Page 1 of The Love Comeback
Chapter One
Ella
“Hockey is thebest!” Colton shouts as the final buzzer sounds, pumping his fists in the air.
I smile to myself as my ten-year-old nephew bounces on the seat, where he’s been standing to get the best view of the Atlanta Glaciers playing on the ice below. I’ve been Colton’s guardian for almost five years now, and I’m pretty sure he’s having one of the best days of his life…
But me? I’m just trying not to stare at the man on the ice who broke my heart nine years ago.
“Can we go to the meet-and-greet?” The excitement in Colton’s voice is palpable. “They said it’s open to our section! I saw it on the screen!”
With a frown, I gaze up at the monitors. Sure enough, the section we’re sitting in—section 109—is flashing across the screen. My stomach tightens at the thought of seeing my ex-boyfriend up close, of speaking to him, but … I can’t tell Colton no. Heloveshockey. It’s the entire reason I surprised him with these game tickets this past Christmas. Plus, it’s a great introduction to our new city, a fresh start, and a chance to bond after the move…
But seeing the players face-to-face was not on my bingo card, not something I had even remotely planned for when I made these arrangements.
“Okay,” I finally concede, turning my frown upside down to the best of my ability. This move has been hard enough on Colton. What’s one more sacrifice? “We can go to the meet-and-greet, but then we’ve gotta get home. You start school tomorrow.”
His excitement dampens. “Let’s not talk about that.”
I give him a curt nod, ruffling his dark hair as we head out of the section. Honestly, Colton could easily pass as my son. We have the same shade of chocolate brown hair and the same hazel eyes—which my big sister Katie also had. The differences are mostly in his facial features, like his strong nose, freckles, and lips. They all reflect his father—and the older he gets, the more I see Brett in him.
“Do you think they’ll sign my jersey?” Colton tugs on my arm as we make our way toward the back of the arena. There,the hockey players are seated at a long table, and with me being, well,me,we’re at the back of the line.
“I’m sure they will,” I reassure him as I gaze through the crowd. I’m not tall enough to scope out where each of the players are seated, but I do see that they’re signing posters. “It looks like you’ll get a free poster.”
“Cool!” Colton is bursting with enthusiasm, and I usually try to mirror that. But instead, I’m stuck pulling my black coat tighter around my body, terrified of what my ex will think of me after all these years.
He’s a professional hockey player, living his best life. While I’m just a middle school math teacher who’s since been married and divorced—and got custody of my nephew in the middle of it all. My heart jumps to my throat, grief pulsing through my body. It’s been five years since Brett and Katie’s car crash, but I still feel the loss every day.
“Ugh,this line is gonna take forever,” Colton groans, raking a hand over his face. “What if they don’t wait for us?” He peers up at me, worry etched across his features.
“They’ll wait for us.” I squeeze his shoulder.
He nods, leaning into me as we slowly but surely move through the line of eager fans. My eyes flick up to the row of hockey players now, their foreheads still glistening with sweat from the game. It only takes me a split second to find the man I was hoping to avoid.
My stomach somersaults at the sight of his olive skin, fiery amber eyes, and dark waves matted to his head. He’s as handsome as ever, and it’s almost as frustrating as it is nice to see him. He was my first heartbreak—andugh,did he break me, ending our nearly four-year relationship the day before I left for college. I pretty much spent the first semester of my freshman year bawling like a baby.
“I think I wanna be a goalie,” Colton muses, once again bouncing with excitement. “Kade Santos issoballer!”
Baller?
I giggle and then swallow hard.
“Well, we’ll have to see about that. You don’t know how to skate, so we’d have to get you lessons…” My voice fades as my brain immediately starts thinking about what lessons would cost. My new job here in Atlanta as the head of Meadowlark Middle School’s mathematics department came with a decent raise. But money is stilltight.
Thankfully, I don’t have to explain any of that to Colton as we make it to the first hockey player who grabs one of the tiny posters and scribbles his signature on it with a Sharpie.
“I wanna play hockey,” Colton says to him.
“Yeah?” The blond-headed guy looks up with a grin. “You should tell your mom to sign you up.”
My cheeks blush a dark crimson from embarrassment. I don’t want to have to tell these hockey pros that I can’t afford it on my meager teacher’s salary.
“Ella?” A deep, baritone voice cuts right through my chest. “Ella Smart, is that you?”
With a mouth that suddenly feels like it’s full of cotton balls, I adjust my gaze to the end of the table, where my ex is now boring holes into my head.
“Hi, Kade,” I choke out, butterflies coming from nowhere and fluttering all the way to my heart. “It’s me.”
