AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His sharp gaze found mine. “In that case, I’ll drive you home.”
A car pulled up.
“That’s okay, my Uber’s here. Have a good night, Jax.” I got into the car, straining all my muscles not to look back.God, a girl could get caught up in him.
EIGHT
SIDNEY
“You knowyour dad doesn’t care what you wear, right?” Mia stood in my doorway while I pulled on a different shirt. I was on my third outfit change of the morning.
I was dressed more professionally than my normally eclectic attire, with a crisp white shirt and long pencil skirt. My hands ran over my hair, flattening the invisible flyaways, and I huffed out a breath. I really was acting crazy. “I know, I know. It’s just been a while, and you know how he can be. High expectations and all that.”
Being a coach in the NHL came with a lot of responsibilities, and my dad always expected the same effort out of me as he did his players. My dad had bailed on our last three meetups, and no matter how many times I told myself it was his loss, I still missed him. I hurried to pull on my shoes. He would be here to pick me up any minute. I was already walking out the door when my phone chimed.
Dad: Hey kiddo, I’m sorry I have to cancel breakfast. We won a big game last night, and I couldn’t bail on the celebration. Promise I’ll reschedule soon. Love you.
My eyes stung, and I sniffed in a breath, refusing to cry over this. Hockey had always come first, and I had been an idiot to think that was ever going to change. I typed out a quick reply and headed back to my room to get changed into something more comfortable.
Me: Of course. Enjoy your win. You deserve it.
Luckily, he couldn’t hear my tone through the text. Mia took one look at me and wrapped me in one of her signature warm hugs. “He canceled again, didn’t he?”
“Yup.” I popped thep, trying to add more levity than I actually felt.
“He’s an asshole. You know that, right?”
I walked through our apartment and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Our home was big enough to fit three bedrooms, a kitchen, and a sitting area but small enough to walk from one end to the other in less than twenty steps. It was built in the early 2000s, giving everything a slightly dated look that was still functional.
Mia handed me a coffee, and I greedily took a sip, letting the comforting liquid warm me from the inside. “Can we talk about anything else?”
She paused and looked me up and down for a few moments before nodding. A slow, devious smile curved her mouth. “Sooooo, how was your non-date date?”
Anthony chose that moment to come out of his room and leaned against the doorframe. “Yeah, Sidney. How was yourdate?”
“It wasn’t a date. We aren’t a thing. He’s not mine or anything like that,” I said a bit too loudly.Where the hell did that come from?
Anthony choked on a laugh, and Mia squealed.
“That’s not exactly what I meant, but now I’m curious. Are you catching feelings, Sidney? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. That guy ishot.” Mia fanned herself, and I rolled my eyes.
“I had to watch some chick hit on him right in front of me like I was invisible.”
“Wait. Jax acted like you weren’t there?” Anthony’s voice was laced with anger.
“No, he didn’t seem that interested in her, but… still,” I replied, not quite meeting their eyes.
“You’re telling me he turned down a willing hot girl for your study date?” Mia smiled so wide she looked like a cat who ate the canary.
“Drop it, please. You know I don’t do hockey players.”
She laughed and cheered with her coffee mug. I headed back to my room, listening to her shout, “You’re in so much trouble, girl.”
I collapsed on my bed. Was I attracted to Jax? Sure.
The problem was I knew firsthand what happened when a player goes pro. After my mom died, my dad showed up, making promises about how I was the most important person to him and we were going to be a team from that point on. I thought he was my knight in shining armor, and we were going to live this happy life together.I was so wrong.
The first few weeks were perfect. I moved into his enormous house, which reminded me of a castle. We played cards, stayed up late eating ice cream, and watched scary movies.
