“Maple Lake, right?”
“That’s right! You been there?”
“The Blue Ox minor league team practices there.”
James lights up and claps me on the shoulder. “Come on up sometime. We’ll show you the real Maple Lake.”
Patty is beaming at Chloe. “Sweetheart, you didn’t tell us he wasthisBrody Kane. When Maya said you were bringing a hockey player, I thought—well, I don’t know what I thought, but certainly not this!” She laughs. “We’re just so happy you found someone who?—”
She stops herself, but I catch the end of that sentence.
Someone who…?
“We’re just getting to know each other,” Chloe says softly, and I hear the careful hedge in her voice—protecting herself, managing expectations.
“Well, you picked a good one,” James says, winking at his daughter. “Anyone who can handle Derek’s ego in the locker room deserves a medal.”
I laugh. “Derek can be competitive.”
“That’s a polite way of putting it.” James leans in conspiratorially. “But he knows what he wants. Can’t fault him for that. Maya’s a catch.”
And just like that, I see it. The dynamic that’s shaped Chloe’s entire life.
Her parents aren’t the problem. They’re warm, genuine, excited to meet me—not because I’m famous but because they love hockey and they love their daughter.
But they’re also completely swooning over Maya’s world.
Maya’s wealthy fiancé. Maya’s destination wedding. Maya’s perfect life.
Chloe’s parents fit into that world the way I fit into a tuxedo—uncomfortable, out of place, trying their best.
And Chloe has spent her whole life watching her parents try to keep up with the life Maya built, while her own quieter dreams got overlooked in the chaos.
Not because they don’t love her.
Because Maya’s life is just…louder.
Chloe catches me watching her, and for a second, our eyes meet.
She sees that I see it.
Something changes between us.
“Chloe did a great job on all of this, don’t you think?” I gesture around the room at the flowers, the lights, the perfectly arranged tables. “The decorations, the setup, the coordination. She’s got an incredible eye for detail. You must be so proud.”
Patricia blinks. “Oh. Yes. Of course.”
But she wasn’t thinking about it. Wasn’t acknowledging it.
Chloe’s contributions are invisible to her own mother.
I feel something crack open in my chest. Protective. Angry.
I shift on my feet, sliding from the easy, comfortable conversationalist to something…harder. Just because we’ve only been “dating” for two weeks doesn’t mean I’m going to let anyone walk all over her. Not my girl.
I’m in the game now.
James Dawson, still wearing that cheery expression, takes a sip of his beer and jumps back to the topic of hockey. “You know, Brody, I know you’ve had a rough season, but you’ve got a tough position to fill. Defense—not an easy job.”
