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“Roy Heights wanted an easy payday and thought I could make more money if I went with a team other than the one that drafted me. But he messed up and could have cost us both of our careers. Luckily for me, he was the only one of us who lost everything. If I hadn’t had my family name in my back corner, I wouldn’t even be here on this team right now.”
“What did Braxton have to do with it? That sounds like a whole lot of drama, but none of it explains why you two cut contact.”
My laugh is bitter and burns the whole way up. “Who do you think convinced me—”
“Game time! Get your asses out there and bring us this win!” Coach roars from the doorway. The team breaks out in hoots and hollers, and my words drift off to a place I hope they never come back from.
It’s game time. Nothing else matters. Especially my past with a woman who risked our entire friendship over the fear of losing me.
* * *
BRAXTON
“Row three,” Addie says from in front of me. The steps down to the seats nearly at ice level are steep, and she is flying down them. I’m struggling to keep pace with her.
Conversations drawl on around us as the intensity inside the building grows and grows with each minute that passes. It’s a sea of green tonight, and it makes me feel a bit less awkward wearing Maddox’s jersey.
When we first arrived, I started counting the number of Hutton jerseys I saw, but I lost track somewhere along the way. Maddox and his father wear different numbers, and yes, maybe I was keeping track of how many Hutton jerseys were decorated with a number eleven for his dad and number twenty-one for Maddox.
It made my heart swell to see more twenty-ones.
Adalyn turns into our row, and my pulse picks up as she shuffles past several pairs of feet. The moment I see the familiar faces of Ava and Oakley Hutton, everything I planned to say slips away. Ava’s green eyes soften when they land on me, and she’s pushing out of her seat and closing the distance between us before I have a chance to prepare myself.
“Oh, Braxton,” she whispers before collecting me in a warm embrace. I sag in her hold and hug her back as tears fill my eyes. “Look at you.”
She smells just how I remember. Like freshly brewed coffee and oranges. If she notices me smelling her, she doesn’t say anything. Our hug lasts for what feels like a lifetime, but with her rubbing her hand up and down my back and just simply holding me, I don’t rush to back away.
“Mom. Sit down, please,” a deep, rough voice says. Ava jolts away like she’s just remembered where we are, and I fight back the urge to glare at the man who dared interrupt our reunion.
I find him over Ava’s shoulder, sitting between Oakley and Adalyn. He’s already looking at me with tar pits for eyes and a scowl that would have me running for the hills had I not known this man since he was in diapers. His aura screams fuck off, and I choose to smile at him instead of glare. When he curls his lip at me, I take that as a win.
“It’s good to see you, Noah,” I say.
“Wish I could say the same,” he sneers.
Ava sucks in a sharp breath. “Noah.”
“Don’t be an asshole,” Addie scolds.
Noah ignores them all and turns back to face the ice, dismissing me. It’s easy to brush off his attitude because I know I deserve it.
“We’re glad you’re here tonight,” Oakley says, his piercing green eyes digging deep into the blue of mine.
The protective papa bear has arrived, and he’s assessing the potential danger I could bring his family. I’ve always loved this side of Oakley. He would do anything to keep the people he loves safe. I just hate that right now he’s eyeing me like I’m the potential threat.
“Me too.”
I give him a smile as I take a mental step back. Feeling like a burden has got to be one of the worst feelings, and I hate that that’s how being here makes me feel. Maddox’s family can paint a pretty picture of how happy they are to see me again, but it won’t change howIsee this situation.
I’ve gotten their son into this mess, and now tonight, when they should be having a blast cheering him on at a playoff game, they’re stuck babysitting me. The girl who broke everyone’s heart and then ran away while they stood bleeding.
Ava, as if sensing the change in me, grabs my fingers and sits on one of the black fold-down seats. Her eyes are warm as she looks up at me and pulls ever so slightly on my hand. I sit beside her and cross my ankles beneath the seat.
Addie is sitting too far away for my liking, but I’m not about to call her over and ask everyone to shift down a seat so I can use her as a human-sized comfort pillow.
“I’m sorry about Noah. He just . . . doesn’t like these things,” Ava says softly.
“Hockey games?”
