And yet, I saw the panic on her face when I told her I was after more than a wedding hookup. That kind of reaction doesn't come from some minor dislike or irritation. It's forged into your bones like armor. Someone hurt her badly enough to leave trauma behind…and I'm fucking guessing whoever he was, he's the reason she doesn't date hockey players.
"So I've heard," I mutter, scowling at the emblem on the floor.
"Doesn't she work at some charity?" Ryan asks.
"Yeah."
"There's your answer."
I lift my gaze to him, my stare blank.
"Jesus Christ. Do I have to think of everything around here?"
"If you thought at all, it'd be a miracle," Colt Brisbane says, deadpan.
Ryan ignores him, even though half the team nods their agreement. "She works for a charity. You're an athlete. What do charities need? Money. What do athletes have? Money, and access to other people with money." He rolls his eyes, yanking his practice jersey off over his head. "Get her boss on the phone, tell them that you're interested in working with them, but you can only do it here, and you'll only work with Tia. Problem solved."
The entire locker room is dead silent, everyone staring at Ryan like he just grew a second head. That might be the smartest shit he's ever said.
"Jesus Christ," Colt whispers, "he isn't as dumb as he looks."
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, you bastards," Ryan says, rotating in a circle with his middle finger in the air when the entire roombreaks into raucous laughter. "But just remember why I'm the best man when he chooses me over the rest of you useless dicks."
I'm absolutely not choosing him as my best man, but I might name our future child after him if his plan actually works.
It's genius. Simple and genius.
Chicago in the middle of winter is a beast. Minneapolis is another thing entirely. It's so fucking cold when I step out of the hotel, my balls instantly shrivel, retreating into my body like they're fleeing for their lives.
I briefly consider turning right back around and going back to my room. But then I remember the look on Tia's face when she walked away at the airport, and my resolve hardens.
She's had three weeks of peace. I'm beyond ready to ruin it. And thanks to Ryan and her boss, I've got a foolproof plan. Delivering the news in person is just an added bonus.
I hop into the Uber idling on the curb, sighing as soon as a blast of warm air hits me.
"Uh, hey. You really are Briggs Ward," the driver says, looking startled. Drivers usually are, as if they can't believe athletes catch rides, too. It's amusing, honestly.
People treat us like we're a foreign species and never know how to react when we do normal people shit like catch a ride or go to a "normal" restaurant or shop. But we have the same needs as anyone else. And right now, I need a ride.
"Hey. Do you know where Hearthstone Endowment is located?" I ask him, stretching out in the backseat of his SUV. "It's a nonprofit in the city. That's where I'm headed."
"Uh…yeah," he says, curiosity in his gaze as it flicks over me in the rearview. "Yeah, I can get you there."
"Perfect." I settle in, closing my eyes. Almost immediately, an image of Tia forms behind my eyelids. Christ, I never knew it was possible to miss someone you barely know until her. But I miss the hell out of her.
Does she miss me? Has she been thinking about me? I fucking hope I'm haunting her the same way she's been haunting me.
And I hope like hell that she loses it a little when she sees me today. I want her off balance. I want her a little bit desperate. And I absolutely want her to know that I'm willing to play dirty to get what I want from her.
Whatever she thinks she knows about me is wrong.
It takes half an hour to get to Hearthstone, a newer construction in Downtown West. The building is modest compared to some of the others beside it, with a small courtyard out front. In the summer, it's probably beautiful. In midwinter, it's frozen over, nothing but a blanket of snow and ice.
I hop out of the Uber, thanking the driver.
"No problem, man," he says, beaming at me when I hand over a sizeable tip. He passes me a card in exchange. "You ever need another ride when you're in town, hit me up."
"I'll do that," I say, shoving the card into my pocket before glancing up at the building again. My heart is already going wild, just knowing she's somewhere on the other side of all that steel and glass. And even better? She has no fucking clue that I'm coming for her.
