“There’s not much I can do out here on the ice. Let’s get you to the locker room so we can see what we’re dealing with, okay?”
I nod once, indicating I’m ready to move. Connor and Jefferson haul me up off the ice by my arms and loop them around their necks. Stick taps and cheering floods the arena, but I keep my head down, already dreading the worst.
“You really fucked up my celly there, Cap. Always gotta make it about you, eh?” Jefferson chirps at me, and I finally pick my head up to see his dimples on full display as he laughs at me. Even Connor snorts at the perfectly timed dig from the rookie.
“Couldn’t let you have all the attention. A hat trick in your first playoff game? That’s just fucking selfish.”
Both the guys laugh as they transfer me to the bench where two of the trainers take their spots and help me down the step into the tunnel toward the locker room.
It’s a slow walk, but as the seconds tick by, the pain in my knee seems to dull. That’s gotta be a good sign, right?
We’re a few feet from the door when I hear footstepsrushing my way. I look to my left and see Sadie sprinting toward me with Sophia in her arms.
I tap the trainers’ shoulders. “Wait.”
They pause their movements, and Sadie skids to halt. She sets Sophia down on the ground and puts her hands on her knees, gasping for air.
“You good, Sadie?” The humor in my voice causes Sadie to look up at me and the fire in her eyes has me forgetting all about the pain in my knee. I huff a laugh, doing my best to rein it in, just as Sophia tugs on my jersey.
“Daddy, are you okay? You weren’t getting up. I was so scared.”
She’s focused on my injured leg and the concern in her voice causes my smile to drop. I wish more than anything I could get down on my knees to console her.
I take my arm off one of the trainers, despite his protests, and ruffle Sophia’s hair. “I’m good, baby girl. I promise.”
“But you can’t walk.” She points to my leg that’s lifted just above the ground.
Against more protests from my trainers, I lower my hurt leg to the ground, but keep all my weight on my good knee.
“See. I’m okay. They just want to look at it before I walk on it.”
This seems to satisfy Sophia enough that finally looks up at me and smiles. Her hazel eyes are rimmed red around the edges. I can’t imagine how scared she must’ve been when I went down on the ice and didn’t get right back up.
“I promise I’m all right, Sophia. You don’t need to worry about me.”
Sadie slides up next to Sophia and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I told you your daddy was tough.”
Sophia wraps her arms around Sadie’s legs and leans into her. The movement causes my gaze to lock onto Sadie’s.
“I’ve got her, Niko.” Sadie’s voice is soft and reassuring.
I’ll never be able to thank her for what this moment meansto me. On any other day, my mind would be spiraling, worrying about who will take care of Sophia if I’m hurt or can’t leave the arena. Will she be okay with a stranger? How is she going to react if I’m not okay?
But none of that crosses my mind tonight.
The only thing I’m worried about is how bad it’s going to hurt if I end up falling for the woman in front of me. Because I am well on my way to that happening.
Sophia is sound asleep on my lap as I sit in my office, scrolling social media on my phone. Videos of Niko’s injury are popping up all over the place, fans speculating he’ll be out until next season with the way he went down and players falling on his knee afterward.
My heart drops as my eyes find a slow-motion video of him going down. I can’t bear to watch so I squeeze my eyes shut and slam the phone against my chest.
The moment Niko went down, I jumped out of my chair and had Sophia in my arms within seconds. Luckily, my employee badge got us down to ice level in minutes and we caught Niko before he went into the locker room to assess his injury.
Sophia was so scared, and I’ll never forget the way she trembled in my arms. Getting that little girl to her dad was the only thing on my mind.
My phone buzzes in my hand and I’m grateful that when I swipe across the screen, the video of Niko is no longer there. Instead, a text from him greets me.
Niko
