“Watch it,” Jake growls.
Natalie glances between them, worry creasing between her brows. “Hi guys. Jesse’s inside.”
As they pass Natalie and Jake, Pavel pauses, thrusting an arrangement of poinsettias and pine branches towards Natalie. “Happy Christmas,” he says shyly.
“Thank you, Pavel. These are lovely.”
Natalie glances at Jake, who hasn’t moved from the elevator bank. His eyes are on Pavel, heavy and considering.
“You guys coming?” Tristan calls. “Or are we eating in the hall?”
“Yeah, we’re coming,” Jake answers, striding past Natalie without a backward glance.
Natalie’s heart hammers as she takes a steadying breath, trying to quell the undeniable longing and crushing ache that fills her with heaviness. Gazing at Jake as he retreats to Jesse’s apartment, all she feels is emptiness, like she is letting something precious slip through her fingers.
CHAPTER 19
TRISTAN
I’m telling you, big sis wants the D
PAVEL
haahaa nie
TRISTAN
Explain her sitting next to me again. And she smiled at me
PAVEL
She made me pierogis
JESSE
i’m serious bro. stop talking about my sister. i will fuck you up
NATALIE
Dinner is lively, filled with laughter, teasing, and way too much food. Tristan and Jesse trade chirps about their on-ice performances, Pavel offers occasional dry one-liners that send the others into fits of laughter, and Mila, as always, keeps the conversation entertaining.
Sitting at the crowded table, Natalie feels her moodbegin to lift, buoyed by the warmth of friends and the comforting hum of conversation. She’s nestled between Jesse and Tristan, her plate full but mostly untouched.
Across from her sit two more of Jesse’s teammates who didn’t have anywhere else to go for the holidays, Theo Tilbury and Trayvon Carter.
She likes Trayvon immediately. Everyone just calls him Carter, and it suits him. He’s laid-back and charismatic, making conversation glide. Between Jake’s quiet intensity and Jesse’s silliness, Carter is the perfect middle ground. His easy humor draws people in, his warm brown eyes crinkling as he tosses out jokes and stories without a hint of self-importance.
Theo, on the other hand, is… different. He’s quieter. Harder to read.
He’s the kind of classically handsome that would turn heads, if he wasn’t so obviously trying to avoid attracting any attention. Tall, broad-shouldered, with thick dark hair and sharp cheekbones, his hazel eyes are watchful, always taking in more than he says. There’s something almost old-world about him—his posture, his stillness, the way he handed her a bottle of vintage red and a box of chocolates with quiet, impeccable manners and a shy thank-you when Jake introduced them.
He doesn’t speak much. Mostly nods along to the conversation, lips tugging into the faintest smile at Carter’s jokes or Jesse’s over-the-top commentary. But he listens. Intently. Like everything said around him is a thread he’s carefully tracking.
Natalie wonders what kind of storm lives beneath that calm.
Jake is laughing at something Carter said, his head tilted back slightly, dimples flashing. It is so easy for him to be here, surrounded by teammates and friends, sliding seamlessly into the space like he belongs.
“Glad you stayed, Mac,” Jesse says, mouth full of mashed potatoes.
