“Jax—great news! The doc has cleared you for limited practice. Put your Captain’s hat back on and lead your team. Your season may not be over, after all.”
How the hell did that happen?A fire roars inside of me, reawakening the competitive drive that’s been lying dormant ever since my surgery. Even though I’m not cleared for games yet, this is huge. The fellas gather around me in the locker room high-fiving and cheering. I can’t help letting out a yell myself. “I’m back, baby!”
CHAPTER 14
Elise - Delay of Game
Jax and I are standing in the player tunnel surrounded by the team display that’s back in place following the pipe repairs. The PR team is here facilitating the taping of the local media interview about Jax rallying the team to save my display from damage. The interview is going great, highlighting the partnership between hockey and appreciation for the arts, when a question from the interviewer sends it completely off the rails.
“Frost, we’ve just learned that you’ve been cleared to return to the ice. How does that feel?”
My stomach drops to the floor.Keep it together, Elise.I paste a fake smile on my face, but on the inside, my emotions are all over the place, bouncing around like a ping-pong ball.Why didn’t he tell me?All of the bad memories and trauma about being constantly overshadowed and pushed out of the way by a sport come flooding back. I don’t even remember any of the Q&A after that one. I manage to nod and smile until the camera turnsoff, then I race from the tunnel, heading straight for the nearest ladies’ room.
Once inside, I lean on the long counter and look at my reflection in the mirror. My face is blood red and silent tears are streaming down my cheeks, ruining the makeup job I painstakingly worked on earlier so that I wouldn’t look like a pale ghost under the harsh lighting of the television camera.
I take a deep breath to steady my racing pulse, turn on the faucet, and splash cold water on my face to cool the heat of my skin. The water ruins my makeup even more, but I’m beyond the point of caring.
Bam! Bam! Bam!Someone’s banging on the bathroom door..
“Elise, I know you’re in there. Come out. Let’s talk.”
Jax.I’m not ready to talk to him. Especially in that tone of voice.
“If you don’t come out, I’m coming in there.” His voice softens. “Please.”
When I don’t respond, the door swings open and he appears before me, arms crossed, looking totally out of place in the feminine setting of the ladies’ room.
“Really, Jax? Caveman is not a good look on you.”
“Please, Elise. Talk to me. I wasn’t expecting that question. I honestly just found out a short time ago that I’ve been cleared for practice. I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”
I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears from returning. “I’m leaving for Ottawa in a week. There was no scenario in which you’d be on the ice for playoffs. We talked about traveling together. Sightseeing in Canada. You said you were going to be there to support me. You said we were in this together. Now it’s all about hockey again. You can’t seem to give it up.”
“Elise, I?—”
I put a hand up as a signal to stop. “Stop talking. Save it. I should have known this wasn’t going to work. I can’t do this with you. I just can’t.”
I walk past him and shove open the restroom door, nearly knocking it off of its hinges, but I don’t care. Thankfully, he doesn’t follow me, and I hope he feels like an idiot standing alone in the middle of the women’s restroom.
The crowd has disbursed, so no one sees me as I gather my things and exit the arena. This very well could be the last time I set foot in the place that changed my life in so many ways.
During the drive home to Pelican Point the fears of the past come back to haunt me. I’ll never sacrifice my career again for a relationship that might not last, regardless of how good the sex is. I’m Elise Kinney. First and foremost, I’m an artist and a businesswoman. Not someone’s girlfriend, second priority, friend with benefits, or background player. I was a fool to think there could be room for compromise with Jax.
CHAPTER 15
Jax - Aligning Goals
Just like that, my life blew up. One minute, I’m on a high, making love with my forever person and thrilled about the possibility of returning to the ice, and the next minute, Elise is furious, throwing me in the same category as her asshole of an ex. The look of devastation on her face nearly gutted me, and now I don’t know what the hell to do. Throw me into a crisis like rescuing a team mate or reacting to a burst pipe and I can take charge without a second thought. But knowing that I hurt someone I love, trying to figure out how we both can be happy, I’m at a loss. So I guess I’ll go back to doing what I know—hockey—and try to block out the pain of a relationship down the tubes. At least I’ve got the sport to go back to, because I don’t know who or what I am without hockey.
I’m on my way to practice when my mom calls.
“Jax, honey. Why haven’t I heard from you? I saw your interview on the news the other night. You and Elise looked great together!”
“Thanks, Mom.” I can’t seem to muster up much enthusiasm or the courage to tell her that Elise and I are over.
Even though she can’t see me, I can’t put anything past my mother. “What’s wrong?”
I take a deep breath and let it out, hoping to release all of the pent-up frustration. “Elise isn’t talking to me. Now that I might be playing again, we can’t seem to figure out how to make things work. She’s focused on going to Ottawa and I’m focused on winning hockey games.”
