Page 37

Cha pter 37

Chloe

I wake up the next morning when my alarm goes off and expect to feel terrible.

I stare up at the ceiling and think back to the night before.

I vaguely remember falling asleep at some point, and Gunner waking me up to walk me back to my room before leaving.

I thought it would be weird having him in my house for several hours, but it wasn’t.

It was anything but.

Knowing I’ve got a huge day ahead of me because of missing yesterday, I get out of bed and start getting ready for the day.

I’ve been at my desk working for a few hours when somebody knocks on my door.

I know it’s Gunner before I even look up.

He’s the only one that knocks but doesn’t wait for me to say anything before coming inside.

“I didn’t think you’d be here today.”

“Surprise,” I say without looking up.

“Shouldn’t you be home in bed?” I glance up in time to catch his scowl.

“Nope. I’m all better; must have been my amazing caretaker last night.” When his scowl doesn’t lift, I add, “I’m fine, I promise. I can’t take any more time off; I have a huge week. We have that charity auction this week, remember?”

He shifts in his chair.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.”

I lean forward in my chair.

“You’re going to be there, right?”

This event is like my signature event and my most favorite.

Each of the guys on the team will get paired with a kid in one of our surrounding communities for a training camp where they’ll get extra training from a Green Thunder player for two weekends.

They’ll also get new equipment if they need it.

It started when Brielle asked Aiden to help out a kid in her class that wanted to play but couldn't afford the expensive equipment. Aiden took Dante under his wing and made a huge difference in his life. Dante even lived with Aiden and Bri for a little bit while his dad underwent a residence treatment for alcohol. His dad has now been sober for over a year, and he and Dante are doing so well. But that experience showed me how many kids can’t play at the level they could because of lack of training or even good equipment. So, this event pairs my guys with a kid or even a team that needs extra help during the season. It always takes place the Saturday before Thanksgiving. By this time in the season, it gives me time to see what young players have the right spirit for the game and the desire to stick with it. I smile at Gunner. “I can’t pull off this event without my team captain present.” I’ve already got somebody that I’m pairing Gunner off with, and I can’t wait for Gunner to meet him.

He leans back in his chair. “I’ll be there, and I’ll make sure all the guys are as well.”

“Thank you, Coftman.”

He grunts. “We’re back to that, are we?”

I flash a brighter smile. “Yep. Now, I have work to do.” I glance at the clock. “And you have a practice to get back to.” He stands up and stretches. “How’s your shoulder doing?”

“Good.” Knowing that’s all I’m going to get from him, I nod and get back to work. “I’ll see you for lunch.”

“You don’t need to bring me lunch,” I remind him.

“I know.” He closes the door behind him, and I get back to work. I wasn’t kidding about it being a huge week. With home games tomorrow night and Friday night, followed by the charity event on Saturday, it’s going to be a long week.

It’s been good to have Gunner back out on the ice. It’s a solid win on Wednesday, and I can’t keep the smile off my face as the guys come off the ice after their win. Gunner’s the last one off. “Good game, Big C,” I tell him when he steps into the hallway.

He grins. “Thanks. Wait for me to walk you out?” He surprises me by asking.

“Yeah. Go celebrate your win.”

With another grin, he strides down the hallway. I watch him go a moment before I head to the media room. It’s all smiles for the team and the coaching staff for the end of the game wrap-up. Not a single person brings Jenny up, and I’m thankful that we seem to finally be moving past that mess. I make a mental note to talk to Gunner about dropping the whole fiancé facade as we don’t need to any longer. It’s late when Gunner and I walk out into the parking lot. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Have you heard anything more from Jenny?”

Gunner turns to me and stops walking. “Has she bothered you again?”

“Oh, no. Quite the opposite. I haven’t heard anything from her, nor has she posted anything online.”

“Good. I told her not to.”

My eyebrows lift. “You told her not to?” He nods. “You talked to her?” He doesn’t nod this time, and I cross my arms across my chest, even as a breeze hits me and I shiver.

“Come on. Let’s warm up your car; we can sit in my truck while we wait.” I don’t argue because it’s really cold.

Minutes later, I’m in his truck, blowing on my hands. “Okay, so you talked to Jenny, even though I advised you not to?”

He meets my direct stare. “I did.”

“Why? I told you not to.”

“You did.”

“Then why did you? That’s exactly what you’re not supposed to do.” I pull out my phone, already looking at her socials to see if this is going to blow up.

“I threatened her.”

I drop my phone in my lap. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

I stare at him. “Are you kidding me right now? Are you trying to throw your entire career away?”

He turns his head and looks out the windshield. “That’s not going to happen.”

“That’s exactly what will happen when she tells the world that Gunner Coftman threatened her. What were you thinking?”

