Page 116 of Icebound Hearts
She hangs up, but I just stand there staring at the phone. As if it wasn’t already exciting enough that the Aces are probably going to the playoffs, now I just had this huge marketing deal fall into my lap. I’ve been hoping to land some commercials or endorsements to extend my career beyond the ice, and it’s finally coming together.
I set a reminder on my phone to send Desiree a thank you gift, then round up all my stuff and head for the family and friends lounge to meet Jake and Violet.
Jake spots me first, his face lighting up like a thousand watt bulb.
“Daddy!” he shouts and weaves through the other gathered family members to get to me. He jumps the last few feet towardme, and I catch him to swing him around in a small circle. He giggles the whole way and doesn’t stop even when he’s sitting perched on my hip.
“Someone’s riding high,” Violet says when she catches up. I want to tell her the news about the commercial right away, but Grant strides into the room and Jake taps his hand on my shoulder to point him out.
“Daddy, Grant’s here! Can I go say hi?”
“Yeah, sure.” I set him back down on his feet and watch him tear off toward Grant.
“Uncle Grant!” he exclaims, and I realize Jake must actually have some kind of kid magic because he makes grumpy Grant break out into a smile. Grant scoops him up off the floor and lifts him over his head to park him on his shoulders, which Jake loves. His feet kick happily as they dangle, and he launches into a play-by-play recap of all the goals Grant stopped tonight, but Grant eats it up.
“That much closer to the playoffs, huh?” Violet asks.
“Yeah, and that’s not even the best part,” I tell her. But I don’t necessarily want the whole team knowing the news yet, so I lead Violet down the hall a bit where we can have privacy and no one will overhear us.
“I got some great news right after the game,” I say quietly. “You aren’t gonna believe it.”
Her eyes brighten. “What? Tell me!”
“Do you know Beaumont, the hockey equipment company?”
“Sawyer, are you kidding? My brother is a professional hockey player too. Of course I know them.”
“Right, right. Sorry. Anyway, Desiree called to tell me that they want me to shoot a commercial for a new line of skates.”
“No way!” Violet looks like she’s going to jump out of her own skin with excitement, and it makes me feel even more thrilled. “Oh, my god! That’s amazing, congrats!”
She throws her arms around me, her lips meeting mine in a happy kiss. Before I can even register that we’ve made a mistake, a sharp voice cuts through the air.
“What thefuck?”
It’s Reese. I can tell from his voice without even turning around to look at him. But when I do, he’s standing in the hallway a few feet away, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, looking at Violet’s hands draped around my neck like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.
My body moves in front of Violet’s instinctively, like it can sense a threat before my brain picks up on it, as Reese storms toward us. “What the hell is going on here?”
Neither of us answers for what feels like forever, until finally Violet steps around me to look her brother in the eye.
“Sawyer and I have been hooking up,” she says as evenly as she can.
Reese looks like I just punched him square in the guts. His expression falls and his eyes widen, and for a second, I swear I can see the room spinning in his vision. Not that I blame him. I don’t think I would’ve taken this news any better if I were in his shoes.
But this is exactly what we’ve been trying so hard to avoid all this time. I don’t want to blame Violet because it isn’t really her fault, but we should’ve known better than to be so friendly with each other around the rest of the team.
And especially around Reese.
I knew I was playing with fire, but I was stupid enough to think I could keep it under control. Well, now it’s firmlyoutof my control—and I’m about to get burned. Reese’s eyes drift back to mine, searching my face.
“Is she telling the truth?”
I’m too caught off guard to speak, and I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing if I try anyway, so I just nod. Reese brings his handsto his head and paces back and forth like a shark that smells blood in the water.
“What thefuck, Sawyer? I offer to set you up with the perfect person to watch your kid, and this is how you repay me?”
There’s nothing I can say to defend myself, so I just stay quiet. But Reese takes my silence as an attack and lunges at me. He catches himself before he does anything, but the betrayal staring back at me in his eyes hurts me more than any punch he might’ve landed.