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CHAPTER THREE

SAWYER

S ophie’s parents, Alyssa and Dom, live only a couple of blocks away from me in Cobble Hill. Their brownstone house is identical to mine and has three floors, plus a basement. Ezra spends fifty percent of his time staying with them and the other half with me. Truthfully, I don’t know where I’d be without them. Immediately after Sophie’s death, I lost all ability to function, and Alyssa and Dom stepped up to help care for and raise Ezra.

It wasn’t only my sanity hanging by a thread, but also my hockey career—I was ready to quit and take a regular job that didn’t involve days or weeks on the other side of the country. Alyssa and Dom saved that too.

I reach into my coat pocket and pull out their house keys, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

“Hey, where are you at?” I drop my keys into the designated dish set on the console table and take the stairs down to the eat-in kitchen, where they nearly always are.

“Up here!” I hear Alyssa’s voice call from the living area on the floor above.

Retaking the stairs, I make my way to the back of the house and find my in-laws reading on the couch. Ezra’s completely oblivious to my presence as he sits on a single armchair and shouts some kind of instruction at the TV mounted above the fireplace. His headphones cover his ears, and he grips his PlayStation controller tightly while he obsesses over his latest video game.

I approach him, lifting a headphone away from his ear. “Hi. My name’s Dad, and I’m here to pick you up.”

He pulls his body away, offering me a quick smirk before his eyes flick back to the screen. “Right after this last battle.”

“He’s been playing for the past two hours.” Dom closes his book and sets it down on the coffee table in front of him. “It’s getting harder to pull him away and back into real life.”

Alyssa’s face is all in agreement. I glance quickly at Ezra and bite the inside of my cheek. It was a mistake, suggesting they buy him a second PlayStation for when he stayed here. But they were stuck for birthday gift ideas since the kid didn’t have many other interests, and all I’ve ever wanted is for him to be happy.

“At least when it was just the laptop, he wasn’t taking over the house,” Alyssa adds, standing from the couch and making her way toward the staircase.

I scratch at the back of my neck and follow her down to the kitchen, heading for the fridge and pulling out a water.

“Want to stay for lunch?” she asks, grabbing a cutting board as she waits for an answer.

Each time I look at my mother-in-law, I see Sophie. With her wavy red hair and green eyes, it’s like a glimpse at what my late wife would have looked like if she were still here and twenty-five years older.

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks.” I take a seat at the island and open my water, taking a gulp and setting it down in front of me.

She smiles and grabs a knife from the block next to her, pointing it at my head. “No hats in the house; you know how I feel about them.”

I pull off my Blades cap and wince at the state of my dark hair. It’s always been on the longer side since I like to style it when I can, but today, it looks especially bad.

Alyssa’s eyes land on the mess. “Rough night?”

I clear my throat and pull the water bottle toward me. “Didn’t sleep all that well.”

She lifts a brow and slices into a tomato. “You secured the win and put in a good performance. What’s the issue?”

My throat feels thick as I clear it again and shrug a shoulder, the action reminding me of the bratty girl in my bed last night.

If I wanted, I could talk to Alyssa about Collins. She wouldn’t have an issue or shy away from a conversation about another woman. She’s the mom I never had since my parents are assholes and estranged, a bit like my brother. In fact, if I told her I’d hooked up last night, she’d likely pause on lunch and ask me to give her all the details. She’s repeatedly told me to get back out there and make the most of my dating years. I’m in my mid-thirties, so I guess she has a point.

When she starts on another tomato, I inhale a deep breath and consider telling her the truth, but back out at the final second.

We agreed to keep what happened a secret.

“You going to drink that water or continue making a mess on my counter?”

Alyssa snaps me back to reality, and I look down at the torn-up label in my hand.

“You know what they say about stripping labels off bottles, don’t you?”

I roll my eyes and look at her. “Are we really having this conversation? I’m not about to divulge my sex life, or lack thereof, with my mother-in-law.”

She shakes her head and chuckles, getting back to chopping. “How many nights do you need us to take Ezra next week?”

I slide off the stool and throw the torn-up label in the trash before making my way back to the island and retaking my seat. “Three nights. This series isn’t as long.”

“Wait, I thought you said we were leaving?” In his black Fortnite hoodie and jeans, Ezra waltzes into the kitchen, snatching up a piece of tomato on his way over to the fridge. His brown hair is a mess, like mine, and his green eyes look glazed from way too much screen time.

“We’re staying for lunch, so no snacking.”

He closes the fridge door, offering me a huff that’s typical of his age group. “How long will it be? I’m starving.”

Alyssa lifts her eyes to him. “A half hour.”

“Ughhhh.” He throws his head back like it’s the worst news he’s ever received. “I finished up early on a battle because you’d said we were going.”

I raise an unimpressed brow. “Whether we eat here or at home, it won’t get you in front of the TV any faster.”

Ezra flops down next to me at the island, and I nudge my shoulder into him.

“You spend way too much time on that thing, and anyway, you used to shoot hoops with your friends on a Sunday.”

He doesn’t look at me. “It got boring.”

