“It’s okay. That’s fair. But if we replace you with another player, you won’t see her again anyway, and you won’t be able to prove to her that she made a mistake.”
“Well…”
“But if you instead become the most successful, the best player in the NHL, then in three years, all she can say is,Oh, yeah, Blake Ford. I used to date him…”
“What if I just want her back? Now, not in three years?” he asked quietly.
Gareth snorted. “You don’t want her back. She dumped you, you…” He trailed off as the door opened and Hazel entered.
His heart skipped a beat when her gaze flew straight to him…and she smiled.
His breath caught in his throat. It was new that she smiled when she saw him. And he liked it way too much that Hazel’ssmile turned into a wide grin when she saw who he was sitting with, and she silently mouthed awow. He certainly shouldn’t have found her pretending to faint from surprise at finding him here so amusing.
He rolled his eyes, but the corners of his mouth turned up. His gaze automatically slid down her, absorbing every detail, as if his mind was afraid he’d missed something important during the last few days without her. It was as if his heart needed to reassure itself that she was okay, even though she hadn’t been in touch.
“You were saying?” Ford asked, irritated.
Gareth forced his attention back to the young player, watching out of the corner of his eye as Hazel walked to the couch and leaned toward Leon and Fox.
God, he was such a hypocrite. He knew exactly how the goalie felt – better than he wanted.
He inhaled deeply and rubbed his face. Shit, he was in big trouble. But maybe Ford could learn from his mistakes. “Okay,” he said, his voice low. “If you want her back, then tell her. Be honest with her. I have no idea why you broke up…”
“We…”
“…and I don’t want to know. But if you miss her and want her back, tell her.” To this day, he regretted never having done the same thing. He had wanted to protect himself, but it was too late for that. “Be as honest as you can, and if she still says no, then accept it. Then at least you’ve done everything within your power. But don’t throw away your career. Separate that shit. Go to Fox or West; they’re the two who I think are good at insulating their emotions from hockey. West gets shit about Penny every game and has only knocked down one of the opposing players so far, which is a good average. So maybe he can help you. But don’t throw away your future. You’re brilliant when you’re in top form— and my goodness, beg Moreau to take you on as his protégé. You can learn a thing or two from him.”
Ford stared at him, his mouth slightly open. “You’re not as scary as everyone thinks, Mr. Clark,” he stated finally, perplexed.
Oh, God. That was the worst thing Ford could have taken away from this conversation. “If you tell anyone, I’ll swap Snickers for Milky Way again and tell everyone it’s your fault,” he warned.
Ford had the nerve to grin as he stood. “I get it. So, I guess I’ll go beg for help.” He nodded at him and disappeared out the door the next moment.
Good.
Gareth doubted he’d provided the player with anything of value. He couldn’t possibly turn things around by tomorrow’s training camp tryout, but at least he’d done his job, which meant Hazel…
“Well?” She plopped down in Ford’s empty seat and eyed him curiously. “Hanging out with your hockey players?”
Gareth folded his hands on the table and leaned back. It was purely a precautionary measure because he had the urge to reach out and touch her. He hadn’t had an issue with not touching her for the past decade, but now that he’d started again…
“You’re back.”
“Looks like it.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I have a meeting with Leon, but he wants to finish the tennis match,” she remarked with a smile, nodding toward the television.
“I see. So you’ve been in contact with him?”
“Yes. Why?”
“You haven’t responded to my texts.”
“I’ve been busy.”
He snorted. “Just respond to my texts, Hazel.”
