Page 34 of Breakaway

Fletcher

Henley leaned against the car door, her head against the window. Her mind had been a million miles away after we’d dropped off Reese. Checking the time, I noticed it was still early in the day and an idea formed.

As much as I’d enjoyed riling Henley up during the shoot about how miserable she was, I’d been in the same boat with her. It wasn’t my idea of how I wanted to spend my Saturday morning, either. And while it had felt like we’d been there forever, it had only been about four hours. My stomach growled, solidifying my idea and making an executive decision for me.

Once on our street, I stopped the car to use my phone. I sent a quick text to the guys that we were making a pit stop before we headed back. Thankfully, it seemed like they were busy with the repairs, wanting the house to have no memory of Gareth’s invasion when Henley returned. They both requested a little longer, making my plan work even more.

Sending one more text, I asked the assistant assigned to me for HTC to finalize some details for us while I drove. I wanted it to be a surprise, and if I made a call, it would probably pull Henley out of her daze and ruin it. The assistant was so excited to be asked to do something that she responded immediately that she would take care of it.

Damn, I guess I should give her more to do so she wasn’t so bored. I hadn’t thought of it that way.

Turning around, I drove toward the city and thought through everything I’d been putting off this week with Hat Trick. Now that I’d stepped into my role and fired Owen, I was expected to be more present.

I’d been hounded with emails and calls about things I’d been able to avoid for the past few years. It was a good thing I’d stepped away from the head coach job now, as there would’ve been no way I could’ve focused on it and run a company. I’d barely been able to do both this week, and that was giving the bare minimum to coaching.

I needed to figure out a solution so I didn’t burn out, let down the kids and Henley, or screw up with Hat Trick. While I might not care about being the CEO, I cared about Emila’s legacy and wanting to do right by her. I’d honor her dying wish by doing that.

This meant outside of the sponsorship and the Olympic trials, I needed to look for a strong candidate to take my place and ensure the board was on my side. Perhaps Macy could look into their backgrounds and make sure there wasn’t anyone else to be wary of. Yeah. I needed to give her a call, anyway.

“Where are we going?” Henley asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. She blinked at me like she’d been far away and just now realized we weren’t headed home.

“On a date,” I said, smirking as she frowned.

“A date?”

“Yeah. It’s a thing two people who like each other do where they share food and typically do something fun together.”

“I know what a date is, Fletch.” She slapped my arm, her laughter bubbling out. “Why are we going on one?”

“Why not?” I asked, peeking over at her.

“Because…” she started, but closed her mouth as she pressed her lips flat together.

“Because what?” I prodded.

“I dunno. It just feels like we should be doing a million other things instead. My brain is too tired to think of them at the moment.”

“And that’s why we’re going on a date. Name one day you’ve had to yourself since you moved here. Go on. I’ll wait.”

Henley sputtered, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to remember the last time she had a free day.

“The first weekend here,” she muttered, her forehead creasing.

“Which you spent on the ice going over plays and learning the roster,” I reminded her. “Then there was the first away game, Carly’s weekend of macabre, and then Dax’s brother’s wedding just in the first month. And last weekend was the open house, this one the photo shoot. You’ve been at Lux for over six weeks and haven’t had a moment just for yourself.”

“But—”

“I know, Baby Shaw. There are a lot of things to do, and you even enjoyed most of those things to a degree. But they’re still taxing. If you only had the team to deal with, it might not be as big of a deal. But with the Society, Dakota, and your mom creating stress on top of it, you need to take more time for yourself.”

Henley slumped down into her seat, crossing her arms. “I know you’re right, but I don’t like it.”

“Ouch. You don’t want to go on a date with me that bad?” I teased. Her eyes grew comically large as she gaped.

“Not what I meant! I was referring to the self-care stuff. I’m awful at self-care.”

“Which is why you have three boyfriends to help you be better at it.” I winked as I turned into a parking lot.

“I thought I had three boyfriends because I like dick, but okay,” she mumbled as she looked at the building, her smile growing as she took in the place. “But you know, a date with you would be good. I definitely am on board with this idea.”