Page 69 of Three Hockey Hotties

“It is,” I agree. “But we all feel the connection. Fast doesn’t mean bad.”

“I’m not looking for anything serious,” she says. “Especially with three people.”

I step forward, needing to touch her. I think it’s to reassure her, but when I reach out, and she takes my hand, linking our fingers, I realize that I’m the one who feels comforted.

“Do you think people will judge you? Are you worried about what people will think if you are in a relationship with three men?”

She thinks about that for a moment, which I appreciate, but then she shakes her head. “No, it’s not that. I haven’t really thought about what other people will think. The people who are important to me, like my friend Thomas and my best friend Sadie, are fully supportive. And I actually think my parents will be too. They always want me to just be happy. And they love when I do big bold things.”

There’s something about the way she says that that makes me tug her closer. “Do you have trouble doing big bold things?” I ask gently.

She looks up at me, her bottom lip between her teeth. She studies my eyes for a long moment, then nods. “Yes. Very much. I’m a very… careful person.”

I squeeze her fingers. “Why is that? Did something happen?”

Something did. I can feel it. My stomach is in a knot waiting for her to tell us.

She doesn’t have to confide in us, of course, but I want it. Badly. I want her to trust us, and I need to know everything about this woman. And I want to fix it all. Whatever it is that makes her hesitant to get involved in this relationship, which clearly makes her happy, has to be dealt with.

And I swear to God, if a man hurt her at any point in the past, even if he was a fifteen-year-old pimply-faced nerd in high school, I will hunt him down.

“I had cancer.”

That answer is so far from what I was expecting that it takes me a moment to process it.

“What?” It’s Dash who is the first to speak.

Abby looks over at him and nods. “When I was a kid. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.”

Kane leans in closer to her, hugging her close. “Jesus. I’m so sorry, Lollipop. Are you okay now?”

“Yes. Fully in remission. It’s got a very high survival rate in young kids, and I’ve been okay for years.”

He lets out a breath. “Fuck. I’m so glad.”

“It’s why Stick It to Cancer is so important to me. And it’s how I met my best friend. Sadie went through cancer treatments at the same time I did. And I realize that I am very lucky to be alive, and most days, I approach the world and life with a fairly optimistic outlook.”

I tear my gaze from her face to look at Kane first.

He’s clearly in pain and trying to hide it.

He looks the way I feel. Like the idea of Abby sick and suffering is squeezing all the air out of his lungs and keeping his heart from fully beating.

I look over at Dash next.

He’s impossible to read. But that’s almost the same thing as the pained look on Kane’s face. Dash went from happy and flirty to shutting down again.

“How did all of this affect you?” I ask her. “You said it makes you usually feel optimistic. But the cancer is the reason that you don’t feel bold?”

“Not in relationships,” she admits.

Something in her voice makes Dash also come closer. We’re now surrounding her. Her hand is in mine, Kane is stroking her back, and Dash now reaches up to cup her face.

“You can tell us anything,” he says gruffly.

“The cancer tore my family apart,” she says, her voice shaky. “It consumed our lives. Doctors’ appointments, treatments, it felt like we were always waiting for bad news. My parents poured everything into me emotionally, physically with their time and energy, and financially. They didn’t have anything left for my sister. And now she doesn’t really have anything left for us.”

Her voice breaks slightly on the end of the sentence, and it takes her a moment before she continues.