Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 141425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
He’s doubling down on the whole it can’t happen again. And the best way to make sure it doesn’t? For me to be with someone else.
That shouldn’t sting—but it does. Like salt rubbed into a raw wound.
But maybe he’s right. Maybe I should date. It’d be the fastest way to get over this stupid, going-nowhere crush on my boss.
22
THE SABRINA ZONE
Tyler
It’s not my place to tell her what to do. It’s definitely not my place.
I repeat that over and over all day long.
Two nights later, I’m back on the ice, and frustration chases me as I slam an opponent into the boards, playing rough, aggressive—because fuck anyone who gets in my way.
Like Chicago’s center, barreling down the ice. Not on my watch.
But I get tangled up in a battle along the boards. Before I know it, I’m called out on a penalty.
Miles tugs me away from the Chicago player. “Chill, man,” he says. My brother hardly ever loses his cool.
I mutter a curse and skate toward the box, jaw tight as I sit and stew. Chilling feels impossible. I should be getting my head on straight. Instead, the idea of Sabrina dating is lodging deeper in my skull.
By the time I’m back on the ice, we’re down by one. And I play like an asshole. A few minutes later, Miles is yanking me away again, telling me to chill again. And I’m back in the box. Again.
Chicago scores on the power play. Serves me right. But this screws the team. By the third period, we’re scrambling.
But the worst part?
We lose, and as I skate off the ice, when I should be thinking about the game and what to do differently next time—I’m still mulling over Sabrina’s love life.
I look up toward the family suite, forcing myself to wave at my kids, to blow them a kiss, to make a heart sign. It makes me feel better. They always do.
Luna waves right back at me, making a heart too. Sabrina’s with them, though, and I’m right back in the Sabrina zone.
Even though I remind myself—it’s not my place to feel anything for her. It’s not my place to tell her what to do.
In the locker room, I yank off my shoulder pads with a certain amount of fury.
Images of her going out on her off nights, laughing as some guy picks her up at the door of my house, smiling, kissing him as he brings her back after the date to my home—are gnawing at me relentlessly.
Why didn’t I think of this before?
I toss my gear into the stall, then chuck my uniform into the laundry bin.
Rowan glances at me. “Pissed much?”
“Too much,” I admit.
“I guess it’s a good thing the kids are coming with me tonight,” he says. Since it’s a Friday, and our daughters are friends, he’s taking everyone home for a sleepover. He also has his sister’s son for the evening, so Parker’s tagging along too.
Probably for the best.
I shouldn’t be around anyone tonight—not with this dragon of jealousy breathing fire down my neck.
But when I leave the locker room, Miles tugs me aside before I can say goodnight to the kids. “Hey,” he says, in that calm, take-charge voice he’s used since our deadbeat dad took off with barely a word. It reassured me as a kid. Right now, though, I’m in no mood. For anything.
“What is it?” I bite out.
He sets a hand on my shoulder and looks me straight in the eyes. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I mutter.
“You didn’t play like yourself,” he says, and that’s the thing about my brother. He won’t let things slide.
I breathe out hard through my nostrils.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I mutter.
Miles stares at me like he can see through my lies. “Is it Sabrina?”
What the fuck? I practically jump away from him. “Are you a psychic?”
“Just your older brother.”
I try to let go of my irritation. “I’ll figure it out.”
“You do that,” he says, then nods down the hall toward Leighton, who’s waiting for him. “I’m going to take Leighton out. Need a ride?”
The last thing I need is to be near happy people. “I’m good.”
He takes off, and I head down the corridor to say goodnight to the kids. I find them hanging out with Rowan already, while Sabrina chats with Isla, Josie, and Everly several feet down the hall, all turned away from me.
Sabrina’s blonde hair is loose, shiny against her pink sweater.
Will she wear that sweater on a date?
I clench my fists.
“Let’s get you on the apps,” Josie says, tapping Sabrina’s arm, and I dig my fingers into my palms. “We can write you an amazing profile.”
“And Isla can help you weed through everyone,” Everly says, clearly excited by this idea. Then she looks to Isla. “Or did you want to matchmake her?”
Bad idea.
Sabrina laughs. “I don’t think I could afford you,” she adds lightly, while I breathe in harshly.