“You know my business does well, Lo.” That was an understatement, but it didn’t mean she should be wasting it on me. “Gunnar and I are happy to help, and as for Jason, he’s your oldest friend. Of course he wants to get you out of this fix. Why don’t you tell me what’s really bothering you?”
I took a sip of my champagne, wishing I could enjoy it more. Things were looking up—my business, my home, my family and friends rallying around.
“I just don’t like that Alexei took it upon himself to pay back Galen Frisk. It’s not his responsibility.”
“He still thinks you two are a team. I think it’s sweet.”
“It’s high-handed, that’s what it is.”
Sadie leveled her silver gaze at me. “Perhaps. But he also asked Gunnar and Jason to help, which means he recognizes that this is a team effort. Operation Save Lauren’s Agency. Just like you recognized that helping him with his dad’s care is also a team effort. You were there for him. He just wants to be there for you. He wants you to trust him.”
I inhaled a breath. “I … know. I want to, but so much has occurred that makes that trust shaky.” I told her everything that had happened between us, from varsity to Vegas and beyond.
My sister listened quietly, without interruption. Once I was finished, she topped up our champagne glasses and raised her own.
“There’s a book in there, Lo.”
I snorted. “Not sure anything can beat your epic romance with Gunnar.”
“So, all this time, you haven’t gotten serious with anyone until Thad?”
“I didn’t think I was waiting for Alexei but … maybe I was. Maybe I hoped there was a chance, but then he skipped out on me again. Which was fine, he had good reasons, but why couldn’t he talk to me?”
“Because he knew how skittish you were. How what happened with Dad had left you feeling abandoned and alone. I tried to be there, but?—”
“You were there, Sadie. I was a little shit to you at first, but you were the only person who cared until Gunnar threw his hat in the ring. Dad didn’t do either of us any favors.” He had preferred me over his eldest daughter and had driven Sadie away, so I barely knew her when she returned to my life.
“Alexei screwed up, Lo. Like many professional athletes, he’s a control freak. They want to manage every play and ensure it goes the way they’ve mapped it out in their tiny minds. But he also has a point. If he told you what happened in Vegas, you would have let the lawyers deal with it. As it stands, it sounds like he pushed for the trade to the Rebels not long after you got married.”
Was she saying … “Is that guesswork or do you know something?”
“Jordan has an insider in the Rebels front office. She told Elle who told Theo who told Gunnar.”
I took another slug of champagne. Jordan Hunt was a hockey reporter known for her scrupulous attention to the facts. She wouldn’t say that if she didn’t believe it.
I shrugged. “So he wanted to finish out his career with the Rebels.”
“He moved his dad here. He upended his life and his career. I even heard he took a pay cut. He might have messed up, but it sounds like he’s been working his ass off to come home to you, Lo. You’re his North Star.”
I had known, hadn’t I? Alexei might claim the universe was pushing us together, but in truth, he was hefting his broad shoulder behind the wheel.
I swiped at a tear. I didn’t think I had been anyone’s goal before.
My sister gripped my hand. “Dad left you, Thad screwed you over, and Alexei hurt you terribly—I’m not trying to minimize that. But he’s here because he wants to be. Because he never forgot you. And Lo? I don’t think you forgot him.”
She was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to love him.
Chapter Fifty-Two
Alexei
* * *
Training camp started in a week and I hadn’t skated in over a month. While some things were innate, I needed to get into a groove before the team gave me some stupid nickname like FNG—Fucking New Guy.
Speaking of nicknames … I turned at the sound of noise near the bench. The Three Wise Men, as Jason’s Francesca called them, were skating onto the ice.
Vadim tapped his stick against mine. “It is about time we skated together.”