Page 144 of Scarred

It’s true. It doesn’t bother me anymore like it used to. I guess Cayden has a lot to do with that. He sees the woman in me and makes me feel every bit of one, too. A little childhood nickname doesn’t make me feel like the baby of the family anymore. It just makes me feel loved.

The doors open, and I push off the wall with a smile, expecting to see Cayden.

Thane walks out freshly showered and dressed in a nice dark suit. He gives me a brief smile, but I notice it doesn’t reach his grey eyes.

“Hey, Luna,” he says. “Blade should be out soon.”

I nod my head and smile. “Congratulations on the winning goal. You must be ready to celebrate.”

“I guess,” he shrugs.

“Anyone waiting for you after the game to help you celebrate?” I ask, hoping maybe he’ll let me learn a little bit more about him.

The second I say it, I know I’ve hit something in his armor as a crack seeps through, making me regret asking.

Something flickers through his eyes, and his hand tightens around the straps of his bag slung over his shoulder.

“No,” he says roughly.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“No, you’re fine,” he sighs, cutting me off before hesitating briefly. “There was once,” he confides quietly.

Before I can ask him what that means, the door opens again, and Cayden walks out dressed in a similar suit to Thane. His damp hair curls around his neck, and my stomach does a little somersault when I see his green eyes burn brighter when he sees me.

“You have press?” Thane asks, getting Cayden’s attention.

“Yeah, did you already do yours?” His eyes dart to Thane before he walks over to me.

“I got away with a small interview before I hit the showers,” Thane smirks.

Cayden slips his fingers through mine, taking my hand. Thane sees the movement and his lips form a tight line as something dangerously haunting crosses his features. It’s gone and replaced with his usual steel armor seconds later.

“I’m headed out,” Thane says, looking away.

“Going to Breakaway for a bit?” Cayden asks.

“I told Kane I would have a drink with him. You?”

“Nah,” Cayden says with a small smile as he meets my eyes. “Think we’re headed home after press.”

Thane nods as his jaw tightens.

“Have fun at Breakaway,” Cayden says, turning to go in the opposite direction.

“Yeah,” Thane replies, clearing his throat and walking away.

I watch him disappear down the hall, and an ache in my chest begins to form. Something tells me he’s not going to Breakaway to celebrate, but going there so he doesn’t have to go home.

A woman, probably in her mid-fifties, with Bolts’s credentials around her neck, appears just then, interrupting my thoughts about Thane and pushing them to the side.

“Blade,” she says, pushing her dark glasses up on her nose and giving him a no-nonsense look as she tucks her clipboard under her arm.

“Stevie,” he mimics back.

“Don’t you Stevie me. You were supposed to be in press ten minutes ago,” she says, giving him a hard stare.

By the way she carries herself, I can tell she’s used to putting six-foot-four hockey players in their place.