Page 85 of Forbidden Puck
“Ryan …”
It seemed so romantic, but so tragic at the same time. Wasn't there some way we could continue on, without this being such a big deal? But no … he'd tried to do it that way, andIhelped turn it into the disaster that it was now.
I squeezed his manly arms.“I'm sorry I didn't just go along with this in secret like you wanted.”
“No way. Don't apologize for that. It wouldn't have worked out between us. Your way—the truth—is the only shot we've got.”
I stared at the handsome athlete. This was really him. The guy I'd been waiting for.
***
We arrived at the rink just in time for their meeting.
Ryan parked the car and switched off the engine. With a deep breath, he turned to me. “Might be better if you stay in the car. If they see you with me, we might unleash hell all over again.”
I shook my head. “No. I want Lance to see me so he knows I'm serious. If he thinks he can throw a tantrum and get you traded to Vancouver, then I want him to know he's saying goodbye tome,too.”
He took my hand. “Thanks, Ella. That means a lot to me.”
So we walked, hand-in-hand, and made our way into the arena through the staff-only entrance. We took an elevator to the top floor; a long hallway led to a set of mahogany double-doors: the Brawlers GM's office. Ryan knocked and a gray-haired middle-aged man in a business suit answered.
“Hello, Radar,” he said.
“Morning, Mr. Tremblay. This is Ella Couture. Ella, this is our GM, Mr. Tremblay.”
I smiled at the older man and shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” he said politely, although he wore a pained smile, as if he were saying,but boy I wish the circumstances were different!
We entered the GM's office. Lance and Shea were already seated inside. When Lance saw me, he shot up from his chair. “You guys can get started. I need to have a word with my sister.”
Lance whisked me out of the office and into a press box overlooking the arena's empty, blinding white sheet of ice.
“So I take it you didn't go to a hotel last night like you said you would,” he mused. “You probably ran home to Radar, didn't you? I heard you guys had brunch this morning, too?”
“It's none of your business what we did.”
“Well, I hope all that quality time together was worth it, because he's about to be traded to Vancouver.” He stared at me, shaking his head with disbelief. “I can't believe you're actually standing here right now.”
“I'm here because Ryan took me to brunch this morning,andhe was going to take me to the airport for my flight. Unlike you, who lured me to Boston all because you had some selfish interest in mind, spent the whole weekend with your girlfriend, and would rather throw me in a cab and be rid of me than spend actual time with me.”
“Whatever. You shouldn't have come here with Radar, end of story. If you thought you could show up and change my mind, you're wrong. You're only adding to my embarrassment, that's theonlything you're doing.”
I folded my arms angrily. “Is that what this is about? You don't care about me or my feelings at all. You just think it'sembarrassingthat your little sister might like your teammate.”
“Damn right, I think it's embarrassing. Heusedyou, Ella. And you think youlikehim? Don't make me laugh.”
“Idolike him. And he likes me.”
Lance rolled his eyes. “So I've heard.”
“Actually, he said he loves me.”
“He said he lov—” Lance couldn't finish the sentence. A rage boiled in his eyes, his fists balled and his forearm trembled, and he leaned in the direction of Mr. Tremblay's office. “I oughtta go kill the bastard.”
I grabbed him by the shirt, dug my heels into the ground and kept him from going.
“I feel the same way about him, Lance.”
