Page 34 of Save Your Breath

“I quite literally trust them with my life,” I said. “And you won’t be surprised to hear that Daddy is the one who hired them.”

“I like them even more.”

I followed Aleks as he traipsed into the penthouse suite, quick to make himself at home.

He didn’t whistle or make any comments about how grand or luxurious the place was. He was used to money like this, and a part of me was thankful for that. It was nice to be with someone who understood the money and fame without me having to explain myself.

Although, I could remember a time when something like this would have had him silent and wide-eyed, like he was the first few weeks after he moved to live with us in Chicago. Now, he was a professional hockey player with a big contract. He had more money than he ever thought he’d have in his lifetime.

Money wasn’t everything. My father had drilled that into me from the day I was born. He and Mom always made sure I understood how fortunate we were to be well off, and they made sure I knew I’d have to work hard for whatever I wanted in life. When I signed my first record deal, I remember Dad taking me aside and sitting me down with his signature serious face, the one reserved for the big talks.

“This is your money,”he’d told me.“I will not police you, but I will advise you to be smart with it. Get a team together whomyou trust, and know that it can all be gone just as easily as it came. And at the end of the day—”

“Money isn’t what matters,”I’d finished for him.

He’d smiled then, beaming with pride that I understood that. And I did. I loved our house. It was fun to hang out in our pool or take the boat out. I enjoyed the vacations we took.

But at the end of the day, it was time with Mom and Dad that made me happy. It was lazy summer days and long winter nights with Aleks. It was laughing with my friends at a sleepover. It was writing music, performing, spending time with my team.

That was why I searched until I found a financial advisor who understood my feelings. I was safe with my money, investing and saving and living well within my means. I paid my team well because that mattered to me. I also gave at least twenty-five percent of what I made to charity — because there wasn’t a lifetime in which I would ever need to spend all that I was making.

I was fortunate, and I liked to pay that fortune forward.

“It’s late,” I pointed out to Aleks, though the way I followed him to the living area like an eager puppy betrayed my attempt at being annoyed by that fact. The truth was I was happy he was there. I was excited. I hadn’t spent time with him in so long, especially not just the two of us.

And after today, I wondered what was going through his mind.

It was our first appearance in the public eye, and it’d taken only hours for every photo and video snapped of us together to be all the Internet could talk about. Isabella and Giana were thrilled, the first step in our plan carefully laid to perfection.

I hadn’t had much time to process it all, not with us launching right into work as soon as we got to the hotel. But now that Aleks was here, that we were alone…

All I could think about was how it felt to have his hands on me earlier.

The way he gripped me tight, how he sheltered me under his arm, how it felt to see him get so angry on my behalf. It had scared me as much as it thrilled me, to witness him threatening that asshole within an inch of his life for getting near me.

Aleks had always been a sort of protective older brother to me.

Except I did not see him as a brother — not even a little bit.

And everything about today reminded me howhotthis man was.

It wasn’t like I’d forgotten; it was just that I’d been busy. And distant. When I had another man with my focus, or music to write, or a tour to run, I didn’t have time to think about Aleks Suter. And with him living in Florida, playing for a professional hockey team that he traveled with for most of the year… well, it wasn’t exactly like we could just hang out.

We texted each other. We kept in touch. But being reunited with him today…

It reminded me how much I’d missed him.

He looked cozy right now, the way he used to after a game when we were kids. He’d come home, take a shower, and throw on the same pair of sweatpants and matching sweater. They were from the team he played on, the fabric a deep maroon with the gold logo over his left pectoral.

Now, he wore something similar, but the sweats were black — and if I had to guess, a luxury brand far better than the set he wore back in school. His short hair looked a little damp, his jaw freshly shaven, and his eyes were bright with mischief instead of filled with exhaustion the way I knew mine were.

I watched him as he perused the space, clearly not hurried by my comment about the time. When he hit the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, he looked out at the view for onlya moment before he spun in place, holding up the bottle he’d brought with him.

“Care for some bubbles?”

I smiled. “So much for those rules we put in place.”

“Hey, you said I couldn’t be a drunk idiot,” he pointed out. “Not that I had to be completely sober. And besides,” he added with a flourish, already popping the bottle open. “It’s cider.”