Page 72 of Clear Shot

He’s quiet for a while. “I have never met your family.”

“And you never will. I cut them off a long time ago. But deep down, I think I’m nervous that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, you know? Nature versus nurture, or whatever that shit is.”

“You think that violence is something you are born with?”

“I don’t know.”

“I think there are many factors to that kind of behavior. Some of it is ingrained in you but the rest is… learned.”

“So then why didn’t I learn it from my father? The way my brother did?”

“I don’t know,” Johan says slowly, “but I don’t see this in you. We spend a lot of time together, both on the ice and off. I have never seen violence in you. I’ve never seen anything that would make me worry for my sister’s safety. Or my wife and child. Do you think you would be living in my house and married to my sister if I thought this was even remotely possible?”

“It was just supposed to be about the visa,” I blurt, staring out the window without looking at him. “But the minute we signed those papers it was like a switch flipped—I’m crazy about her and I want to be the man she deserves.”

“Thenbethat man. I believe you already are. I think Hana knows this too. The only person left to convince of that is you.”

I glance at him in surprise.

“Thanks, man.”

“Any time. You are my brother now—and I believe you are the man you want to be. Forget the past and focus on the future you have with Hana. Everything else is bullshit.”

I really want to believe that.

Chapter 25

Hana

The next fewweeks pass in a blur. Between house hunting, continuing to volunteer at Cicero’s, going to the team’s home games, and helping Sloane with the baby, I don’t have time to think about job hunting, looking at potential master’s degree programs, or anything else.

When I do have free time, I spend it with Aiden.

We’ve narrowed down our search to two houses—the foreclosure in Johan’s neighborhood and one that just came on the market yesterday. Aiden didn’t get home from a road trip until last night so we’re going to see it now, and my gut tells me this is the one. So far, the others all had unforeseen issues that gave us pause. But now that we’ve seen a few dozen, we have a much clearer picture of what we want.

“I’d like to be in the new house by Christmas,” Aiden tells Rita, our realtor. “Since I’m paying cash, we don’t have to dick around with mortgage companies and such. And I’d like to be settled as soon as possible.”

“Of course. You just have to pick a house,” Rita says with a smile.

We pull up to the house and I can’t help but feel a spark of excitement. This neighborhood is a little farther away from Johan than I’d like, but it’s closer to Remy’s house and the arena. It’s also a little more expensive than the others we’ve looked at, but it’s only two years old and no one has ever lived in it. The owners bought it to be their winter home, but then the husband passed away and the wife never set foot in it again.

There’s a huge, circular driveway with a porte-cochere, and columns lining the front of the house. Floor-to-ceiling windows along the front of the house make it bright and airy, and it only gets better from there. The home boasts two double-sided fireplaces—one between the living and dining rooms and the other between the primary bedroom and bathroom. There’s also a two-story office with a spiral staircase to a small library, and the primary suite has two walk-in closets, a private sitting room, and a built-in snack bar.

The entire house is decadent and has a few features I honestly didn’t know existed in private homes. I can’t think of a single thing I would change, other than the price, but Aiden said not to worry about that.

“This is the house, isn’t it?” he whispers against my ear.

“It’s so much more than I thought…” My voice trails because I’m overwhelmed.

“It’s fucking perfect,” he says. “Let’s make an offer.”

“Are you sure?” I ask quietly. “This is half a million more than we talked about. Andmuchbigger.”

“But it’s move-in ready. We don’t have to do a single thing. And we know the owner is motivated so we might get a bargain.”

I hesitate because it’s so expensive.

So over-the-top.