Suddenly, Lucky is swept off her feet, pulled up and into herdaddy’s arms, her face lighting up as she rips off her headphones.
“There’s my girl,” Happy says, pressing his nose to hers.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“I needed another good luck Lucky hug.”
Lucky grins.
Happy glances sideways at me, wrapping his arm around my waist and pulling me in close. He tilts his head, his lips grazing my ear as he says, “I saw that asshole looking at you. You okay?”
With a thick swallow, I nod, forcing a smile, and he presses a kiss to my cheek.
“Didn’t realize this was the family room,” a familiar voice says from behind me.
With a knowing smile, I roll my eyes, looking over my shoulder to find my father, his unimpressed scowl in full force.
Turning, I reach out and smooth a hand down over his tie, straightening the lapels of his sports jacket. “Good luck, old man.”
“Old man,” he repeats with a scoff.
I offer him a smile, leaning in, and press a kiss to his cheek with a whispered, “You’ve got this.”
“Thank you, baby,” he whispers straight back, his gaze quickly flitting side-to-side like he’s worried someone nearby might’ve just heardtheLance Draper show some semblance of human emotion.
“Good luck, Coach!” Lucky chirps.
Dad’s face cracks, and I spot an emotion in his eyes I don’t recall ever seeing before as he reaches a hand and connects with the one Lucky holds out for him. “Thank you, Lucky.”
Happy’s eyes meet mine, and I can tell we’re both a little stunned by the unexpected exchange.
With a proud smile, I watch my dad walk out of the locker room with the rest of the coaching staff, Chris trailing after them, glancing at me briefly on his way out, and I barely contain my grimace. Turning back, I find Happy and Lucky, with Robbiehanging back so Lucky can give him a good luck kiss to his cheek.
“I think my daughter likes my teammate more than me,” Happy says out the corner of his mouth.
I lean up and whisper in his ear, “I like you more than anyone.”
Lucky and I file out with a few other stragglers, watching the guys as they head down the tunnel toward the arena and cheering them on. I look down at Lucky and give her a thumbs up, which she happily returns, and with a satisfied nod, I turn and lead her back down the tunnel, starting the winding walk back to the elevator that will takes us up to the suites.
But just as we turn a corner, I’m stopped by my name, spoken in a voice that sends a chill down my spice. I turn to see Chris step out of the shadows, like he’d been waiting here for me.
Lucky looks up at me, her forehead bunched with confusion, but I offer her my most reassuring smile, squeezing her little hand in mine to let her know everything is okay.
“Can I help you?” I arch a brow.
Chris looks from me to Lucky and back again, the casual smile that ghosts his lips not matching the steely look in his eyes as he leans in and whispers, “So, not justfuckingthen, I take it.”
Lucky has her headphones on, and I know she can’t hear his low voice, but I still spear him with a warning glare, trying so hard to put myself between the two of them without her or anyone who might pass by us noticing the obvious tension.
“What do you want?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.
“End it,” is all he says.
Stupidly, it takes more than a moment for me to understand what he’s saying. When it dawns on me, I can’t help but scoff. “Yeah, okay,” I mock, rolling my eyes, which he doesn’t appreciate if his clenched jaw is anything to go by.
“In case you haven’t noticed, Chris,” I continue, “you have no cards left to play. Everyone knows everything about Happyand me—and her.” I indicate Lucky with a nod of my head. “In fact, it seems like you’re the only one with something left to lose.” I step up closer to him. “So be careful before you try to tell me what to do, because if I have to tell the world that you’re a cheating son of a bitch, I will. Don’t underestimate me.”
Chris remains completely stoic, like a fucking sociopath, and I go to turn, but then he speaks, rendering me unable to move. “End it, or I trade him to Utah.”
