Chapter Two
Dylan
As I slipped awayfrom the backyard, my body felt like a stone block and my mind like a fucking live wire.I traipsed through the Alexander’s home, determined to walk straight out the front door and never look back.
There were only three things I’d ever wanted in life.A professional hockey career.My parents to stay together.And Jamie Hartley to be mine.
The first two were long gone.Jamie was the only hope I’d had left.
My foot hit the tile of the front hall.The door and my escape were just steps away.
I stopped.
If I left before they served the cake, before saying goodbye to Hunter, I’d only be cementing my status as the terrible father they all assumed I was.
There was enough of that shit going around already.I didn’t need to be the one adding to it.
Instead of continuing toward the door, I made a sharp turn and headed for the bathroom.
A minute alone, that’s all I needed.A fucking minute to figure out how the fuck I’d ended up in this situation, when Jamie was the one who’d run away, taken my son to another city and hidden from me.
I’d done everything right.Spent years trying to prove I was worth coming back to.Busted my ass at school while working two shitty part-time gigs.Volunteered in the community before it was ever part of my job description.Joined the police force.Sent child support checks, each one bigger than the last.Done my damnedest to turn myself into someone worthy of being in her life and our son’s.
None of it had been enough.Once I found her, she’d kept me at arm’s length, in every way but one—in bed, we’d still been as fiery as ever.That’s what had given me hope.
Right up until Eric came along.
Now all I had was accusations and heartache.
Married.She was getting fucking married.
I didn’t even get the bathroom door latched before someone was tapping on it.
“Can we talk?”a woman cooed from the other side.Her sickly-sweet voice was the kind used on babies and small pets.Fucking nauseating.
I yanked the door open to find Eric’s sister, Celeste, looking at me like I was a wounded animal she’d been sent to rescue.
“Are you all right?”
From the day I’d met her, she’d fixated on me in a way that made no sense.With everyone else she was an angry tornado.With me, all that energy narrowed into something obsessive.Something that followed me down hallways and wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone.
“I’d be better if I could take a piss.”
“Oh, I thought you might be upset.I saw your reaction to the news.It must be difficult for you.”
Difficult.She had no idea.
“Why are you here, Celeste?”
“I thought maybe I could help make you feel better.”The words were suggestive, and so was the look that went with them.Both were out of place, and way out of line.
I didn’t know her angle, but I didn’t like it.Not only was she making it far too easy, but she was married.I’d done a lot of dirty things in my life—filthy, underhanded, thrilling things—but screwing around with a married woman had never been one of them.
Although…doing Eric’s sister would be a pretty spectacular way to get back at him.
“How exactly did you plan to make me feel better?”I kept my arms crossed and voice flat.
She smiled like she didn’t catch the hint.“Whatever you’d like.”
