Page 5

CHAPTER FIVE

JACK

S hortly after I moved to the US and for my eighteenth birthday, my mum, Felicity, bought me ice-level season tickets to the Seattle Scorpions. I’d watched a ton of hockey games in the UK and started playing when I was eight, but the first time we took our seats at an NHL game? Yeah, that was something pretty fucking special.

I guess that’s when my commitment to the game hit overdrive, and the more people that whispered and laughed about my chances of making it pro, the more I dug my heels in, determined to prove them wrong.

My dad always said sports were a waste of time. He wanted me to follow in his financial footsteps, working in Canary Wharf, London. Being a stockbroker appealed to me as much as gouging my eyes out with a blunt knife, and when I refused to join his firm as an intern, you could say that was when our relationship really took a nosedive. I’d always been closer to my mum, so I guess it wasn’t surprising when my parents divorced and I opted to stay in Seattle with her while my dad and sister, Darcy, returned to Oxford at the end of his work contract .

And that’s where they both are right now, though it’s only my sister I miss today as I finally live out my dreams. I don’t think Dad will ever really take an interest in what I do. The only time he seemed to pay attention was when he saw the number of zeros in my pro contract.

It’s true; I got a head start when Mum began dating Jon, and he started coaching me in private, but I was still way behind the standard expected of other players my age. I’ve always been fast on the ice, but my technical skills were … let’s just say, not where they needed to be.

I about broke myself in college. It got to the point where I was risking injury and straddling the lines of complete exhaustion as I set up camp at the rink and library, only occasionally heading out with friends.

I didn’t have time to date, but at one point, I found myself seeing a girl called Olivia. She was on the same course as Kendra, and she was nice. I just never wanted to take it further than a few dates, so I broke it off, not wanting to mess her around.

Darcy is the complete opposite of me—whereas I never wanted to get serious with anyone, she’s had a long-term boyfriend since she was, like, fifteen. I’ve watched her and Liam go through the wringer together, and honestly, that’s never been for me.

There was only ever one girl I wanted to get to know seriously.

Shaking away thoughts of the last time I saw her at Lloyd’s Bar, I come to a stop at center ice. Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for today. I could’ve attended a thousand NHL games as a spectator and played in the AHL for ten seasons, and I’d still be just as overwhelmed for the first exhibition game of preseason.

Fuck, this is crazy, and it’s only warm-up.

“All good?” Sawyer moves alongside me, and we begin stretching out our groin, glutes, and hamstrings.

I take a look around the arena, packed with at least twenty thousand fans. It’s impossible to make out my mum, but I know she’s sitting—and probably screaming—in the family box way up top.

“Yep,” I say, moving to my left leg and stretching it out.

“You’ll get plenty of ice time tonight.” Tipping his head over his right shoulder, Sawyer takes in the orange jerseys belonging to the Dallas Destroyers. “Really going in at the deep end with these guys.”

“They’re tough, but we’re smarter,” I say, standing up as Jon approaches us.

Sawyer smirks. “Were you watching the same footage as me before this? Key thing is keeping our heads in the game and moving the puck quickly.”

“And playing as a team,” I reply, catching Tyler in my peripheral vision as he heads toward Archer, ready to take shots.

“All right, Morgan, I want you warming up your slap shot, as we discussed. And, Bryce, I need you for a second. I’ve had a last-minute rethink on a play since they aren’t starting with the line I anticipated,” Jon instructs.

“Got it, Coach .” I elongate the title and smile at him, and he lifts a brow in response.

One thing about Jon Morgan: he’s got good banter. But mine is better.

The second I reach Tyler, he rockets a couple of pucks my way, keeping at least a dozen to himself.

“What, are we on rations now?” I say, replacing my mouthguard and lining up in front of Archer, who’s focused in on us both.

It’s been nearly a week since Kendra walked out on Tyler, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased about it. Though based on his mood, I’d guess it’s been that long since he heard from her.

Firing off another shot, which is easily saved by Archer, Tyler props his gloves on his hips. “There’s a whole bunch lined up over there.” He tips his chin in the direction of the benches, but doesn’t look at me .

“Or you could just pass me half of what you have, and we can get on and quit fucking around,” I retort.

“No can do. I’m gonna need all of these.” He slaps another puck at Archer, and this one goes insanely wide.

I shake my head and look down at the ice. “Are we really going down this path again, Tyler? Are you not tired from your petty antics during college? Because I am. I’ve got a career to focus on.”

I slide a puck toward myself, sending a slap shot to the goal, which finds the top right. Even from back here, I catch the appreciative look on Archer’s face.

With a wrist shot that takes our goalie by surprise, Tyler squeezes the puck between Archer’s legs before he can get down to it.

Satisfied with his attempt, Tyler looks at me for the first time since that night at Lloyd’s. “Focused on your career? Could’ve fooled me, bro . From over here, it looks like your attention is on one thing only.”

I shake my head at him and blow out a breath. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

He hits another shot but misses again, and Archer throws his arms out in frustration.

“Kendra. But I guess that’s nothing new either, is it?”

A few more pucks land at my feet when Sawyer slides up alongside me.

“Thanks,” I say as he immediately turns and skates toward center ice.

I decide not to rise to Tyler’s bait as I begin firing off slap shots at Archer—some of them he saves and others find the exact spot I picked out.

Tyler speaks again after a few more minutes. “I’ll take your silence as confirmation.”

With my row of pucks depleted, I skate over to him as our goalie turns to face his net, grabbing his drink bottle.

“Let’s just keep this about hockey, yeah? We’ve never seen eye to eye, and I accept that. You don’t like me, and I’m not exactly mad about you either.”

I continue skating past him.

“But you like her, don’t you? Just be a man and admit it.”

I spin around to face him, chewing on the corner of my mouthguard. “So what if I do? I’m not dating her, and neither are you. She’s a free agent and neither of our concern.”

Kind of my concern .

Approaching me, Tyler stops just before our helmets touch. In the crowd, you would either guess we’re good buddies, having a laugh, or the first ice fight of the season is close to breaking out.

“Oh, she’s always been my concern, and she absolutely is yours too. Even if it’s never been your right. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you checking her out. I don’t know what the rules are over in your country, but in America, we don’t make a play for another dude’s girl.”

I throw my head back and laugh. “In my country? Jesus, Tyler, I haven’t once made a play for Kendra. She was always your girl and loyal to you. Even if you can’t say the same.”

I know I’m pressing his buttons, and it’s a really bad idea, especially right before a game, but I can’t fucking help myself. When we traveled for away games in college, I’d watch Tyler leave bars with girls who were categorically not Kendra.

“Watch your mouth, Morgan,” he spits.

I slide away from him, aware that we literally have an audience of twenty thousand people. “Look, Tyler, I meant what I said. I’m here to play hockey, and you and I are going to play a lot together over the next eighty-plus games. I have zero interest in getting into it with you.”

He pulls off his helmet and tucks it under his arm, his jaw clenching at whatever’s going through his mind. “Stay away from Kendra, and we won’t have a problem.”