I’ve spent years trying to bury these feelings, convincing myself that distance was the answer and that these feelings would disappear if I could just forget her.
Guess what?They didn’t.One kiss proved that.
I still want her, even though she walked away from me when it mattered most. No matter how many times I replay that kiss, that fact doesn’t change.
So I gave my family an excuse about an emergency team meeting and left the wedding shower before anyone could talk me out of it.
The guys are doing cooldown laps when I arrive at the arena, and Jaxon’s hanging back, favoring one side again.
“Jaxon Chance.” I wave him over.
He skates to the wall. “Coach, I thought you wouldn’t be here today.”
“I’m not supposed to be,” I say, not explaining more. “How’s the knee doing?”
“Fine.”
I study him. “You didn’t seem fine out there. You look like you’re in pain.”
He shrugs. “I just ignore it. Learning to live with pain is my new normal.”
Tell me about it.
He makes his way off the ice and heads toward the locker room. At thirty-two, he’s not old by normal standards, but in hockey years, he’s an old man compared to the nineteen-year-olds. His knee doesn’t like the constant injuries, and recovery at this age takes longer too. Either his body is going to fall apart completely, or he won’t be able to keep up, and that would leave a massive hole in our defense. Plus, getting injured puts him in jeopardy of losing his place on this team. He’s not ready to retire, which makes this even worse. We could bring up someone else, but none of them have Jaxon’s experience or instincts. With playoffs coming, we can’t afford to lose him.
I follow him to the locker room. “You need ice and rest,” I tell him. “And an appointment with Gabriella.”
“Already scheduled, Coach.” He grabs an ice pack and settles onto a bench.
Jakowski passes through and I intercept him, asking if he can cover some of my administrative tasks while I’m out this week. He scowls—no surprise there—but then finally agrees and moves on without clocking Jaxon, which is good.
As the guys filter into the locker room, Leo sees me with Jaxon and frowns. “Coach Marco, what are you doing here?”
“Needed some air,” I admit. “My family is a lot.”
Brax strips off his shirt. “Is it really your family…or Scarlett?”
I start to say “my family,” but then pause.
These six guys know my full history with Scarlett—and right now that history is crushing me like a five-hundred-pound weight.
“That’s what I thought,” Brax says when I don’t respond. “What’s going on?”
I settle onto a bench and tell my friends what’s happened in the last few days while they peel off their gear. By thetime I finish and the rest of the team is gone, they’ve gathered in a half-circle, towels slung low around their waists, full attention on my crisis.
“Wait, hold up.” Miles’ brow furrows. He just came from the shower and obviously missed the most important details. “You actually got to kiss her? That’s awesome!”
“It wasn’t exactly voluntary,” I say.
Rourke leans against a locker. “Why don’t you sound happy about getting action? Back in my player days, I would’ve celebrated any excuse to kiss a beautiful woman.”
Brax snorts. “Yeah, well, you also used to think women appreciated your pickup lines too. Now look at you. Totally whipped into shape by a kindergarten teacher.”
“Hey, Janie’s different,” Rourke protests with a grin. “I like when she uses her bossy teacher tone with me.”
Leo sits next to me. “Forget what she said earlier in the pool. How did she respond when you kissed her?”
I shrug. “Like she was acting the part.”