Page 94 of Blocked Shot
For a second, Jake forgets how to breathe.
The words slam into him, knocking the air straight from his lungs. He’s been wanting to hear them for so long, needing to hear them, but now that they’re out there, real and undeniable, he can hardly believe it.
A slow grin tugs at his lips. His chest is tight, but in the best possible way. Like something that was locked up inside him finally cracks wide open.
His hand tightens at her waist, his other still cupping her face as he lets out a breathless, almost disbelieving laugh. “Say it again.”
She smiles, eyes glistening, her fingers gripping his lapels. “I love you.”
Jake doesn’t hesitate.
“I love you too,” he says, voice rough. “So fucking much.”
And then, because nothing in the world makes more sense, he kisses her.
It’s deep and full of every ounce of longing, relief, and love he’s been holding back. He pours everything into it—the way he missed her, the way he doesn’t want to let her go again, the way she made his entire world tilt back into place with three little words.
CHAPTER 45
JAKE
Jake’s arms are still wrapped around Natalie as they walk through the arena’s private hallway, past security and half-empty catering tables. Her body is warm, grounding him, tethering him to the reality that she’s really here.
He’s drunk on it. The world feels sharper, like someone scrubbed the fog off the edges of his life.
She pauses near a side door, biting her lip. “There’s one more person who wants to see you.”
Jake blinks. “Who?”
Before she can answer, he sees him. Jesse slouches against a wall scrolling his phone, cap pulled low over his eyes. He looks up, sensing their approach.
They lock eyes. A beat of silence stretches out between them—heavy, taut, full of all the shit they never said and all the crap they did. Jake can still feel the sting of their last fight. Still hears Jesse’s words ringing in his ears. The kid looks rough, worn down in a way that has nothing to do with hockey. He’s got that tired, brittle look Jake recognizes too well: the kind you get when you’re pissed at the world and mostly at yourself.
Natalie lets go of him gently, brushing his arm. “I’ll give you guys a minute,” she says, and steps back.
Jake wants to call her back. Wants to stay in the glow of her, not walk into this mess. But he doesn’t.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Jesse blurts out, staring hard at his shoes. “I got in the way. I acted like I knew what was best for her, and I didn’t. I was stupid… and angry.”
Jake doesn’t answer right away. He watches him—this kid he’s fought beside on the ice and against off it—and feels the words working their way up from somewhere deep.
“You weren’t stupid,” he says finally, voice low, rough. “You were looking out for her. I get it.”
Jesse’s head snaps up. The surprise in his eyes hits Jake like a punch to the gut. He hadn’t realized how badly the kid needed to hear it. Hell, maybe he needed to say it too.
Jesse exhales, the tension in his jaw loosening a little. “Still… I made her choose. I acted like there wasn’t room for both of us in her life. I’ve already taken so much from her?—”
Jake steps closer, his voice firm now. “You didn’t take anything from her that she didn’t give you willingly. You’ll always be her brother, Jesse. No one—not me, not anyone—will ever take your place. She doesn’t carry you, Jesse. She loves you.”
That hits. Jesse looks away, his eyes shining a little too brightly.
“And me?” Jake adds, softer now. “I don’t want to replace anyone. I just want to be the person she comes home to.”
A beat passes. Then Jesse nods, swallowing hard. “She picked a good one.”
Jake extends his hand. Jesse hesitates for half a beat, then grips it firmly. Jake pulls him in, clapping a solid hand against his back. Jesse lets out a breath, his eyes dropping as he swallows hard.
It’s awkward, brief, but real.
