Page 64

Alex

I ’ve been to the training complex in New York before, but this is the first time I’ve been stuffed into a space outside the locker room.

The empty office smells…nice. Floral, I think.

Probably from the plug in on the wall. It’s better than the body odor and sweat mixture I usually get in the locker room.

There are minimal decorations and nothing on the desk, which tells me this is a spare room that they put people to meet in for privacy.

One they won’t care about getting messed up in case said meeting goes wrong. Which today’s…well, you never know.

When the door opens a few minutes later, I know who it is before even turning to look. “I thought they were pranking me when they said you were here,” Sebastian grumbles, closing the door behind him and leaning against it.

Realizing he’s not going to sit down, I stand up and face him.

He hasn’t changed at all since the first time I ever met him.

He had the same kind of raw determination set in stone in his eyes that I did on the ice, and it’s still present today.

Not that I would ever admit it to him, but I looked up to him when I started playing for Lindon.

I thought he could be an ally. That was before I understood the gravity of getting to the top.

Henderson and Olive don’t share many characteristics other than a few basic ones.

Their eyes aren’t the same color, but their hair is.

He’s not much taller than her. Their skin tone isn’t all that different either, but I know he tans easier because he always came back to college looking darker than he left in the spring.

Olive was always the same shade above porcelain, which I always thought was hot. She didn’t.

“You going to keep staring at me, Pretty Boy, or talk?” Henderson taunts.

It snaps me out of it and reminds me why I’m here. He’s right. It’s not to look at him. “You need to talk to your sister and stop being an asshole about this situation. Your opinion means a lot to Olive and shutting her out is a coward move.”

He stands to full height. “What I do or don’t do is none of your business, O’Conner.”

I walk over to him, standing mere inches away from his tense body by the door.

“Olive is my business now. I wouldn’t be spending the only day I have off the ice here with you if it weren’t important.

But she is. And you throwing a temper tantrum isn’t getting us anywhere.

If you have a problem, fine. But that’s with me.

Not your sister. You icing her out is hurting her, and I don’t like to see her hurt. ”

His eyes narrow. “Neither do I.”

“Funny,” I muse dryly, watching his eyes darken. “Because out of the two of us, only you are the one actually doing any damage.”

His nostrils flare in anger, but he doesn’t say anything.

I shake my head, not wanting to fight. I came here to make a point.

Nothing else. “Look, I don’t expect you to understand the shit I’ve gone through.

I’m not going to waste my time explaining it to you, because I highly doubt you care.

But I’ve worked my ass off to be where I am.

And I’d wager to guess I worked twice as hard as you to make the kind of moves I did to sign a contract with the Penguins.

I’ve sacrificed more than you know to be here. ”

“And you think I didn’t?” He scoffs, shaking his head. “Anybody in the league put the work in, O’Conner. That doesn’t make you special.”

He’s right. “It doesn’t. But from where I’m standing, you haven’t had to fight to make it to practice or get what you want.

You haven’t had to pay the price for being late when you were dealing with consequences out of your control.

You get what you want, when you want it.

You got a girl, a wife, and a kid on the way. ”

His lips twitch from the information that I know isn’t public yet.

“Relax. I have no interest spewing that to the media. I’m not exactly fans of them either,” I tell him. “The point is, I sacrificed something good with Olive to get here. I left her behind once. I’m not going to do that again just because you’re being a pussy about us being together.”

He looks away, grinding his teeth.

It doesn’t stop me from continuing. “You and I both have some things in common. We both love Olive, and we both would do anything for our families.”

Finally getting his attention, his eyes scan over my face. “You love my sister?”

“I have for a while. She was the only smart one to see it at the time. I was too stubborn; too focused on the game. But I’m not going to let anything, or any one , hold me back now.

I would prefer your support in this, but I don’t need it.

I’m just aware enough to know that it would mean something to her if I had it. ”

I don’t know what he’s thinking, but it’s probably nothing good. But I didn’t come all this way for nothing. If he wants to continue being a dick to his sister, then so be it. At least I tried. I can walk away knowing that. If Olive knew I was here, I’m sure she’d appreciate the attempt too.

