him along for comic relief.”
“Thank God, because I was beginning to feel like the one who was a joke here.”
Lincoln rolled his eyes dramatically. “Please. You’re not the only person who is single here, so get over it.”
“Trust me, I count that as a blessing.”
“You and me both,” he said with a laugh as he began to skate backward. I followed along with him and we both began to move around the rink. As we finished one lap around the arena, I saw Coach Anderson in the center and he was talking to his wife who was standing unsteady on her skates. It wasn't often that the man smiled, but he looked happy and at ease with her beside him.
As we skated past him, a whirlwind of midnight-colored hair caught my eye. She was skating backward around the center of the rink, moving effortlessly. I was mesmerized, completely captivated, as my feet began to slow. Lincoln noticed I wasn’t beside him and shortened his strides before skating up beside me.
“Who’s that?” I asked him as I continued to watch her with growing curiosity. Her strides were elongated and there was an elegance to the way she moved as she shifted away from the center of the ice. She wasn’t a figure skater, that much was clear.
Lincoln clicked his tongue. “That’s Anderson’s daughter. From what I heard, she used to play hockey and got injured in college.”
My eyes trailed after her and I momentarily lost my edge, but quickly recovered so I didn’t end up falling flat on my face. “I didn’t know he had a daughter.”
