“I feel powerful. Beautiful.” My fingers move to his cheek, and he relaxes under my touch. “Like I can do anything I set my mind to.”
“You’re all those things and more. You really can do anything, Emmy.”
“How do I make you feel?” I whisper, and when he grins, I see dried blood on his teeth. The remnants of the fight, and how he stood up for me, left behind. “Will you tell me?”
“You make me feel important.” Maverick’s thumb brushes over my stomach and I shiver at his touch. “I know I still have skates on my feet and just beat some guy to a pulp, but you make me feel like I’m more than a hockey player. And it’s never been like that before. You make me feel like I have a purpose.”
“You’re so much more than a hockey player. Remember how I said you have a kind heart? Tonight is the perfect example of that.”
He snorts. “I basically committed assault, but it’s okay because I’m paid twelve million a year to score a couple goals.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re a man who cares deeply about people, and to know you feel that way about me…” I shake my head. “Thank you.”
“I care about you more than I’ve ever cared about anyone else, Emmy,” he murmurs, and my heart explodes in my chest. “And I’d get decked in the face all over again if it meant seeing you smile.”
There’s something else I want to say, but I can’t find the words. It hangs on the tip of my tongue and sits there until the guys start to file back into the locker room, towels around their waists and their hair wet.
It echoes in my head when I hand Maverick the ice pack and take a step back, putting distance between us so no one starts to ask questions. I think after tonight, though, they wouldn’t care.
“I’ll let you get cleaned up,” I say. “I’ll see you on the bus.”
“Hey.” He reaches out and wraps his fingers around my wrist. He squeezes once and looks up at me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I nod, and that feeling is back, more persistent than ever. “I’ve never been better.”
THIRTY-EIGHT
EMMY
“I’m soglad you’re here,” Piper loops her arm through mine as we ride the elevator up to Maverick’s apartment. “Team dinner is my favorite part of working for the Stars, and it’s not even an official thing.”
“I’ve come to the last six dinners,” I say. “And it’s really only for Riley’s meatballs.”
“In any other context, that might sound very different.” She giggles and rests her head on my shoulder. “What a wild week, huh?”
It’s been an exhausting whirlwind.
Maverick and Cole’s fight made headlines on the national news. It’s all every sports network can talk about, andSNLeven did a parody of it over the weekend.
Social media has been flooded with comments from people trying to figure out what caused him to get involved in the first place, but no one’s gotten it right.
Maverick earned a two game suspension for an illegal check to the head, and he didn’t bother to negotiate the punishment with the union.
“I’m good,” I say. “I might have slipped an anonymous tip to the admins of the r/hockey thread on Reddit and given themproof of Cole acting like a sleazebag. It’s been fun to watch people drag him. I think the weirdest part about it all is now that I’ve seen him, it feels like a weight has been lifted. I don’t have to dread it because I’ve already crossed that hurdle, and everything else from here on out is going to be easy.”
“Liam told me some of the things that Cole said to you.” Piper takes my hand and squeezes tight. “He’s a vile creature, and if heeverplays another game in the NHL, I will make sure his name is desecrated on our broadcasts.”
“You’re the best. My feisty little fighter.” I kiss her cheek, and we stop outside Maverick’s door. “I didn’t know you and Liam talked.”
“We don’t,” she says, but her cheeks turn red. She busies herself with tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and fixing the hem of her skirt. “It was mentioned in passing.”
I hum and push down on the doorknob, leading us inside the busy penthouse.
Team dinner has become my favorite part of being on the Stars too.
I’ve played on a lot of different teams and seen a lot of different dynamics, and no one has the trust and cohesiveness that these guys do. It’s so evident those bonds have impacted their playing, and now we’re getting close to the All-Star Game with the best record the team has had in years.
“Half the girls are here,” Grant yells, and Connor and Ethan wave from the couch.