After another tense minute or two, Sebastian’s shoulders loosen a fraction from their squared stance. “You actually came all this way to tell me that you love her?”

“Family means everything to your sister,” I explain nonchalantly.

“I get what that’s like. Before her, my mother was all I had.

It’s not fun when the people in our lives disappear.

It hasn’t been easy for her. So, yeah. I drove here to tell you to pull your head out of your ass.

For her . Because I love her. Because I want to do whatever it takes to make her happy. ”

There’s caution in his eyes as he loosens a long sigh. “You’ve changed.”

What did he expect? “We all need to grow up eventually, Henderson. Sometimes, it doesn’t happen until we find the right people to make us want to.”

Something flashes across his face.

Understanding.

Henderson nods, swiping at his jaw. “Yeah, I get that. Trust me.” His brows pinch in contemplation before he drops his hand to his side and slides it into the pocket of his jeans.

We’re quiet for a second.

Then he says, “I want what’s best for her.”

“I do too.”

Rubbing his lips together, he dips his chin and holds his hand out to me. “Truce. For Olive.”

I don’t hesitate to take it. “Does that mean you’re going to call her?”

Sebastian rolls his eyes. “Yes, I’m going to call her. Look, I don’t know how I feel about this. I’ve always seen you one way, but she seems to think I’ve got it wrong. So I’m not going to discourage her if it’s what she wants. It’s her life. Her decision.”

Glad he finally gets it. “Exactly.”

“But I will fucking kill you if you break her heart,” he warns me, tightening his hold on my hand until one of my finger joints pops.

“I’d be offended if you didn’t.”

He lets go. “You stood up for her after those photos of you two leaked. That’s the kind of person she needs in her life.”

I’m still pissed at Hoffman for letting her get shit-talked in the comments of his post, and I hope Henderson gave him hell for it. “I’ll never put her in the position to be ridiculed. Maybe you should tell your buddy that next time he tries to get the girl.”

He huffs. “I’m starting to realize he never had her to begin with.”

I can’t help but smirk. “No. He didn’t.”

He leans against the door again, crossing one ankle over the other. “Is that all you had to say?”

I grab my phone from where I’d set it on the desk and slide it into my back pocket. “I said what I needed to. Maybe you can pass along a message to your father while you’re at it.”

His brows go up. “My dad?”

“He’s been reaching out to Olive to apologize for how he’s treated her,” I tell him, which seems to be a surprise to him.

I guess she didn’t share that in her many unanswered messages to him.

“But she isn’t interested. At least not right now.

He doesn’t seem to understand that he needs to make up for all the times he let her down. ”

Sebastian slowly nods. “He’s never been the smartest man.”

I’m inclined to agree. “If you don’t get him off her back, I’ll find his address and show up to his place next. And something tells me he wouldn’t like that too much.”

“He is a Rangers fan.”

“Man has poor taste,” I offer easily.

Sebastian has the decency to chuckle. “I’ll talk to him. It’s overdue. I hoped Olive would shut him out a long time ago, but she always felt obligated to see him.”

I can understand that. “We don’t like the idea of losing family. But sometimes we need to prioritize peace above anything else. That’s what I hope to bring her. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ll be damned if I give up trying.”

My biggest competitor since I joined the Lindon U hockey team sizes me up. “Olive has never truly needed anybody before. She either never let me help her or fought like hell when I did. But she told me about the internship in one of the messages she left. She let you help her.”

That has my lips curling into an easy smile.

Because she did.

“She trusts you too,” he adds quietly.

And those words…damn they do something to me.

He takes a deep breath and pushes off the door, grabbing the handle to leave. He pauses only for a second before saying, “Guess she’s okay with needing you.”

Then he walks out.

Leaving me realizing what a great feeling that is. Not only to be loved, but to be needed. To be trusted. To have someone to rely on instead of doing everything alone.

Olive chose me.

Olive chose me .

I smile down at the floor.

Olive. Chose. Me.

And I’ll never stop choosing her.