Page 73 of Beauty
“What’s this?” I ask as I take it.
Morning skate was brutal, but the hot shower after helped. Now I’m itching to get out of here and plan how best to approach Sienna.
“Got it at the hospital. I might have gone a little overboard in the gift shop and saw it while I was loading up on gifts for Sara and Taylor.”
Chuckling, I thumb the pages. That tracks. The man is obsessed with his wife and now his daughter.
TheStar Wars–themed cover causes another round of guilt to pummel me. Dammit. He knows how obsessed I was with the movies growing up. I used to watch them with my dad, and now Oliver and I watch them together.
They’re the only movies—other thanSerendipity—that I actually watch.
Brooks knows these things because we’re friends, and friends don’t fuck their friend’s little sisters.
Daniel Hall may have done it, but in his defense, he and I weren’t really friends when he knocked Hannah up.
Even still, I cling to him as a defense because it makes me feel less shitty about myself.
“When I saw the cover, I knew I had to get it for you. You have it?”
I shake my head. Though I’m a little obsessive about crossword puzzles, especially when we travel because I have to be away from Oliver and need the distraction, I’ve never come across a whole book that’sStar Wars–themed. “Thank you. Ollie will love it too.”
Brooks dips his chin and walks off. “Anytime,” he says over his shoulder. “Now I’m going home to nap. Hopefully. Taylor didn’t sleep a wink last night.”
“You want to grab lunch?” War calls from his locker.
“I actually have a meeting.”
Though it’s not officially on anyone’s calendar, I’m going to make it happen.
I have to see the CEO of our team. It’s completely unethical. Probably against bro code too. Definitely against hockey code. And it’s risky, with the end of my contract coming up.
I could reason that the end of my contract is a legitimate excuse to show up at the executive offices, I guess, but the last thing I want to discuss with Sienna is what my future with the Bolts looks like.
War, probably eager to go home and get some alone time with his wife before the team comes over to watch tape tonight, waves me off without a second thought. “See you later, then.” Before he’s finished talking, he’s tapping at his phone. Knowing him, he’s texting Ava, demanding that she be naked by the time he pulls in the driveway.
I can’t help but chuckle as I collect my things. The man has done a complete one-eighty since he settled down.
He’s absolutely nothing like the guy who found himself in a different bed just about every night while we were in college. All the guys here are dedicated to both the game and their families, and our captain leads by example.
Though I suppose I’m not the guy I was back when War and I played together before.
I pluck my phone off the bench beside me and smirk at the picture that appears when the screen lights up. Ollie was dead set on wearing a black fedora on the first day of school. When I questioned the choice, his answer was simple.Why wouldn’t I?
My chest aches as I study the details of the image. It guts me that I can’t see him all the time. And the guilt I carry about traveling, about missing out on so many things, eats at me a little more every day. He’s getting older, and yet I feel like with each year that passes, I miss out on more important milestones.
I shake my head. I can’t do anything about that right now. He’s with Jen today, but a FaceTime call after he’s home from school will ease a little of my discomfort. I’ll get lots of time with him when we’re home again next week. That’s what I need to focus on.
Spring break is the following week, and I talked Jen into allowing him to travel with me for our away games. Our first stop is Orlando. While we’re there, we’ll hit the pool and do some fishing.
I take the underground walkway that connects the hockey arena and baseball stadium to the Langfield Corp building, mostly certain Sienna has set up shop on the same floor as Hannah’s old office. It’s a risk, trying to see her here, but if I used her number, then she’d know I had it, and I’d have to explain why I didn’t call. And approaching her after a game is out of the question because her brothers are around.
I need to beg her to forgive me for fucking up so epically last night. I didn’t expect to see her there, like that, standing beside my sister. And the sight of her knocked the wind out of me. It’s embarrassing how off-kilter she made me. I wasn’t expecting her.
I screwed up. It’s that simple. And now I’ve got to fix it.
The receptionist, a pretty redhead with stars in her eyes, blinks up at me. “Mr. Harrison,” she breathes. Suddenly, her expression goes pensive, and she runs her finger down a list on her desk. “Do you have an appointment?”
“Yes. I’m meeting Sienna Langfield. She’s expecting me.” Fuck, I hope my instinct is right. I hope she’ll see me. If not, things are going to get really awkward up here.
