Page 176 of Power Play

“You’re buying.”

“I came to support you.”

“You spent the entire third period texting memes.”

“Emotional support has evolved.”

I flipped him off without looking back and stepped into the elevator.

By the time I reached my room, found my wallet beneath the jeans I wore earlier, and zipped the last of my things into the second bag, I had nearly talked myself out of going back downstairs. A beer wouldn’t change the fact that Charm had ignored the one honest message I sent her.

I miss talking to you.

Three days of silence had turned the woman I wanted into another person I couldn’t make stay by needing her.

That thought followed me into the elevator.

One of my teammates caught the doors before they closed and stepped inside, asking whether I had heard what Coach said about the Milwaukee schedule. I answered him automatically while the elevator descended, my phone loose in one hand and Charm’s unanswered message sitting somewhere beneath the dark screen.

The doors opened into the lobby.

Charm stood near the elevators.

Every word disappeared.

She wore jeans, sneakers, and a soft gray shirt with her hair twisted away from her face. There was almost no makeup hiding the exhaustion beneath her eyes, and she looked like she had driven four hours fueled by panic and sheer refusal to turn around.

My entire body locked.

The teammate beside me nearly walked into my shoulder before realizing I had stopped moving.

“Charm?”

Hearing her name in my voice seemed to break whatever control she had left.

She crossed the lobby without looking at the Frost players, hotel staff, or the four KFU guys watching from near the windows. She came straight toward me and threw her arms around my neck.

I dropped the duffel fast enough to catch her.

My hands closed around her waist and pulled her against me with enough force that her feet nearly left the floor. Charm buried her face against my neck, and every fear I carried downstairs collided with the feel of her holding on in front of everyone.

She came to Chicago.

She walked into a hotel filled with my teammates and went straight into my arms without checking who saw.

I didn’t know what it fixed yet.

I knew what it meant.

“What are you doing here?” I asked against her hair.

“I’m sorry.”

My arms tightened before I leaned back enough to see her face. Charm held me harder, refusing the distance.

“Mi hada, look at me.”

“I was wrong.”