“Serious as a heart attack, sir,” I say, voice steady, fingers flexing around her.
Coach’s gaze flicks to his daughter. “Monroe?”
She doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah,” she says, smiling softly. “Yeah, really serious.”
Something shifts in his posture. Not quite relaxed, but…resigned. Maybe even a little fond.
He nods once, gruff. “All right then. I like you, kid. But that’s my little girl, so you break her heart”—hiseyes sharpen, no-nonsense—“I’ll hand your ass to you on a plate. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” No hesitation. And I mean every word. I catch her hand tighter, threading my fingers with hers with no intention of letting go. Ever.
Chapter Thirty-One
Monroe
I’m sitting in the rink lot, nursing an iced coffee. Too much caffeine isn’t sitting well with the shitshow that was meeting with my mother for the first time in over a year.
She’d asked me to lunch, and I really sat on it for a few days before deciding to see her—not for her sake but for mine. I had no real desire to keep up a relationship with her. It had always been transactional anyways. But this way, the ending could be on my terms and not hers.
‘Monnie!! Mon!’ She’d waved at me from across the little café we’d met at. I hadn’t wanted to wait around for a lunch meeting with her, so I’d insisted we do breakfast instead. ‘Can you go order, baby? Grab me a coffee, too, please!’ I’d had to physically stop myself from rolling my eyes at her. Too peppy for nine in themorning, and I was paying for her stuff. Again. She could have ordered her own drink before I got there.
I’d ordered for us and waited at the pick-up counter, balancing the two cups and a bagel for myself once it was ready. She’d eyed the bagel as if she could incinerate it just for daring to be made of carbs.
‘Honey, you really should have gone for a yogurt,’ she’d said, taking a sip of her coffee. I’d stared blankly at her. ‘You’ve filled out a bit since last year.’
Truly incredible start to this meeting. ‘What do you want, Elaine?’
‘Elaine? Jesus, Monroe, we’re not colleagues. You know I hate when you call me that.’ She’d taken out a lipstick and applied another coat to replace what was now attached to the lip of her cup.
‘We both know you aren’t here to catch up or chat or whatever it is moms and daughters do. So, please spare me the show and just tell me what you want.’
Her eyes had rolled up toward the ceiling in exaggerated exasperation.
‘I heard you were back on the ice. I wanted to come and see how it was going.’
You wanted to see if you’d have a paycheck again.
‘Who told you I was skating again?’ Dad sure as hell didn’t tell her. Elsie would never.
‘Aaron called.’
I had nearly choked on my coffee. ‘Aaron called you, to tell you I was skating again?’ The disbelief had hung heavy between us. That breach of… Trust is the wrong word. Aaron and I don’t have that anymore. Privacy? I guess we didn’t owe that to each other anymore, either. Whatever it was, it was going way too far.
‘Of course, honey. You know we were always close.’
Perfect. Love that for me.
‘Are you going to accept the position?’ Her friendly façade had slipped and impatience had edged into her tone. ‘I’m staying at the Four Seasons right now, but say the word, honey, and I’ll rent an apartment again. Start working on getting you those sponsors again!’
‘This is really none of your business. You didn’t give a shit when I got hurt. You only care now because you’re tired of not making money off me. So, the answer is no.’ She had narrowed her eyes at me. No apology, nothing. She’d taken a beat, sipping her drink slowly, before continuing.
‘No, you’re not skating anymore?’
‘No, I don’t needyouanymore.’
Her face had contorted into something ugly before she’d wiped it clean.
‘Monroe, spare me the theatrics. You want to be difficult? Fine. But you have a real chance here to be worth something again and it would be such a waste to see you turn that down.’