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“Dox,” Braxton calls. I whip my head around to see her standing a couple of feet away, eyes brimming with tears.
“We’ll be there as soon as we can,” I mutter, lifting my arm and ushering her toward me.
She rushes over and burrows her face in my naked chest as I wrap my arm around her and rub her back.
“I love you, Maddox. It’ll be okay,” Dad says.
I steal some of his confidence for myself, filling my depleted tank. “I love you too, Dad. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We hang up, and the next second, I’m pulling Braxton closer, dropping my chin to her head. She smells like me mixed with her shampoo, and I sniff her like a fucking dog, trying to calm myself.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
“This isn’t your fault.”
“It’s my voice out there. It was my car that was broken into. Hell, it was most likely my dad that orchestrated this entire thing.”
“The actions of that man are not on you, and the actions of a low-life who broke into your car andhurtyou sure as shit aren’t either. I don’t blame you for this, and I don’t want you to blame yourself for it either.”
“This was supposed to fix everything.”
Frustrated that she doesn’t understand how deeply I care for her, I rest my hands on her arms and move her away from my chest, staring down at her with my heart on my sleeve.
“This agreement might not have fixed my career, but it fixed the most important thing to me. You’re here, baby. You’re in my arms and in my fucking life, just like you should have always been. My greatest mistake in life is letting you run from me, and I would give up my career in a heartbeat if it meant that I don’t ever have to lose you again. Fuck the VW, and fuck this Rose woman. I can’t live without you again. I won’t.”
“I won’t stand between you and your future, Maddox. I did that once, and while you’ve forgiven me for it, I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive myself. I regret a lot of things from my past, but my greatest mistake is letting my own selfish wants almost ruin your future.
“It killed me to leave you. But look at what happened after. You’re a four-time Art Ross trophy winner and are about to play in the Stanley Cup finals for the third time in seven years. I don’t know if those things would have happened if I had stayed, but I do know that we’re on the cusp of reliving our past, and I refuse to be an obstacle you have to overcome again.”
I shake my head, cupping her cheeks. “No. You’re not doing this again. I’m not letting you back out. We’re going to wipe away these tears and go to the arena and deal with this together. Nobody is sacrificing anything this time. Do you understand me?”
She drops her eyes, tears leaking from the corners. I brush them away with my thumbs.
“This is not the same as last time. I’m not a lost cause without Vancouver. It isn’t Vancouver or nothing. I just need you to put your faith in me here, Curly. Please, let me take care of this,” I beg.
“Can you promise that you aren’t going to resent me for this?”
My answer is instant. There isn’t an ounce of hesitation or doubt in my mind. I’ve never been surer of anything besides my complete devotion to her.
“I promise.”
Her eyes search mine for a long, silent piece of time. Nerves fill my chest.
“Okay.” She breathes in and out slowly. “Okay. You should get dressed before we leave.”
I furrow my brows and tilt her face up when she continues to stare at the ground. “Hey. I love you, Braxton. This is a forever-type thing. Got it?”
She nods, trying to smile, but it’s weak. Completely unconvincing.
“I know. I’m just . . . I’m trying to get a grasp on this situation. I didn’t think my dad would go this far to get what he wants. I was hurt, Dox. I was actually physically hurt because of this. Yeah, he might not have thought the guy would end up shoving me, but he did. What am I supposed to do here?”
“We talk to everyone and go from there. Once we have all of the details, we can make a plan. I’ll be here for you no matter what you choose to do, okay?”
Her shoulders deflate as she moves back into my arms. “Okay, Dox. I trust you.”
I hold her tight, letting her trust in me sink into my mind. As much as I wish I could fix this with pretty words and promises, I have to prove to her that we can get through this. That starts with getting this sorted out before anything else can fall into our laps. I just hope I’m ready for the consequences of whatever choice I’m going to have to make.
