Chapter 35
Bristol
“I’m going to startcharging you for ice cream,” Dakota said as she handed me a pint and plopped down beside me on the couch.
“You can afford it,” I shot back. Even if she wasn’t practically married to a professional athlete, she was a best-selling author and made way more money than I did. Supplying me with a few gallons of ice cream wouldn’t break the bank.
She hummed. “What I can’t afford is seeing you so defeated. He’s coming back.”
I couldn’t stop the snort as I shoved a spoonful of mint chocolate chip into my mouth. Once I swallowed, I countered, “Then why hasn’t he called? It’s like I’m right back there with Nix, ears trained on the phone for whenhe’sready.”
Dakota turned to face me, countering, “You know he’s nothing like Nix.”
Ignoring her, I muttered, “When am I going to stop doing this to myself? Emotionally unavailable men are apparently all I’m attracted to.” Sighing,I reclined on the couch. “Can we not talk about him for five minutes? Please? Distract me with wedding talk.”
“Okay.” Dakota perked up at the mention of her upcoming nuptials, less than six months away. She ticked the items checked off her list on her fingers. “We’ve got the date, the place, and Lucy’s handling my dress.”
My chest warmed at the thought of my best friend in a custom-made couture gown by one of the world’s most famous fashion designers. My bets were already on Braxton bawling like a baby when she walked down the aisle.
“Wedding party?” I asked.
“I’ve got most of it figured out.” She pursed her lips, tapping on her chin. “Still in desperate search of a maid of honor, though.”
Rolling my eyes, I chucked a pillow at her. “Jerk.”
“There’s a smile!” she exclaimed triumphantly when a corner of my lips turned up.
I quickly schooled my features. “Nothing to see here.”
She bumped shoulders with me. “I can’t wait to see you as red as a tomato when Jaxon escorts you back up the aisle as the best man.”
Shrugging, I replied, “He doesn’t quite hold the same appeal anymore.”
“Why? Because an even older hottie has caught your eye?”
“I hate you,” I groaned. But she wasn’t wrong. Apparently, older men were my kryptonite. “If I’m with Jaxon, who’s paired with Natalie?”
“Maddox.”
I pretended to check a non-existent watch on my wrist. “Yep. Exactly five minutes.”
Dakota laid her head on my shoulder. “Sorry, babe.”
I knew there was no escaping him, even if things didn’t work out between us. Eventually, he would come back as the Speed’s head coach, and at least for now, I intended to keep my position reporting on the team. Evenwithout that working relationship, we would forever be tied together by our common friends.
I couldn’t run from Maddox, like I had from Nix. And I didn’t want to. Even if it hurt not to be with him, it would be exponentially more painful not to see his face every day—a fact I became acutely aware of during his leave of absence. He’d become a constant in my life, and the rink wasn’t the same without him.
There was a knock on the door—more of a banging, really—that had both our heads lifting and turning toward it. Braxton had gone out with the team post-win, so it was just the two of us girls here alone, and it was approaching midnight.
“Expecting someone?” I asked Dakota, my voice strained as panic seeped in when the heavy banging continued.
“Braxton should be home soon. Maybe he drank too much and had a car drop him off.”
She stood to check who was beating down the door, but I gripped her wrist, holding her back. “You can’t answer it!”
“It’s okay,” she reassured me. “I’ll check the doorbell camera on my phone.”
That did little to quell my fear as she silently padded toward her front door. I was left with two choices: watch my best friend get murdered or hide so I wasn’t the next target. I wasn’t proud to say that self-preservation won out and I chose the latter, ducking behind the recliner.
