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September 4 - September 7, 2025
How do you prepare yourself to lose the person who has been there for you through thick and thin your entire life? How do you say goodbye to the woman who raised you, who molded who you are today? I don’t know what’s worse. Never getting the chance to say goodbye to someone as they experience a sudden quick death, or watching them waste away, losing who they are at their core as they fade into nothing, day by painful day.
He ordered me to take a year off to grieve, but I still haven’t stopped. I don’t think you ever do. No one can put a time on grieving. I don’t even think the pain ends; you just get used to it.
“Why aren’t you playing well, honey?” Her sweet voice is almost my undoing, almost the thing that makes me scream, Because I killed my brother and I can’t allow myself to breathe when he can’t! I decide to settle on a half-truth. “Because my best friend isn’t here to help me anymore.”
Did she set us up?” “Set us up?” Her eyes widen. “Grayson, I’m not a hookup or a date. I’m your goddamn assistant.” She huffs, muttering under her breath, “And now I’m starting to realize why the job pays so high.”
“You want me to…pretend to date someone?” “Like arm candy?” Kieran asks. Lucy sends a glare in his direction. “Not like arm candy. We are going to spin a story that Grayson met someone who he has fallen for and is helping him grieve healthily.” “Sounds great, but I have no idea who we can trust enough with this, let alone pay. Anyone who would want to do that would either be a gold digger or doing it for the gossip.” That’s when Lucy smiles, a wide grin that terrifies not only me but Kieran. “She’s been scheming,” Kieran whispers beside me. “I’ve toyed with an idea, yes,” she admits, her chin
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“When you look at me, do you just see another woman to use at your disposal?” My head rears back as if she slapped me. “No! No, my god, Bella, no, not at all!” “Then why me?” My mouth opens, then shuts. That’s a good question, I’m not sure why Lucy picked her but I know why I’m considering it. “Because you’re the only woman that I can be myself around and still manage to breathe.” Bella pauses, her eyes flashing wide and the flames in them diminishing slightly as she sucks in a sharp gasp.
“No one pressure her,” I declare, a tinge of panic in my voice. “I don’t want to lose her.” What is it about the woman with the smattered freckles that has my heart skipping beats at the thought of seeing her tomorrow?
WHITEBOARD NOTE Thank you for seeing me
I’m beginning to think you enjoy torturing me. First you deny me the pleasure of your company, and now there’s no more brownies in my fridge? I thought I was a patient man before this. Don’t make me beg.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I held that note to my chest…along with pocketing every paper note he leaves me. I began storing them all in a box under my bedside table.
He altered everything, made me look back at memories and view them differently. He ruined our family, and there’s no part of me that remembers him with fondness. He placed a permanent black cloud over what used to be.
Something deeply unsettling occurs as I watch the very hope drain from my mother’s body. I have known for months, and yet it only truly sinks in at this moment. My mom is dying, and there is nothing I can do to stop it from happening.
“What changed?” My gaze roams the wall behind Coach, the mounted photos of my family, my team. Many of the photos contain myself, some of which are of us holding the Stanley Cup. “This team is my family. I’ll do anything to not lose them.”
I just want Bella. I want her smiles, I want her laughter, and I want to be the one creating them. The woman’s gone and put a hex on me for all I know. I’ve never been this enamored with a woman before and I’m surprised to say I don’t care.
“I’ll do it.” Jumping to my feet, my gaze locks on Bella’s as she enters the living room with such determination I have to take a small step backward. “Do what?” “I’ll pretend to be your girlfriend.” Kieran whistles behind me. “Didn’t see that coming.” Paying him zero attention, I pin all my focus on Bella as she raises her index finger. “On one condition.” “Name it.” I realize with a sudden jolt that I’ll do anything to have her do this with me. She lifts her chin before she swallows thickly. “I want fourteen thousand dollars a month.” Kieran sucks in a sharp gasp behind me, followed by a
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I didn’t google you. I wanted to make my own assumptions.” He blinks quickly, shock taking over until a smile blossoms across his cheeks, growing with every passing second he stares at me. “That’s…refreshing.”
“Are you usually an affectionate person?” I ask coolly. “Tremendously.” Oh, sweet heavens. Now my cheeks are heating. “So we’re going to have to—” “Touch. A lot,” he cuts in. A warmth fills his blue eyes, a warmth that wasn’t there before. No wonder puck bunnies throw themselves at him. He’s a giant teddy bear stuffed into the body of a six-foot-four, six-pack hockey god.
never knew that a man could look so ruggedly handsome, could practically drip with sex appeal, could be tall and built with muscles upon muscles that borderline glimmer when the light shines on his sun-kissed skin. Never knew he could have a face crafted by gods and yet be such a sweetheart. That is until I step out my front door and see Grayson Crawford, standing on my porch holding a bouquet of lilies, with a slight tint of crimson staining his cheeks.
the majority of me loves that when she looks at me, she doesn’t just see ice hockey. I can’t remember the last time I met someone who looked at me as nothing but a regular person.
