“Yeah. Came home early for one of my hockey tournaments and caught Lewis banging my mom on his desk. Then everything else came out. Because he was such a good guy, Dad took it on the chin. Letting his wife and company go without putting up a fight. He started all over. Started a new company but never trusted a woman enough to remarry.”
I twisted my lips. “But your mom and Lewis . . . ”
“I love my mother, I do. But there’s some resentment that she always finds a way to put herself first. The only reason she didn’t marry Lewis until I was out of the house was because I told her I would move into Dad’s place before I lived in the same house as that man. But the minute I was gone, they tied the knot. I can barely stand to look at him after he destroyed my family. I would never have agreed to dinner tonight if I’d known he would be there. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
Leaning down, I pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
He shrugged. “I’m used to it.”
“Will I ever get to meet your dad?”
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Yeah. Hopefully this summer, if I can convince you to come back out here withme. He still travels a ton, even though he should be gearing up for retirement and handing the reins to my cousin.”
“He must love what he does.”
“I think he’s lonely,” Maddox said sadly. “I got a taste of that after the injury.”
“Oh yeah?” My ears perked up. I’d read about his ACL tear, but he didn’t bring it up much. I could imagine it was painful to dwell on the reason his career suddenly ended.
Maddox swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing along his throat. “Yeah. I went from being constantly surrounded by people to being alone in my house. For months, the only places I went were to doctor’s appointments and physical therapy. I spent too much time inside my head with no one to talk to. I hated it.”
My heart ached for him. As with most professional players, hockey became his identity. That’s why so many of them chose to stay close to the game in retirement. They didn’t know anything else.
I decided to shift topics, not wanting to cause him further pain. “Is what your mom said true? That you’ve never brought a girl to meet her before?”
His head bobbed in my lap on a nod. “When I was playing, that was my focus. There were guys on the team who were married and had kids, and while they were great players, they split focus. Hockey became a job, and family became their priority. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but I wanted to compete—to win—so badly that I wasn’t willing to let anything stand in my way.” Maddox paused before continuing, “But when I had all that time to think, I realized that maybe I’d held myself back because of what happened to my dad. I was worried that a woman would only want me because of my fame and fortune and that if my career took a dip, they’d find someone better. I know it’s stupid—”
“It’s not stupid,” I cut him off.
Maddox sat up, cupping my face. “But you know what I realized? I was holding myself back from experiencing life to the fullest with someone by my side who made me better. But I can’t regret it because if I had taken that leap earlier, I wouldn’t have you.”
Breathless at his admission, I leaned in for a kiss. It was soft and tender and full of love.
We had both walked through fire to reach this moment, but those trials only made us appreciate what we’d found that much more.
Chapter 31
Maddox
The thing I missedmost about my playing days was leaving work behind at the rink. The ability to come home, kick back, and relax for the night once training was done.
Now that I was a head coach, that wasn’t an option. Most nights were spent poring over film, analyzing line choices, and strategizing ways to improve our team. It was exhausting and never-ending.
Since the Speed lost their matchup tonight against the Salt Lake City Snow, I was trying to pinpoint the factors that had caused it. We were a better team on paper, but our execution was lacking. Our guys looked slow, made sloppy passes, and took far too many penalties.
My eyes were sore from hours spent on my laptop, and the figures on the screen began to blur the longer I stared at them.
We were at Bristol’s place, which meant my office was her couch while she finished her article in the bedroom. The ranch-style home had a second bedroom, but she hadn’t gotten around to setting it up for anything more than extra storage.
The sound of a door unlatching had my head lifting to a view of Bristol emerging from her bedroom in a pink silk camisole and shorts set. She must’ve changed after closing herself inside after work, and my fingers itched to slide the fabric from her soft skin to expose the matching pink parts of her body it hid.
But it was Bristol who groaned when our eyes locked. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“What?” My brows drew down, not understanding what she was talking about.
“The glasses.”
I removed the black-rimmed spectacles. “You like these?”
