Page 129 of Heart Taker

“He’ll come around,” Silas insisted as he held me tight. “He needs time.”

The fact that Dave was here now gave me hope. Hope that I hadn’t completely fucked up our friendship for good. Silas and I held hands as we walked into the kitchen and Dave stared us at with bemusement.

“I still can’t believe that you’re married. To one of your players,” Dave announced and shook his head. “What the fuck, Damien?”

Did I regret not telling Dave about my relationship with Silas? Yes. Would I do the same thing over again? Probably. My reasons for staying silent were valid; I wanted to protect Silas from the judgement we’d face as a couple. Dave’s initial response proved that. And while our families were on board—as well as many of his teammates and Selwin—not everyone would approve of me and him as a couple. Even if we were married.

Silas let go of my hand and instead, wrapped his arm around my waist. The move was protective as hell.

“If you’re here to yell at my husband again, you can show yourself out,” Silas announced.

“What he said,” I added.

Dave worried his bottom lip, staring at the two of us. “I’m not going to do that.”

“I’m sorry that you had to find out that way,” I replied. “And that I didn’t give you any warning about what was going on. But I’m not sorry for falling in love with Silas.”

“You really do love each other,” Dave stated.

I nodded.

Dave slipped off the bar stool and stood in front of us, offering his hand to my husband.

Silas slowly took it, shaking my friend’s hand.

“You know that Damien’s more than a grumpy pain in the ass in the morning, right? It’s like, an all-day thing,” Dave quipped, breaking the tension.

“Hey!” I started.

I could feel the tension in Silas’s body release as he laughed at Dave’s comment.

“I love every single one of his moods, and I’m not exactly Mr. Sunshine either,” Silas admitted.

“That’s right.” I smiled at him. “You’re Mr. Banning from here on out.”

CHAPTER 36

DAMIEN

After a quick breakfast, Silas and I followed Dave as we headed to campus for the meeting with Nora and the school’s media team. We arrived at the president’s office at nine, and that’s when reality hit.

Last night we told the hockey team, today the press release about my relationship with Silas was a go; our marriage was officially public news.

There were discussions about scheduling interviews, how to answer questions from reporters, and when to comment on socials going forward. Cillian Wexford, the journalist hired for the write up about the hockey camp, the one who caught me and Silas kissing, was back for a formal interview. Unlike the media team, who knew him, Silas and I greeted him with cool politeness. When it came time to sit down with us, Cillian was just as reserved, probably because we didn’t give him the college scandal he was so keen to write about.

“Why don’t you guys wear rings?” Cillian asked us.

“Hockey players don’t wear jewelry for the most part, even in our off time,” Silas replied. “It’s a safety thing and then it becomes a habit. We save it for special occasions.”

I was more than impressed with how calm and cool my husband was the entire time. Not only that, but he was protective of me too. Whether that was a word, a look, or a touch of his hand. It worked both ways. Being in the spotlight wasn’t easy but he seemed to take the questions, and everything else, in stride.

The longer I sat with him, the more I realized that while our wedding might have been impulsive, my decision to choose him wasn’t.

I knew, without a doubt, that this man was right for me. I’d never felt surer of anything in my life.

But after two hours of meetings and question after question, my head began to throb. The reporter left, and Silas and I were dismissed. Thank fuck. I needed to move; I had to do something, anything. Whenever I was faced with a difficult situation, I didn’t sit and wait for the answer to come to me, I acted. Whether that was on the ice as a player, on the bench as a coach, or when it came to my personal life, like eloping with Silas, I didn’t talk about it; I did it. It was the reason I vibed with hockey, and it was how I built my life back up after my injury.

Silas and I were so alike in that way. We didn’t let life happen to us; we shaped our life.

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