He faces me, and I can see the anger in his eyes. “You.” His vehemence startles me into silence. “I was thinking about you and the fact that she hurt you.” His words are low and slow, as if I need the extra time to take them in. “That’s not all right in my book. And if you think I was just going to sit back while she threatened you, then you don’t know me very well. I can handle her coming after me online and whatever other nonsense, but once she hurts someone I care about...” he shakes his head and looks out the front window again. “It’s over. She won’t ever bother you again.”

Words utterly fail me. Before I make something out of this that isn’t there, I nod and find my voice. “Okay. Well, what’s done is done. I guess we can drop this whole fiancé charade then. I know it was hard on both of us.”

He turns to me, and his eyes run over my face. I feel like he’s searching for something, but I don’t know what. He hooks an arm over the steering wheel. “Okay.”

“Okay. Well, I won’t need this anymore.” I pull the ring off my finger and hand it back to him. At first, I don’t think he’s going to take it, but he finally puts his big hand out and I drop it into his palm. “We won’t make a big deal about breaking up or anything. You don’t need the extra attention right now. Let’s just get some time behind us, and then we’ll deal with all that.” He still doesn’t say anything. “Okay. My car should be warm by now. Thanks for letting me sit here while I waited.”

“I’ll walk you to your car.”

I wave him off. “It’s right there; I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. Good game tonight.” I shut the door behind me and shiver in the cold. It’s like winter has suddenly descended, and I am not ready for it. I get into my car quickly and position the vents to blow on me before I start the drive home. Gunner, always the gentleman, follows me home. I figured he wouldn’t, since the threat with Jenny is over; but nope. He follows me the entire way home. I wave when I get inside my door, knowing that arguing with him is futile.

The next few days fly by, and I barely have time to catch a few hours of sleep at night. Finally, Saturday night arrives. I can’t believe it’s finally here. I walk around the banquet hall, double checking that everything and everyone is in place and ready to go. I glance down at my iPad for at least the hundredth time. I really have done everything I can possibly do ahead of time; now it’s time for everybody to arrive and enjoy the night. The players and guests start showing up, and I stand off to the side to make sure everything runs smoothly.

“Miss Liessman.”

I turn at the sound of my name and recognize the tall man immediately—Jason Knight, the popular forward for Indianapolis’s team. “Mr. Knight.”

He smiles and puts out a hand to shake mine. “It’s an honor, Miss Liessman.”

I smirk because he’s laying it on thick. “Chloe is fine, Mr. Knight.”

“Then call me Jason.” I turn to the man standing next to him. He’s not a player, at least not one that gets time on the ice. I would know if he were. “This is Carl. He works in management for the team.”

I take them both in and cock my head to the side. “Are you crashing my party?”

Jason grins. “Your party?” He chuckles easily and turns to Carl. “See what I mean?” I feel like I’m missing something. “Chloe, I apologize. We aren’t actually crashing your party. We received an invite when we reached out to your organization and told them we were interested in what you were doing here tonight.”

I keep a smile on my face, but it feels tight. “Who exactly did you reach out to?” This is my event; I’m the one with the guest list.

“Your team manager.” He frowns slightly. “I would have assumed he told you.”

Stan. I take a deep breath. “No problem. We’re happy you’re here. Feel free to mingle with the other guests. The appetizers should be served shortly at the gathering tables in the atrium.” I take a steady breath and make a move to walk away, but a hand on my arm stops me. I glance down at Jason’s hand on my arm and work to keep a pleasant expression on my face.

“Actually, you’re the one we wanted to talk to.”

“Oh?”

“Is there a place we could talk privately?”

Before I can think of a reply, a sensation overcomes me. Gunner’s here. I don’t even have to turn and look; I just know. Jason looks over my shoulder, and his smile tightens just slightly. “Coftman,” he says easily, putting out his hand.

Gunner steps up next to me. He glances down at me for just a moment before putting his hand out to Jason. “Knight,” he says in return. Gunner doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. “What are you doing here?”

“We’re here to take in the evening,” Jason says easily, but it’s impossible not to pick up the tension in the air. “We’ve heard about your event and wanted to check it out, so we could try something like this in the Indianapolis area.” He turns to Carl. “This is Carl; he’s with our organization and here with me to scout out the event.”

“The event or the event coordinator?” Gunner asks. I glance up at him and resist the urge to elbow him in the ribs.

Jason grins. “Well, in this case, both.” He looks between the two of us. “Congratulations on the engagement, by the way.”

“Oh, we’re not—”

My words are cut off by Gunner stepping close and wrapping a big hand around my waist and pulling me close. “Thanks.”

I close my eyes a moment and count to three before opening them and plastering a smile on my face.