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“If you give me a piece of your heart, I’ll keep it safe.”
I’d never felt so desperate in my life. I’d never had to work so hard either, and I’d never felt like I had so much at stake. The thought of Claire turning me down and running away while giving into her fear—understandably—was like a bullet headed straight for me.
The only thing I could taste was her pureness and willingness to let me take her under. The only thing I thought of was making this girl mine.
“You”—I stepped over to her and pulled her in close with my hands on her lithe waist—“are my weak side, Bryant. Do you hear me?” She swallowed shyly and stared up at me. “I don’t know what that means.” I smirked as I reached over and turned the water off. “It means you’re mine.”
We were more wrapped up in each other behind our door than in front of it, but not because he didn’t want to keep up with the charade in front of campus, but mainly because he wanted me all for himself—his words, not mine.
I had always thought being focused and canceling out everything outside of the rink was the key to dominating on the ice, but I may have been wrong. Claire balanced me, and she didn’t even know it.
Over the last few days, I’d thought long and hard about her and this. She’d been burnt, badly, by her ex. And what was brewing between us had started out as a ruse. Our relationship had been a sham until, suddenly, our attraction and feelings weren’t. Each moment I spent with her was another moment stolen, and I was tired of feeling like a thief.
Being selfless didn’t mean you couldn’t be selfish too. It didn’t mean you were self-obsessed or inconsiderate. It just meant that you valued yourself, and I hated to admit that it took a big, hunky jock to prove it to me. I wanted to see the value in myself that he seemed to see.
She was meant to have eyes on her. The way she danced with elegance and beauty was something that only someone who was as determined as Claire could possess. She was everything I craved and everything I wanted for my future. I was captivated, and by the silence in the row the hockey team and I sat in, I was pretty sure they were just as breathless as I was.
I loved hockey. I breathed hockey. My future was hockey. But nothing seemed important in this moment except for Claire, and I would be fucking damned if I made her feel as insignificant as she had in the past. I wouldn’t leave this hospital until I knew she was okay and she knew that I was out here waiting.
“It’s important, but I’m beginning to realize it may not be the most important thing anymore.” Because after all, what was a future without her in it?
“And don’t you dare tell me that you haven’t fallen for him. I hardly recognize you when you look at him—and that isn’t a bad thing.”
The universe was aligned when she entered the world, and I would be a damn fool if I ever let her out of my grasp. I’d already proven to myself that I’d fallen for her, but I still felt like I needed to prove it to her.
There was chatter around us, and everyone was staring, but the only thing I focused on was her.
There was an inkling that I was going to lose her at some point, and I wasn’t sure I’d survive the loss. Maybe it was because the entire premise of our relationship was fake. Regardless, the fear of letting her slip right
He said my name a few times before I made it to the door to The Bex, but I kept heading to my car, fumbling with my keys to get to the dorm to be with the one person who taught me that sacrificing your hopes and dreams only meant something when no one expected it.
The last thing I said to Theo was that he and I were never supposed to last, but I realized pretty quickly that what we shared had nothing to do with how it started and only how it ended.
“I wanted to rip you out of the booth so fucking bad I couldn’t see straight. I wanted to take you back to our room and kiss you until you fully understood how I felt about you, but instead, I got inside my car and forced myself to drive away so I didn’t turn back around and pummel his smug face because goddamnit, Claire. He doesn’t deserve you! You deserve better.”
“Can’t you see your worth? He sure can’t. You deserve someone who will do anything to make you happy. Not someone who likes to watch you hurt for their own sick games. You need someone who—" I stopped him mid-sentence. “Someone who refuses to join their dream team in the NHL because he thinks the owner of the team hurt his fake girlfriend?”
“You have never just been my fake girlfriend, and you know it.”
“No, I’m not gonna stop,” he urged. “You don’t have to be mine, but I’m yours, and you’re just gonna have to deal with it. My dreams and goals mean absolutely nothing if you leave this room thinking I wouldn’t give up every last one to show you your worth.”
“Am I included in your future?” Theo’s other hand cupped my cheek, and he had me in a hold so tight I couldn’t move even if I had wanted to. “Haven’t I proven that? I’d do anything for you, and I’d do anything to get you to stop crying, even if that means letting you walk out that door and into someone else’s arms. If you’re happier with him, go.”
“Tell me you’re mine, Bryant. Tell me you trust me, and tell me that you can feel how much I love you just from the way I look at you.” “I’m yours, Theo. I always was.”
“And by the way”—he brushed his lips over mine—“we were always meant to last, Bryant.”
His grin was at the center of my core, and when he winked at me from the ice, my cheeks burned. God, I loved him. And I knew he loved me too.
There was never a doubt in my mind that Theo Brooks, the best hockey player in college hockey now destined to be the best player in the NHL, loved me. Hockey used to be his one true love, but he made damn sure to show me every single day that it was me instead.
“Your father was right. One of the first things he said to me after twenty-two years of being apart was, ‘Theo Brooks loves our daughter.’” Her hand fell on top of mine, and she gave it a squeeze. “Don’t make the same mistake we did. Keep that boy’s hand tucked in yours, no matter what.” I squeezed back and nodded, knowing I would never let it go.
