A voice behind us cuts through our laughter, and we turn to see Theo Camden looking at Grant like he’s just grown two heads.
“Grant Parker is laughing? Someone needs to get a camera over here, stat.”
“Funny, Camden.” Grant’s face has gone back to the stiff, almost pained expression he was wearing before, and I’m so irritated that I could seriously smack Theo if we weren’t surrounded by a room full of witnesses.
And if he wasn’t a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier than me, maybe.
Regardless, our private moment of levity is clearly over, and Grant will probably go back to brooding about the game until it’s time to leave.
“Heather?”
I turn to see a pretty, athletic-looking woman walking over, but there’s a look of recognition on her face like we’ve met before and I’m struggling to place a name with her face.
“Hi?” is the best I can manage as she gets closer.
“I’m Melanie,” she says with a smile as she extends her hand. “Grant’s physical therapist. I’ve heard so much about you that I feel like I know you already.”
I look over at Grant, but he’s talking to Theo again and seems to be oblivious to the fact that his physical therapist has just called him out.
“He’s mentioned me?” I ask, curiosity winning out over embarrassment.
“Oh, more than mentioned.” Melanie leans in with a conspiratorial grin. “You and April—this must be April, right? Love the Aces gear!—have both been the topic of conversation for the past week or so. It’s been a constant stream of ‘Heather said this,’ and ‘April said that.’”
“Melanie…” Grant has apparently caught onto our conversation and he’s looking between the two of us with wide, wary eyes.
“What? I’m just saying it’s nice to finally put faces to the names I’ve been hearing.” She turns back to me and rolls her eyes in his direction. “He was so worried about going on the road and leaving the two of you to fend for yourselves so soon after moving in. He kept asking if I thought he should check in or if that would be too intrusive.”
I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face. Even though Grant is physically squirming and looks like he’s just endured a root canal with no anesthetic, it’s undeniably sweet that he’s been so worried about us.
“That was thoughtful of you,” I say quietly, not wanting to embarrass him further in front of his teammates, but still wanting to acknowledge what Melanie has just said.
“I just wanted to make sure you were settling in okay.”
There’s a flutter in my stomach that only intensifies when our eyes meet. He holds my gaze for a split-second, and there’s something so vulnerable in his expression that it makes me want to pull him into a tight hug—just like April suggested earlier.
Before I can say anything else, my sister is at my side, tugging at my arm. “Heather, I need to get some quick shots of the families before everyone leaves. Do you mind if I borrow you and April for social media?”
I barely have time to excuse myself from the conversation with Melanie and Grant before I’m being pulled across the room to take some group photos.
But when Grant looks over and catches my eye again, that fluttery feeling comes back in full force.
Chapter 10
Grant
It’s been two days since I lost the game. Two days of watching and re-watching footage to find places where I could have turned things around.
And it wasn’t just those last few seconds.
I played sloppy hockey that night. We all did.
Now I’m in my basement gym, pushing through my third set of deadlifts with more weight than I should probably be handling alone.
I add another plate anyway.
I need to feel this burn, need it to drown out all my other thoughts until there’s nothing left but me and the weights. The exercise. The routine.
Gripping the bar again, I take a deep breath and pull. My form is perfect because it has to be. Everything I do has to be perfect, because anything less feels like sliding backward into the kind of helplessness I swore I’d never let myself experience again.
