Prologue
Emily
I’m the kind of girl who takes one for the team. Only my best friend’s team, that is, since tonight was supposed to be girls’ night. But instead of grabbing drinks at a bar, breaking down my nonexistent sex life for Maya, and gossiping about everyone we worked with, I was at the Boston Bears arena, on a double date with her and Jordan, her soon-to-be boyfriend, and his seven-year-old nephew, Ben.
The plan for this evening had been simple: leave work, go to our favorite cheap pub, and have way too many cocktails.
A plan that had completely derailed the moment Jordan showed up to the rehab center where Maya and I work as RNs. Maya’s ovaries had exploded when she caught sight of Jordan, his hand clasped with Ben’s. While she was mentally picking out the names of their future children, Jordan suggested that Maya and I should come skating with him and Ben. That was all it took and, boom, we were here.
Now, clutching Ben’s small, semi-sticky fingers, I wobbled toward the ice rink with the thoughtPlease don’t bust your assrepeating in my head.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d skated.
And although Ben was the most adorable kid on the planet and I enjoyed every second of watching him inhale the private dinner hisuncle had arranged for us in the owner’s suite and the cupcake he had for dessert, this girl needed a drink.
Preferably a cabernet sauvignon that was extra jammy, in a wide, breathable glass, with a second round already ordered.
I squeezed Ben’s hand, mine on the verge of sweaty. “Come on, kid. Show me what you’ve got, and do not let me fall,” I begged as the tip of my skate hit the ice.
Ben gave me a red-rimmed smile, the rawness around his top lip from the milkshake mustache he’d worn throughout dinner.
Jordan, now retired, was in the NHL and had taught Ben how to skate. I had full faith that this tiny human could guide me around the rink and make sure I left in one piece.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t obsessing over the possibility that I could face-plant at any second and Maya would have to unbreak—or re-break—my nose.
It seemed that whenever we were at this arena, something dramatic happened. Like last time, when Maya and I came to watch a Boston Bears game. Of course, that was before Maya knew Jordan was the owner of the hockey team and he, along with Gavin, Ben’s dad, walked onto the ice to give a $1.5 million check to a nonprofit organization. My best friend hadn’t realized that Jordan, the dude she’d been running with every morning—even banging under a bridge—wasn’t just a normal nine-to-fiver. He was the owner of the seats we’d been sitting in, along with half of Boston, with a net worth of over a billion. As someone who wasn’t a fan of the rich, Maya lost her shit over the news.
I did, too, but for an entirely different reason.
As I stared through the glass that surrounded the ice, I found myself speechless—something that never happened—my eyes bugging out of my head, my hands rubbing the thighs of my jeans to release the tingles that were building.
All because I couldn’t stop gawking at the man standing next to Jordan.
Gavin Worthington.
There wasn’t anyone in this world more yum than him.
He was around six feet, four inches tall, with broad shoulders, like he still played in the NFL although he was retired, muscular legs that his pants hugged, and an ass that looked rock hard. Besides a body that could rival any non-retired athlete, it was his face that surprised me the most. His serious expression was all steam—hard edges and sharp lines with a well-trimmed beard, a blend that made my heart pound. The cherry on the Gavin sundae was his smile. One full of cuteness, like I’d found his vulnerability and I was tickling that spot relentlessly.
A combination I still found myself thinking about, especially as I gazed at his son.
“Faster, Emily! Faster!” Ben shouted as he skated backward, guiding me toward the first turn.
My knees were locked, my shoulders almost as high as my ears. Even my lips were straining as I squeezed them together, trying to breathe through my worry.
“We’re gonna get past this corner and then we’re gonna fly!”
The only flying I wanted to be doing was in a plane.
“Be careful with me, Ben. Don’t forget, I’m a beginner.”
There was a piece of vanilla icing stuck to his dark-brown locks that I hadn’t noticed while I was washing his face after dinner, and he had the most beautiful blue eyes, which lit up even brighter as he giggled. “I didn’t forget.”
Jordan and Gavin’s grandmother, Bettie, was one of our patients at the rehab center, a fun, mind-blowing twist that neither Maya nor I had been expecting. But ever since I’d found out they were related, I secretly hoped Gavin would pop in to visit her during one of my shifts.
Because he hadn’t, I still wondered if he was as handsome close up as he had been that night I saw him on the ice.
And as I looked at Ben, who shared the same smile as Gavin, I wondered if his gorgeous blue eyes had also been inherited from his father.
