My face must twist at her words, because she covers her mouth with her palm as if she’s trying to stuff them back in.
"He lives here… but he’s taking a job as equipment manager in Washington."
"Badgers or Titans?"
"Titans." Alex pulls me into a hug, wrapping me up tight. "It’s all going to work out. You know… maybe we cou—"
"No." I grab the door handle and hold it open for Alex. "Mixing work and pleasure never ends well."
She scoffs, bumping her hip into mine as she exits. "For obvious reasons, I’ll pretend you didn’t just say that to me." Alex winks, sashaying through the lobby toward the one and only Levi Montgomery.
Following a few steps behind her, I consider what she said. It’s true that I could ask Levi to consider Max, but would he even want me to do that? He loves hockey and wanted to play professionally—settling for a makeshift job we create feels like a step below the position he has. And what if it doesn’t work out? We’ve said we love each other, but it’s easy to get swept up in things when you’re not working eighty-hour weeks.
"Sadie freaking Wells!" Levi booms as he sees me approaching. "What are you doing here? I was planning to swing by your mom’s with a coffee when we finished up with the scrimmage."
Why would he come to my childhood home?
"Hi, Coach Montgomery." Fiddling with the hem on my sweatshirt, I glance around at the crowd staring at us. "Alex said Coop is playing, how exciting."
"Would it kill you to call me Levi? I’ll settle for Monte even… just ditch the coach," he grumbles, and I laugh.
He turns to Alex, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Is she laughing?"
"That’s what I said! It’s nice, huh?" Alex smiles at me, and it doubles in size when big, brawny arms wrap around my middle.
"Hey, Sade." Max releases his hold on me when he realizes who I’m talking to. Stepping to my side, he extends his hand. "Coach Montgomery, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Max O’Reilly."
Levi shakes his hand, narrowing his eyes at Max. "Why do I know that name?"
Max’s cheeks turn bright red, and he runs a hand through his hair. "Well, it could be the fifty scouting tapes I’m sure my mother sent you over the years, or from Coach Nash."
Levi snaps his fingers, pointing one at Max. "That’s it. Nash said he hired a new EM… a guy who coulda played but took one too many hits up here." He points to his head.
"That’d be me." Max sighs, reaching down to tangle his fingers with mine. "Moving out to Washington next week, but I’ll always be a Flames fan."
Max’s watch buzzes, and he leans toward me, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I've gotta get out there." He walks away, but stops when he’s close to the glass double doors. "Yo, Monte… is your kid playing today?" he calls out.
"Yep! Name’s Bennett… he’ll give your guys a run for their money."
Max nods and disappears through the door.
"Do you want to go find a seat? Sounds like it’s starting." I wait expectantly.
"Yeah, let’s go."
Cooper has scored twice and is working toward a hat trick. He’s skating much smoother than most of these kids, but a couple on Max’s team seem to keep up. Alex has been on the edge of her seat the entire game, yelling loudly and banging on the glass in front of us. I, on the other hand, haven’t been able to take my eyes off Max.
Even from the other side of the rink, I can tell how much he enjoys coaching. It’s obvious in the way he talks to each player when they come off the ice, in the way he pays such careful attention to how they feel. He was born for this sport, and my heart swells with pride for him.
It’s hard knowing that our time together is ending, but it would be so selfish of me to ask him not to pursue his dreams—or to settle for something that doesn’t have a career path leading to the title coach.
"Sadie, I need you to come back to work," Levi says, under his breath so that only I can hear.
Turning to make sure I heard him correctly, I notice a worried look settled into his brows.
"Okay. When are you thinking?"
"Today."
