“Please.”
No charm.
No strategy.
Just a man who is out of options.
“If she files,” he adds quietly, “I need to be able to say Maddie has a stable home.”
His eyes don’t leave mine.
“And right now,” he says, “you’re the only future I can see that gives her one.”
My pulse pounds in my ears.
Because the terrifying part isn’t that he asked.
It’s that I haven’t said no.
Chapter two
Gabriel
“Shelly, who died or did you finally get dumped?”
I miss the pass.
Not barely. Not a close shave. I flat-out miss it.
The puck slides clean past my stick and into the boards while Bryce swears and Coach blows the whistle like I just insulted his entire bloodline.
“Again,” Coach barks. “And this time, Shelly, try using the blade.”
Laughter ripples down the line.
Dex skates past me. “He’s distracted. That’s woman trouble. I’ve seen it.”
“Please,” Mason says. “Woman trouble implies he actually went on a date.”
I shove Mason lightly with my glove. “You’re hilarious, jerkoff. If I remember correctly, you were recently ghosted.”
“Yeah,” he says. “But I don't miss her as hard as you just missed that shot.”
Coach points at me with his whistle. “Gabriel, are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
He studies me like he knows that’s a lie.
“Then act like it.”
We reset.
I take the next pass clean. Fire it top shelf. Crisp. Controlled. Exactly where it belongs.
Doesn’t matter.
Because I’m still thinking about California.
