They weren’t supposed to matter. They were supposed to be hired help by my dad, glorified babysitters, alphas assigned to a job they didn’t ask for. But somewhere between the cracked-open moments and the ones I tried to pretend didn’t mean anything, they got in.
They’ve seen me—hurt, angry, reckless—and they’ve stayed. They’ve helped me stand up when I didn’t know if I could. They’ve made space for every version of me, even the broken ones.
And maybe that’s the difference.
Maybe Landon made me feel wanted for a week. But they’ve made me feel safe for weeks.
I take a shaky breath, blinking back the sting behind my eyes.
“I think he knows,” I whisper.
Hunter pulls me in again, gentler this time. His lips brush the top of my head, soft, steady, and it feels solid. A promise I thought I’d never get again.
Maybe they’ve all been making promises from the start—in the way they stayed, in the way they watched me, in the way they treated me as more than a job.
Proof that I’m worth something.
Maybe…maybe Landon was right.
Maybe they are good for me.
And maybe I’m finally starting to believe it.
“Hey, Jinx,”Daisy calls, sliding up beside me the moment I skate off the track and toward the benches, her ponytail bouncing behind her.
I arch a brow at her, trying to play it cool. I know what she’s going to say before she starts. She was overflowing with the need to say something the second practice started back up. She’s only held back this long because Coach would live up to her name if we were distracted.
“What?”
She grins wickedly, nudging me with her elbow. “You and tall-dark-and-broody want to get a room or...should we just clear the track for you next time?”
I nearly choke on a breath. “Daisy?—”
“Oh come on,” she laughs, eyes sparkling. “You were melting, babe. And I know good lip action when I see it. That man kissed you like he was about to go to war.”
“He is my bodyguard,” I grumble, sliding down onto the bench and reaching for my water bottle.
“And I am in a committed relationship with my vibrator,” she deadpans. “But if a man looked at me the way that man just looked at you, I’d be naked by now.”
I splutter a laugh and cover my face with one hand. “You’re terrible.”
“You love terrible.”
She isn’t wrong.
Daisy settles beside me, the teasing still lingering in her eyes, but her tone softens just a bit. “So, is it just broody guard guy? Or are the other two in this brooding love triangle too?”
I glance across the rink, where Hunter is now talking quietly with Graham and Carson who must have just arrived. All three of them are watching me—still watching me—even though they’re trying to pretend they’re not.
My stomach flips.
I take a long drink of water, then wipe my mouth and say, “I think that triangle might be more like a square.”
Daisy whistles low. “Damn, Jinx. Four corners of heaven.”
I shoot her a look, but I’m smiling despite myself. “It’s complicated.”
“It always is, sweetheart.” She leans in, bumping her shoulder against mine. “But if they’re making you feel something again? That’s not nothing.”
