Page 47 of Offside and Off-Limits
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I did a deep dive on him last night after I’d put the kids to bed. Everything I read suggested he’s the guy I judged him as when we first met: shallow, up for a good time, never serious about anything, with a different woman on his arm in every picture.
Not once did I read anything about his mom’s lupus, or about how he signed with the Blades to be near her. It’s as though he has a certain image he projects that tells only part of the story, leaving out the parts that matter the most.
I've seen him a couple of times at the arena since that evening at his place when I went to film him playing the piano and instead ended up having dinner with him and seeing the way he was so natural with my kids. Truth be told, I've been avoiding him—not an easy thing to do when my job is literally to capture footage of him and his teammates for our socials.
Despite the fact she doesn’t have a full picture of him, Veronica’s warning about Cade rings loud and clear in my ears. It’s taken me so long to get back on my feet since I was diagnosed and Dwayne left me. The last thing I want to do is throw that all away because I’ve got growing feelings for a man who could probably have any woman he wants, feelings that have begun to go beyond just physical attraction.
Why would he go for a single mom in her early thirties with barely two pennies to rub together?
Then I think of the way he looks at me with such softness in his eyes, the way he relates so effortlessly to my kids, the way he seems like such a genuine guy with a good heart, and I know he has feelings for me.
But I can’t go there with him.
I need to focus on Warrior. Straightforward, uncomplicated Warrior, the man who cares for me, the man I’ve connected with through our shared illness.
“Who’s that?” Bailey asks.
“Warrior.”
She lets out a whistle. “Mystery Man himself, huh? How are you feeling about him?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I was certain before?—”
“Before someone made your heart pump harder than it’s pumped before?”
I twist my mouth, my mind instantly turning to Cade.
“Girl, you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Mystery Man being the rock, and Cade Lennox being the hard place.”
I shake my head. “Thanks for the imagery.”
“Okay. Answer me this. Who makes your heart beat the fastest? Mystery Man or the Ice Breakers’ star winger?”
I press my lips together. I don't even have to think to know the answer. The star winger wins every time.
Bailey arches her brows at me. “You know, don't you?”
I let out of breath. “I want it to be Warrior.”
“But it's Cade,” she says and I nod. “You’re allowed to like him, you know. Just because you’ve had one epically bad relationship doesn’t mean you’re banned from having butterflies forever.”
“I know.”
“Mystery Man is sweet, and I know you two have some history. But he’s an idea, Clara. Cade is real. Andyouare real. You deserve to feel things, even if they’re complicated, swoony things.”
“But he’s got his reputation.”
“You said you’ve seen him with your kids. He gave your son a collectible action figure and played piano with Hannah. That’s not a fling guy move.”
I let out a surprised laugh. “Sure, he’s not the guy I thought he was, but I’ve still got a non-fraternization clause in my contract.”
“Can’t you just like him from a distance? Appreciate those abs you say he shows off to you at every turn?”
“They are some pretty fine abs,” I agree.
“You’re not breaking rules just because your hormones are having a little revival post Dwayne the Rat.”
“I guess not.”
