Page 57 of Breakaway Goals

“I literally invited you to let yourself in tomorrow morning.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t tomorrow morning,” Morgan said because of course he was that literal.

Hayes shot him a look as he climbed into bed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I wanted you to stay the night before you left. I even gave you crap about it. I sent you a naked picture, even. I was surprised, but it was the best kind of surprise.”

“Good.” Morgan settled in next to him, pulling him in close. Hayes went easily, resting his head on Morgan’s chest, enjoying the way Morgan’s hands played with the edges of his still-damp hair.

For a long moment, Hayes thought he’d go to sleep, but then Morgan said, “You talk to Jasper?”

“After the game? Yeah.”

“It was a good shot,” Morgan said.

It had been. But they’d split the road trip, which wasn’t easy on a back-to-back.

“Yeah, I told him that,” Hayes said.

“You guys are playing lights out right now.” This wasn’t that much different from the compliments Morgan gave Hayes over text during the games, but it felt a little more pointed. Like there was something else he wanted to say.

“Yeah?”

Hayes shouldn’t have even wondered if Morgan would say the rest of what was on his mind. This was Morgan, after all.

“The Sentinels should be falling all over themselves to give you whatever contract you want.”

Hayes should have guessed this was what Morgan was getting at. He supposed it was inevitable that they were going to have to talk about it. Maybe Jacob had even mentioned their conversation during golf to Morgan. They were friends now, after all.

“They don’t want to give me the years I want,” Hayes said. He wanted to pull back, to get a little distance, suddenly, but he had a feeling Morgan wouldn’t let him squirm out of this.

“The money’s good?”

“Hm, yeah, basically. Just not the years.” Hayes tried to remember the last text Barty had sent about their negotiations. It had annoyed him so he’d tried not to dwell on it.

“Would you take less?” Morgan wondered.

Every time he’d tried to say something like that to Barty, Barty had freaked out. Ranted about how Hayes was worth more, and Hayes should know his own worth. And he did. He didn’t need the Sentinels to tell him what he was worth. He knew it already.

But this was Morgan, not Barty, and Morgan would understand, probably better than anyone else.

“Yeah,” Hayes said softly. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to test the market. I want . . .what I want is to stay here. To win another Cup, here . Not somewhere else.”

“They should want that too. They probably do want that too,” Morgan said and his words were gentle but fierce. Full of belief.

“I want to retire here.” It felt good to admit it out loud. “Like you did with the Bandits. You never played anywhere else.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Morgan said bluntly. “And you’re good enough, Monty, you shouldn’t either.”

“I know,” Hayes said, and that was the pebble in the shoe of the whole argument. He knew how good he was. How many other teams would want him and want him still.

Morgan stroked his shoulder, reassuringly. “I don’t need to say it, but I should. Doesn’t matter where you end up. Even if you’re not on this team. Even if you’re not playing with Finn. I’m with you, as long as you want me.”

Hayes nearly said, so, forever? But that was insane.

They hadn’t even been dating a month yet.

But still. He’d loved Morgan for six years now, and apparently Morgan had felt the same for just as long.

They’d made it through the horrible desert of separation, so how could being together screw anything up?

It seemed impossible that could ever happen.

“I know,” Hayes said, instead.

“I’ve been thinking I want to say something about your contract during one of my segments,” Morgan said.

Hayes should have seen it coming. He had seen it coming. “No,” he said, but even he could hear the indecision in his voice.

“I don’t want to do it without your blessing, but I’d do it if I was in your bed or not,” Morgan said with that ringing certainty only he possessed.

“Did Jacob talk to you about it?”

Hayes could feel, not see, Morgan’s frown. “What does Jacob have to do with this?”

“Just . . .that day we golfed together. Barty brought it up to him.” Hayes paused.

He was still feeling out this friendship between Morgan and Jacob.

It didn’t always make sense to him, but he was slowly beginning to see how it worked.

“Barty thought maybe if I didn’t want you to do it, I’d be willing to have Jacob give it a shot. ”

“Jacob doesn’t even do media,” Morgan said, sounding a little dumbfounded.

“I know, which is why I turned him down.”

“Angel,” Morgan said earnestly, turning towards Hayes so he could look him right in the eye, “if anyone should talk you up and make the Sentinels feel wretched for not believing in you, it’s me .”

Hayes could agree that it made a certain kind of sense. “Yeah,” he said.

“I get why you might not have wanted me to, before. You were pissed.”

That was definitely true. “I’m not pissed now.”

“Right, which is why I’m confused that you’re not jumping all over this idea.”

“Who says it’ll even change anything?” Hayes waved his hands. “It’s not like you’re going to knock some sense into them.”

“You don’t think management on all thirty-two NHL teams gives a shit about how they’re perceived by the media and the fans? They sure fucking do.”

Morgan didn’t have to add, and the media and the fans always think I know what I’m talking about , because it was a given. He was Morgan Reynolds. His word was hockey gospel.

“I . . .” Hayes sighed heavily. “You’d do it even if we weren’t fucking? Even if you didn’t love me?”

Morgan made an outraged noise. “I can’t imagine a world in which I wouldn’t love you—you’re made for me. I’ve known it since the first time we stepped on the ice together—but yes. Yes . This isn’t me doing you a solid ’cause you let me stick my dick in you.” Morgan grinned.

Hayes squawked and smacked him on the shoulder. “God, why do I love you?”

“Good question, but don’t ever stop.”

It wasn’t so, forever , but it was enough to say, “Don’t plan to.”

“Good,” Morgan said. “It’s decided then?”

“Ugh, I’ll text Barty in the morning. I’m sure he has some specific talking points he’ll want you to cover.”

“Like Barty would ever have a list I wouldn’t have already thought of,” Morgan muttered but gave a little nod that told Hayes he’d wait at least until he and Hayes’ agent got on the same page.

“Thank you,” Hayes said, resettling back into the curve of Morgan’s arms. “You didn’t have to offer to do this.”

“Yeah, I did. I’d do anything for you, angel,” Morgan said softly.

And Hayes was slowly beginning to believe that was true.