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“Mick, you’ve gotta go see him.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do.” I bend down to look her right in the eye. “And I love you enough to make you.”
Her eyes round, and then she darts her gaze away from me. I can tell by the trembling of her bottom lip that she’s fighting tears, refusing to let them spill out of her eyes. I hate it when she cries, but this isn’t about my comfort. It’s about helping her. If she needs to, then she can just go ahead and rip my heart to pieces with her tears.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I whisper. “I’ll be right beside you, and I would never let anyone hurt you.”
She sniffs and swallows, hunching her shoulders and swiveling away from me.
She’s not running out the door, so I take that as a positive sign.
Inching closer, I stand right behind her, gently weaving my arms around her and kissing the back of her head. “That’s why I didn’t tell you what I was up to. If I’d found him and he hadn’t wanted to see you, I wouldn’t have said anything. You never would have known.”
“I hate that you hid this from me.” Her voice is barely audible. “It feels like you were lying or something.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
“But you did.”
I close my eyes, resting my forehead on the top of her head. “I’m sorry.” I swallow, my voice sounding thick and gummy. “I just want what’s best for you. I was just trying to fight for you. For your future. For us.”
With another little sniff, she spins and wraps her arms around me, fisting the back of my hoodie and burying her face against my chest.
I kiss the top of her head, then cup the back of it, relief pulsing through me. She has every right to call me an asshole and dump me right here. But she’s holding me.
Tightening my grip on her, I stand there in the dimming light of the arena entrance and hold her until she’s ready to let go. It takes a really long time, but finally, she eases away from me. I smile down at her, tucking her hair behind her ears. Her lips twitch and she sniffs again, pushing up the massive sleeves of Liam’s jacket.
My forehead wrinkles with a frown. “Here.” I push it off her shoulders.
“What are you doing?”
Liam’s jacket hits the floor as I unzip my hoodie and drape it around her shoulders. “That’s better.”
She gives me a droll look, her right eyebrow arching. “Are you gonna pee on me next?”
I snicker, grabbing Liam’s jacket before tucking my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close as we walk to my truck. “My girl. My hoodie.”
She doesn’t say anything, but her lips are curling into a smile, and I take that as forgiveness. I can’t shake the feeling that I’m still gonna have to fight to get her to see her dad this weekend, but hopefully she’ll let me.
“I love you,” I murmur when we reach my truck.
She stops and looks up at me, rising to her tiptoes and pressing her lips to mine. It’s enough of a reassurance to settle my gut as I open the door for her, then drive us home to Hockey House.
CHAPTER55
MIKAYLA
I’ve changed three times already, and for a girl who’s not opposed to dragging clothes out of a laundry basket to re-wear them, that is a huge deal.
I stand in the mirror, adjusting my shirt and then rethinking these pants.
“No,” Ethan growls from the bed. “You are not allowed to get changed again.”
And just because he said that, I unzip my pants and kick them off my feet. He groans and flops back on the bed while I rummage through my bag and find a pair of cargo pants that are old but comfy.
You know what? Screw it. I know we’re going to some fancy restaurant in town—like the only one there is—but I can wear cargo pants if I damn well want to. Apparently, my dad booked the restaurant yesterday. He called to let Ethan know we’re doing brunch.