“What happened?” I demand. Bella’s head whips to me at the wrath in my voice, her eyes tracking over my tense form. She shakes her head. “It doesn’t matter.” “Of course it matters.” Biting her lower lip, she’s silent for a moment before ever so softly admitting, “One of the men was only hired because his father owns the company, and at the last Christmas party, he cornered me and tried to force himself on me. One of my female colleagues had dealt with him before and when she saw him trailing after me down a hallway she followed.” She shutters. “I’m lucky nothing happened.”
“Why me?” “Why you?” he parrots. I bite my cheek. “Why me? I’m assuming Lucy sent along other women for the arrangement, yet it had been a week by the time I said yes and you still hadn’t found someone.” Grayson stiffens beside me, a flush working its way along his cheeks. I’d never tell him, but it’s the most endearing thing about him. Usually men are hard to read, and sure, Grayson has moments that make me puzzled, but it’s something special when a person wears their heart on their sleeve. He shrugs sheepishly. “I don’t know.” I bump my shoulder with his and smile. I’m making him squirm.
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Coach clapped me on the back after the game and said, “Welcome back.” His praise means everything to me. I haven’t smiled like this in over a year and it’s all because of her.
Blood roars in my ears, everyone in the crowded bar disappearing. I’m beside her in a heartbeat, just as she hisses, “Stop! You’re hurting me!” I place both my palms on his chest and push with all my might, sending the dick tumbling. “Get the fuck off her!” I growl. “No means fucking no. Are you daft? Do you need to go back to school?”
My mom’s lips purse. “I still don’t like this. No gentlemen would do this.” “Actually, lots of—” “Books don’t count, Layla,” my mom cuts in. “They should,” she mutters.
GRAYSON are you coming back tomorrow? BELLA yes, why? GRAYSON I just miss your cooking is all
“No one ever called you out on your bullshit before?” “Plenty, actually.” She gives me a look that has me smirking. “I highly doubt that considering you’d rather die than hear the truth.” “And what exactly is the truth?” I ask, finding myself leaning into her warmth as she stands in front of me. If I continue, she’ll be standing between my legs. Heat grows in my belly at the thought alone, my cock stirring as she gives me the most devilish smirk imaginable, peering up at me through her thick black lashes. “You, Mr. Crawford, are an avoider.”
What do you want this time around?” “You could teach me how to skate.” She bites her lip. “You want to go to the rink?” I ask, shocked. “I want you to show me what you love most” is her soft answer.
The next three hours consists of the most grueling moments I’ve witnessed in my mother’s cancer journey. I see her feel more pain than when she found the note my father left her the week she was diagnosed. I see more fear flash in her eyes than the time she was told her ovarian cancer had spread. I see her cry more tears than when she opened her closet to find my father had taken everything he owned and ran. And the worst part is, we both know she will have to go through this again tomorrow.
“I can’t lose her,” I choke out between sobs. “I really can’t. I don’t think I could deal with that, Layla. I’ve never lost anyone, never had to watch someone slowly die before me.” Layla rubs her hands up and down my back, whispering soothing words in my ear, but she doesn’t reassure me that I won’t lose her. If anything, the only definitive in this situation is that I will lose her. It may not be today—the treatment could prolong her life a few years—but one day. I just never thought it would be in such a painful manner.
“But this is not just another game. This is not just another season. This is a fresh start.” The words pour off my tongue before I can give them much thought, but my statements ring true all the same. “Every time we step foot on that ice, it’s a chance to make history. A chance to work together as a team. A chance to improve.” Licking my suddenly dry lips, I go on, noting how my teammates listen to my every word. “Every decision we have made in life has led us to this moment, to this league, to this team, and to this possibility of greatness. We can go out there and we can settle into comfort.
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“Just shut your fucking mouth and kiss me or I’ll muzzle you like the—” BANG. BANG. BANG. The sudden jolt from the plexiglass makes us both pause. Him in his pursuit and mine in my retreat. Grayson stands on the other side, his gloves and helmet off as he heaves wildly, his neck flushed crimson. “Get your fucking hands off her before I break every bone in your body!” he roars.
