Page 29 of Puck and Prejudice

“Oh Jane…”

“I know. It was stupid to deceive him like that.” She covers her face with her hands and sobs. “I don’t blame him for his reaction. I fucked up.”

“Maybe once he cools off, he’ll come to his senses. But… how did he find out?”

She looks at me. “It was Jackson. Apparently, he hired a PI to dig up my past. You were right about him. He’s an asshole.”

Rage erupts from the pit of my stomach and spreads through my veins like wildfire. I should have known Jackson was behind this. He never truly accepted Jane and Chad’s engagement. “He is, and he’s going to pay for this.”

Jane widens her eyes. “Please don’t do anything reckless.”

“Nothing reckless. I promise.”

Jane won’t let me go after Chad, but Jackson is fair game. I’d never be able to kick his ass, but he’s not safe from my tongue. I don’t care that it most likely won’t change anything. I’ve had it with that man, and I need to get my fury off my chest.

ChapterThirteen

JACKSON –FIVE DAYS LATER

Fuck. We lost again. I knew the Vikings wouldn’t go down without a fight, and they rallied to win game four, and now game five. Chad’s performance wasn’t great, but I can’t blame him for the four goals against us or the Vikings shutout. Our performance tonight on home ice was abysmal. We were all off, but after Chad let the sixth puck through in the first period, our coach pulled him, which was no surprise.

I tried to get the guys to focus, shouted in the dressing room until I almost lost my voice. But morale was down, and once we got in that state, it was hard to pull it together.

The Vikings have all the momentum now. The media is already claiming it’s the biggest comeback in hockey history. They did what they promised their fans they would—they’re dragging us back to Vancouver. It’ll be a longer flight than usual, especially if I can’t get Chad to speak to me. I did fuck up. I won’t deny that. It wasn’t my intention to tell him about Jane before the finals were over. But his breakup with her wasn’t my doing. She’s the one who withheld important information from him.

Chad and I are the last ones to leave the dressing room. I lingered, waiting for him. He notices that we’re alone and glowers. “What are you still doing here?”

“I want to talk to you.”

“I have to nothing to say to you.” He hoists his duffel bag over his shoulder.

“Fine. Don’t speak to me outside of the arena. Be pissed at me all you want. But I’m still your fucking captain, and youwilllisten to me.”

His glare intensifies. “Fine. Get it over with.”

“You need to get your head in the game.”

“No shit. Tell me something I don’t already know. I blew it tonight. I know that better than anyone.”

“Is this about Jane?”

His face turns beet red. “Don’t youdaresay her name to me.”

“Why can’t I say her name? She’s the reason you’re flushing our Stanley Cup dream down the toilet. Don’t tell me your game hasn’t gone to shit because you’re upset about the breakup.”

“Of course I’m upset!” He takes a step forward, his hands balled into fists. “She’s the love of my life and I was a fucking asshole to her.”

I wince. I was not expecting that confession.

“Let me get this straight. You can’t concentrate on hockey because you want her back?”

He runs his fingers through his hair. “I miss her so damn much. I don’t care about her past, or that she didn’t tell me her father lost all his money. I was angry that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me.”

Ah shit. “Aren’t you a little suspicious of why she didn’t tell you?”

“If you’re going to say it’s because she’s a gold digger who’s after my money… don’t. She doesn’t care about that.”

“How do you know?” I ask, even though I’m afraid if I keep pushing Chad, he’ll punch me.

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