My eyes flick to Alyssa. She appears as worried as I feel.

“Then find something else you can all do,” I reply.

He rolls his eyes, gaze averted as he looks around the kitchen. “Who do you think I’m playing Fortnite with?”

I go to reply, but I’m cut off by my phone—Archer’s name is written across the front when I pull it out of my pocket.

It’s unusual for him to call me on our day off. Normally, we talk in the group chat.

I climb off the stool and rest a hand on Ezra’s shoulder, letting him know we aren’t done with this conversation.

When I push through the patio doors and out into the yard, I hit Accept on the call. “What’s up?”

“Where are you? I’ve been at your door for ages.”

My goalie is as relaxed as they come. He doesn’t get worked up off the ice or even at the crease, making him one of the best in the league. Though, right now, he sounds borderline frantic.

“I’m at Alyssa and Dom’s, and I won’t be back for a while.” I pause. “What happened?”

He releases a long breath. “I think I fucked up, man.”

I stop walking. “Are we talking hockey or something else?”

“Technically both.”

I swivel back around and watch as Alyssa talks with Ezra through the glass door.

“Go on.”

Archer clears his throat, and his surroundings turn quiet, like he’s moved somewhere more private than outside my front door. I hear a car door shut and another sigh.

“Want me to guess?” I say, figuring this is hard for him to admit.

He chuckles low. “Yeah. Why not?”

I smirk, thinking of all the possible ways the biggest NHL playboy could land himself in shit. “You got into it with a girl last night, and she turned out to be even kinkier than you. When she pulled out the strap-on, you winced but went along with being pegged anyway. Trouble is, now you can’t sit down.”

Expecting him to laugh, I’m surprised but even more concerned when he doesn’t react.

“I fucked another dude’s girl.”

“What?”

His voice is hoarse, steeped in regret. “I didn’t know until this morning. Last night, after you left with Collins, I stayed behind for a while and then went to a club with some of the other guys. They left around one a.m., and that’s when this hot-as-fuck blonde started talking to me at the bar.” He puffs out a despondent breath. “I was planning to leave alone for once, but she was too fine to turn down, and after a couple more beers, my inhibitions dropped. So, I took her back to my place and fucked her brains out.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “And how do you know she’s got a guy?”

“Well, that’s where it gets really interesting. Honestly, she kind of looked familiar last night, but I chalked it up to the beer goggles and that she was your typical supermodel-type girl. She ended up staying over since we had gone at it all night, and in the morning, while she was taking a shower in my en suite, her phone lit up with an incoming call.” He swallows audibly. “The contact picture was Shane Stevens—the defenseman who got dropped to the farm team three seasons back.”

Fuck . I move my phone from one ear to the other. “And you’re sure she’s his girl and not, like, his sister or something?”

He chuckles, but there’s zero humor behind it. “Unless she calls him Sweet Cheeks for a joke, then, no, I’m guessing they aren’t related.”

I switch the call to hands-free and pull up my browser. “What was her name?”

Silence.

“Archer, what was her name?” I repeat.

“I … think it was …”

My head lops between my shoulders, and I squeeze my eyes shut. “You don’t remember, do you?”

“I think it began with a K .”

I bring the phone back to my ear.

“What do you think I should do?” he asks with hope in his voice, like I somehow have all the answers.

I guess, given I’m his captain and eight years older than him, I should have some words of wisdom.

“Stop fucking everything that moves,” I reply.

“Helpful,” he says dryly.

I run a hand over my jaw. “The easy thing to do would be to keep quiet since I doubt she’ll say anything.”

Archer hums. “She begged me not to say anything when I confronted her this morning. They’re getting married in three months, and this is her first indiscretion … apparently.”

If he were standing in front of me right now, I’d likely have my hands around his throat. God love Archer Moore—he’s one of the nicest guys I know—but he can be really fucking reckless sometimes, especially when it comes to women.

I think about reaming him out for yet another one-night stand with someone he barely knows, but I stop myself when the image of Collins—who I now know as Collins Mackenzie—lying beneath me as I rolled my hips into her, flashes through my head.

I take a breath just as Alyssa knocks on the window, and I raise a hand, acknowledging her.

“The right thing to do would be to say something to Shane. You played with him for a number of seasons, and he’s a good guy. He deserves to know what happened. Wouldn’t you want to be told before you got hitched?”

“I guess,” he replies quietly.

I start back for the house. “And once you’ve cleaned that up, call the team doctor and bring your STI test forward. It’s possible she lied when she said she hadn’t played away before.”

“I’m never hooking up again.”

I smirk—that’s something I’ve heard him say a million times before.

My hand is resting on the patio door when he speaks again.

“Anyway, you can’t judge me. I’d bet money you got into it with Collins last night.”

I bristle, tongue swiping across my lip. I swear I can still taste her. “Wrong on two counts. I’m not judging you, and I spent last night alone.”

He sounds doubtful. “It’s okay to admit you like someone, you know. Maybe even move on with another person.”

I depress the patio door handle, ready to wrap up the call. “Just focus on getting your mess cleaned up. I’ll see you at morning skate.”