The drunk above me freezes, his body locking up like it’s made of stone. I’ve never felt gratitude like I do now. He smiles. “Crawford! Dude, you’re amazing. That—” Grayson points a menacing finger at him as he spits through gritted teeth, “Get. The. Fuck. Off. Her.” Each word is punctuated with steely resolve, matching his hardened eyes. The blue eyes that usually look at me with such softness.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Grayson winks before turning to a camera off to the side and calling out, “She’s mine!” Using his hockey stick, he points directly to me. Cindy’s hand slaps down on my wrist as she squeals, and all I can do is laugh as Grayson continues to tap the plexiglass with his stick in my direction. “Don’t pan to me, pan to her. I want everyone to know Bella Stratford is my girlfriend!”
“You’re a menace!” I call out. He winks. “I may be a menace but I’m all yours, Blaze.”
A chant forms in my mind. This is all fake. You are doing this to save your mom. Men always leave. You can’t trust them. Except with every chant, there’s a smaller voice rising to the occasion, filling my mind with his sweet words, heated gazes, and most of all, the name he’s suddenly decided to bestow upon me. Blaze.
His brow quirks. “Jealous?” “Of course not. I’m just trying to save you from a headline.” He drops his head an inch from my lips. “Blaze, we’re already a headline after tonight.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I nod at the jersey that barely fits his large, muscular frame. “A bit tight, love,” I say with a shit-eating grin.
His breathing has grown labored, and his eyes haven’t left my lips this entire time. “Should we practice now?” he asks. “Ye—” I don’t finish the word before Grayson’s lips are smashing against mine.
“They’ll know we’ve done it before now. Won’t be awkward.” “Nothing about that was awkward,” I’m quick to defend. A coy smile stretches across her lips. “I know, Grayson.”
An opportunity to kiss her again never came. And I hate the night for it.
She turns to me, and whatever she sees on my face has her saying, “You really love it, don’t you?” “The rink?” “Skating.” She gestures to the ice. “Playing.” I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face. “More than love. It feels like coming home. The second those skates slip on I feel like I’m right where I’m meant to be.”
“Yes,” she breaths, her eyes locked on my lips. There’s my blaze. With no walls in sight. My thumb brushes over her bottom lip, savoring the feel of her warm breath fluttering against my skin. “Tell me what you want,” I whisper gutturally. “As my girlfriend, right now, tell me what you want.” “You.”
“Told you someone could be watching,” I murmur. Bella, with her lips swollen and pink, slides her eyes from me to Ben. Then her husky voice rolls toward me as she stretches up, her hand sliding in my hair once more as she pulls me down. “Then keep kissing me.” I don’t need to be asked twice. Bending, I seal my lips against hers, cradling her like she’s the most precious thing on this earth. Because, let’s face it…she is.
“Can you play now knowing someone is looking for her?” “It’s my job. I have to.” “I know you can, but can you do it well?” Turns out I can’t, not when Bella is missing.
He sends me a small smile as he leaves and I can’t help but flop back on the bed. He must be too good to be true. Are men genuinely that nice? I thought my father was one of them. I thought his and my mother’s love was solid and real and a fairy tale, but then one hard bump in the road and he leaves. Grayson didn’t leave, a small voice in my head whispers. No, no he didn’t.
“And I’m not looking at you with pity. I’m looking at you with admiration. I’m looking at you with envy of how strong you are. I am looking at you, and I am in awe of how resilient, beautiful, and kind you are.” Her gaze is latched onto mine, an emotion filling them that I can’t decipher. “But I am also looking at you, Bella, and wondering who has been taking care of you.”
“Let me take care of you.” Something akin to panic flashes in the depths of her eyes, but it’s there and gone before I can assess the emotion. “Fine, you want to take care of me?” she asks. “Yes.” Her chin rises. “Let’s see how long it takes you to leave.”
“Thank you.” Lifting my head, I find her watching me. I give her a small smile. “It’s no problem, I don’t mind helping. Bella needed to stay another night and rest.” “No.” She shakes her head. “Thank you for taking care of her.”
My gaze catches on the photo in the frame on the bedside table. It’s a stunning snapshot of Bella and her mom, no doubt before the cancer diagnosis. They both seem lighter—happier. “You’ve fallen for her,” Trisha suddenly declares. I’m not sure why—perhaps because my fondness for Trisha is growing or because I can’t tear my gaze away from such a happy version of Bella—but I find myself smiling as I confess, “Absolutely.”
“Thank you for doing this for me. For giving me back a part of my soul.” Emotion clogs my throat. “It’s just a book.” She shakes her head as she smiles at me. “No…you’ve given me back something that I thought I wouldn’t get to experience again before I died. To hear about a world created from another person’s mind. You’ve given me joy, Grayson, and I will be eternally grateful to you for that.”
