Nathan’s movements stop too, his body going rigid as he processes what Ryan just said. His eyes flicker from Ryan to me, confusion clouding his anger.
I slowly turn to Ryan, my chest rising and falling with every heavy breath I take. “You… You love me?”
He steps closer, his hand reaching for my face. His fingers are warm, comforting against my skin as he gently cups my cheek. “I love you,” he repeats, and I feel something shift in my chest—like a key turning inside me, unlocking a part of me I didn’t even know was locked. “I fucking love every single part of you, Curls.”
My lips part and I shake my head, unable to believe he’s telling me this. I’ve never had a guy tell me he loves me before. I told Jacob I loved him when he wanted to break up, hoping he’d say it back and realize it was a mistake. But he just told me this would be for the best, and he was right.
Because what I felt for Jacob was a mere fraction of what I feel for Ryan.
“I love you too,” I say, the words trembling as they leave my mouth. I step closer, my hands sliding up his chest, wrapping around his neck as I press my forehead against his.
“Fuck this,” I hear Nathan say behind me, his voice bitter and cutting. He shakes his head in disbelief and turns, heading for the door.
Ryan looks at me, a pained expression crossing his face. “I’m so sorry, Bels,” he murmurs, heavy with regret. “I didn’t want it to happen like this. I didn’t want him to find out like this.”
Me neither.
We stand there for a long moment, my hand in his, neither of us speaking.
“We’ll fix this,” Ryan replies, pressing his lips to my forehead. “I swear we will.”
I really hope he’s right.
36
RYAN
Ican’t focus.
Not with Nathan glaring at me from the net, and the sounds of skates scraping up the ice.
The whole team’s off today, and it’s all my fault.
I should’ve stayed away from Isabella. I shouldn’t have kissed her. I shouldn’t have fallen for her, but I did. And now Nathan’s treating me like I’m the fucking enemy. Hell, the whole team feels the tension.
They all notice the way Nathan won’t talk to me, won’t even look at me. I knew he’d be pissed, but I didn’t expect him to shut me out this way.
I push the puck forward and take the shot, but instead of moving to block it, he just lets it hit the net. Doesn’t even acknowledge it.
My teammates shoot me confused looks, but I don’t even know what the fuck just happened.
I skate up to the net, frustration starting to boil over. “Come on, Nathan, don’t be like this.”
He doesn’t move. Doesn’t look at me. Nothing. Just keeps staring in front as if I’m not even on the ice.
Jesus. I can’t fucking stand the silence from him. “Are you that pissed at me that you can’t even look me in the eye? You’re seriously gonna pretend I’m not even here?”
He freezes, his back straight, and without a word, he pushes himself up and skates toward me.
He jabs his finger into my chest, hard. “You gonna pretend like you didn’t lie to me for who knows how long?” I open my mouth, but the words get stuck in my throat. “You think you can sneak around with my sister behind my back, and everything’s just gonna go back to normal?”
“You think I wanted this to happen?” I spit out, my jaw clenched so tight it aches. “I tried to stay away from her.”
Nathan scoffs, shaking his head, his lip curling into a snarl. “Well, you did a fucking great job, huh?”
Fuck, this is everything I didn’t want to happen. And it blew up in my face anyway. “I tried, Nathan. I really fucking tried. But I just couldn’t stay away.”
Nathan rips off his mask, then his gloves, his fingers shaking with anger.
