Page 108 of Coach's Temptation

I nod toward the spare room. “Go check.”

Natalie pushes back from the table, disappearing down the hall.

There's a short beat of silence before I hear Natalie's muffled surprise at the new armchair which I had custom upholstered in the material of the old curtains. The chair rests in the perfect spot by the corner window overlooking the town.

I hear Natalie's surprise and can't help but lean back in my chair and smirk at Mr. and Mrs. Debbie-Downer.

They just stare back at me, then look to each other with nothing but blank faces.

Harold finally says something, mildly confused. “What’s happening?”

I smirk, taking another sip of wine. “Oh, it's nothing. Just busy giving your amazing daughter the world she deserves."

Martha exhales slowly, as if she’s debating whether or not to admit I’ve impressed her. Instead, she picks up her wine glass and changes the subject entirely.

Because that’s what people like them do.

They don’t acknowledge things. They deflect.

But me?

I’m not like them.

I make sure the people I love know exactly where they stand.

And Natalie Hayes will never doubt it again.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Natalie

The night before Game One, and Iron Ridge is absolutely electric.

Every window downtown is decked out in Icehawks banners. Kids are running around in oversized jerseys, faces painted in team colors. Eli has practically turned Ridgeview Tavern into an Icehawks shrine.

I mean, it was already borderline before. But now?

Life-sized cutouts of the players are scattered around the bar, including one of Hunter, arms crossed, expression fierce as hell. Someone’s stuck a paper crown on his head with "OUR KING" scribbled across it in Sharpie.

I stop in the doorway and burst out laughing. “Okay, I officially love this town.”

Hunter, standing behind me, lets out a deep, unimpressed sigh. “Fucking hell, Eli.”

I nudge him. “Aw, don’t be shy, Coach. The people love you.”

“I get that. But do I really need a goddamn coronation.”

“You say that, but…”

I gesture at the bar where Eli and some of the guys are raising their beers toward the cardboard version of him. Ryder is already posing with it, Logan’s got his arm slung around the cutout’s shoulders, and Connor is laughing his ass off as he poses in a…questionableposition in front of it.

I glance up at Hunter,myHunter, and warmth spreads through me.

The same man who handled my parents with quiet strength. Who saw through their cold, passive-aggressive bullshit and made it clear, without ever having to say it outright, that I was worth every effort he made for me.

That this—us—is worth everything.

I spot Lucy, Sophia, and Mia tucked into their usual corner booth, and they immediately start with the eyebrow waggling when Hunter's hand slides possessively across my lower back.

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