Page 63 of Hat Trick
"Chad. I get that. I do. But I'm not interested. I'm in a relationship, and we're happy. I'm not interested in revisiting whatever we were."
Then it dawns on me. He sees that someone else values me - a famous and wealthy hockey player - and suddenly my value in hiseyes has increased. That if Gabe wants me, I must be something special. Not that I'm special on my own.
That maybe, just maybe, Chad's not better than me.
"Let me take you out for coffee. Just to catch up. As friends."
Before I can answer, two uniformed stewards approach. "Sir, we've been asked to remove you from the premises."
Chad's indignation rolls off of him in thick waves. "Excuse me?" He shouts.
"If you'd please come with us." The head steward asks, motioning for the exit. "Your friends, too."
I go to stop the steward. I don't need Chad and his friends ejected. I'm fine. But then I stop myself. If my boys want to protect me, who am I to deny them? I love their dedication. I love the fact that they want to protect me. That I'm finally wanted. That I finally have someone in my corner.
I watch as Chad, the blonde, and his friends get herded to the exits.
Turning back to the game, I catch Gabe's eye. Fuck it. He's already made us public. I smile and bring my hands together in a heart shape, resting them on the plexiglass in front of me. The grin he shoots me is indecent. It promises of so much...after the game.
As they warm up for the second period, he grabs Luca and Carter, and they huddle together. He whispers something to their little huddle and all three of my men look up at me, wickedly sinful grins on their faces. I blush deep and shrink. Oh, I'm in for it.
Chapter thirty-five
Luca
The ride home is tense in its silence. We saw Emily's ex. We saw him during the first period when his friends were teasing her. We saw the stricken look on her face while she ignored them. And when we came back out onto the ice after the first intermission and he was sitting next to her, leaning towards her, I saw red.
This mother fucker has the audacity to speak to her, to flirt with her, after he destroyed her self-worth and self-esteem. Douche canoes like him are always only out for themselves. Gabe grabbed a steward and had Chad and his douchey friends evicted. He's lucky that's all we could do from the ice. Gabe looked like he wanted to do a hellofa lot more than just evict him. Gabe's good like that.
Except right now, the vibe in the car is off. Gabe is silently stewing. Carter is contemplative, lost deep in his own mind. Emily seems off, too. But I can't quite pinpoint exactly what's off. Does she miss him? Does she want to go back to him? Did seeing him after all these years dig up feelings for him?
The unknown is eating me alive. Normally I'd have a joke or funny story to tell to lighten the mood. But I don't have it in me. If I'm going to be the man she deserves, we have to talk about the hard things. We have to work through them together.
Emily's phone dings and she looks at it casually before wincing.
I thread my fingers through hers and hold her hand. "Everything alright, sweetheart?" I want to hold her. I want to kiss her. I want tofuck away all memories of that asshole. But she doesn't need that. She needs me to be there for her.
She flips the screen to show me a text preview from Chad. My chest tightens, but at least she's not hiding it. That's got to be a good sign, right?
"Want to talk about it?"
Gabe lowers the volume of the music so he can listen, too.
She shakes her head but talks anyway. "I don't know. He wants to take me out for coffee."
"No." Gabe growls from the front seat. Fucking neanderthal. "I should have kicked his ass when I had the chance." He grumbles. "Do you know where he lives? May be a good time to swing by and have a little visit."
She shakes her head again and gives him a sad smile. "You're not going to beat him up. I'm not interested in having coffee with him. I know he only wants me now because he can't have me. He sees you playing with his toy, and he wants it back." Gabe growls again at the idea. "I'm happy with you guys. You've shown me how a woman should be treated, and I have no interest in going back there..." She trails off, her eyes distant, her mind far from us. I don't know what she's remembering, but I know it can't be good.
She squeezes my hand and looks back to me. "I guess I'm just in my head about it all. How I let it happen. Why I put up with it for so long. How I convinced myself everything was good."
I can't stand the sadness on her face, so I unbuckle her and pull her closer to me so I can wrap my arm around her. She smiles up at me and gives me the sweetest, softest kiss on my chin.
"You're good men. You know that?" She says.
I kiss the top of her head.
She rests her head against my chest, and I squeeze her tighter, hoping I can press all of my love into her through my arms.
