“Just got in this morning.”
“I missed you.”
I smile and blink back tears. “I missed you, too, buddy.”
“Would you be my daddy?” Noah stares up at me with a completely earnest face, and I’m utterly caught off guard. I don’t know where this is coming from or how to respond. I can’t tell him the truth here. It needs to be done privately.
“Uh, what?”
“My daddy. We have a father-son game coming up, and I need a dad. You’re the only man I’ve met that I want for my daddy.”
“Oh, okay, yeah, sure. If it’s at a time when I’m available.” I relax a little as I realize he hasn’t figured anything out yet. Staring into those eyes, my heart melts into a pool at Noah’s feet. If only my parents could have met him.
“Noah, leave Mr. Drakos alone.” Aria stands on the bottom bleacher, hands on hips and wearing a formidable scowl.
I trade her scowl for scowl. I’m the one with the right to be pissed, not her. At the same time, this glow of warm contentment spreads through me like a spilled glass of milk spreading across a tiled floor. I want to tell Noah so badly that I am his dad, but this has to be done delicately with the right timing.
I must have patience, even if it kills me.
“I have to practice. Will you watch?” Noah grins, and I beam with happiness.
“You bet I’ll watch.”
Noah laughs joyously and sprints onto the ice. I watch him until I hear Aria clear her throat. I glance toward her, and damn if my heart doesn’t skip a beat and my insides curl with pleasure. Why do I let her do this to me? My mom’s words come back to me. Drakos, when you find her, you’ll know. It won’t necessarily be easy. In fact, nothing worth having is easy, but it is worth fighting for.
Is Aria worth fighting for? Or have we hurt each other too much? Can I forgive her?
“Could I have a private word with you?” Aria interrupts my introspection.
“Uh, sure.” I follow her out of the rink and into a hallway. She stops and looks around. There’re people milling about.
“This way.” I guide her toward an empty office and lock the door behind us. I don’t want anyone disturbing our conversation. She takes a seat in an office chair while I choose to park my ass on the edge of the desk. We regard each other like we’re sizing each other up before battle.
“I’ve spoken with my sister’s best friend from Vegas.”
I sit back and cross my arms over my chest and wait. I’m not going to make this easy for her. She deserves some discomfort.
Aria stands and begins to pace. I watch impassively and say nothing.
“I was wrong about my sister.”
“Exactly how?”
“She didn’t live the life I thought she did. You were telling the truth about how you met her, and I didn’t want to believe you.” She stops pacing and faces me. Her stricken expression almost undoes me, but I hold my ground. I resist the urge to pull her into my arms and make her hurt go away.
I merely nod.
“I owe you a big apology.”
“I know. You owe me a lot.”
She scowls at my cocky remark. I don’t care. I’m lashing out because she mistrusted and hated me while I didn’t have a clue what her problem was.
“I guess I deserve that,” she admits.
“You do.” I’m not backing down and giving her an out. She’s going to have to squirm for a while.
“I’m really sorry.”
