“Oh, yep! Go!”
“Bye, Em.” He raised his voice. “Bye, Liam!”
About ten minutes later, a text hit my phone.
HARLAN
I’m still in love with you. The way you are. No questions asked.
EMMA
I don’t think it’s like that.
HARLAN
It’s exactly like that.
EMMA
(black heart emoji)
THIRTY-FIVE
HARLAN
APRIL
“Royce!Nick sends his congratulations, by the way. Said you outplayed him the other night.”
My agent, Annie Markham, was on the other end of the phone. This felt like the day that wouldn’t end. First, the exposure from Greer, dealing with the team’s reaction, and now my agent was calling out of the blue.
“Oh, I mean, it could have been either of us. He hung on until the end too. And we might play each other again soon if we both keep winning.”
It was true. There was a high chance that the Princes and the Rusties could be finalists for the Cup, but truly anything could happen during the playoffs.
“Well, the trade deadline has passed, but I wanted to plant the seed with you that L.A. is interested in bringing you on for next season.”
A stone sank inside me, along with a giddy rush. Someone wanted me. Someone who wasn’t the Rusties wanted me. AndLos Angeles at that. I’d never lived outside of Ohio for long, and the thought of Southern California was exhilarating.
“Wow. L.A. I don’t know what to say. That’s a huge opportunity.”
“Yeah. I know Nick would love to have you with him. I might be a little biased pushing that one, though. L.A.’s coaching staff was just really impressed with you and your progress this season, and as you know, your contract is coming up this summer.”
“Yeah. Definitely. Okay. Wow.”
But what would happen to Emma? Where would that leave her? Would Greer stay away from her if I left?
Would Emma come with me?
It didn’t seem possible. If Liam did another year of juniors, Chef would almost certainly want to be around for him. He’d probably even keep living at home. Emma’s whole life had been in Columbus, and so had mine. But she had way less reason to want to leave if Liam stuck around.
“Is there no chance I could stay with Ohio?” I asked.
“Oh, definitely. If that’s what you want, I can keep pushing that. I just wanted to let you know that you’re noticed, and a lot of doors could be opening soon if that’s something you want to explore.”
“Yeah. Let’s keep the door open for sure. For all of it.”
“This is a personal question, but I know Nick will be curious. Why do you want to stay in Ohio?”
