I’m not okay.
And if Landon leaves—really leaves—I’m not sure I’ll ever be.
Graham stops me, turning me toward him and cupping my face. “Don’t lie to us.”
My lower lip trembles. I blink away the sudden burn behind my eyes. “I don’t want to hurt him. And I think… seeing us just now did.”
“It’s because he thinks he lost his chance,” Finn says, pulling our attention to him. “I’ve been watching him.” He shrugs. “It’s kind of what I do. Had to know who he was, if he was gonna be hanging around you.”
He hesitates, eyes softer now. “He’s in love with you. And if he took photos like me, you’d be all over his walls too.”
Hunter chuckles, shaking his head like he can’t believe Finn just admitted that out loud. Carson ruffles Finn’s hair with something close to affection. Graham nods.
“He’s right.”
“Of course I am,” Finn says, a little too smug.
Graham’s nostrils flare—fire sparking in his gaze. If we were still in the room, I have a feeling Finn would be face down, getting reminded who’s in charge.
“You’ll get used to it, alpha,” Finn adds sweetly.
They hold a look that simmers with heat and warning before Hunter breaks the tension.
“You want me to knock on the door? Set things straight?”
I shake my head; I’m not sure that would do more than push him further away. “No. Let’s focus on winning Nationals. My team will hate me if I screw this up over boy-drama, as they call it.”
But I glance back at Landon’s door anyway. Quiet. Closed.
Not forever, though.
“After we win,” I say softly. “I’ll talk to him. Really talk to him.”
Finn watches me, unreadable for a second, before his voice cuts through the space between us.
“You should,” he says softly. “If you don’t, it’ll haunt you.”
The words settle heavily in my chest. Because he’s right.
Carson arches a brow. “You sure he’ll want to listen?”
“I think he’s been waiting for me to say something for a long time,” I admit. “And I finally know what I want to say.”
Graham threads his fingers through mine again. “We’ve got your back. Whatever comes next.”
Hunter presses a kiss to my temple, murmuring, “Let’s win this first.”
Some things have to wait. But not forever.
CHAPTER 77
Landon
The derby trackis alive as Willow and her team complete warm-ups.
Music pulses through the stadium, skates squeak against polished concrete, and the sound of laughter and shouting bounces off the rafters. But I only hear her.
Willow.
