“You guys started this whole thing as a business arrangement, so you were at a disadvantage from the get-go. Now you’re going to have to work twice as hard to find your way as a couple, instead of business partners.”
“I am…” I lift my gaze to his. “Very afraid I am going to lose her before I have this chance.”
“Then don’t. It’s pretty simple.” He pats me on the shoulder, gets in his SUV, and drives away.
Leaving me there wondering if he’s right or if I should walk away before I do more damage than good.
She’s been through enough.
Breaking her heart is not in my plans.
Chapter Thirty-One
Holly
The series against Alaska will take Viktor out of town for a week. They leave Sunday. Monday is a day to rest. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are games three, four, and five. They come home Sunday. Monday is game six in Atlanta, unless Alaska manages four wins before then.
My interview is Tuesday. I have to fly up Monday, and they’re planning to take me to dinner, introduce me to some of the higher-ups. I’m assuming the special treatment is because they know who my father is, but I can’t worry about that now.
I have a degree and experience in finance. The job is a good fit for me. I could potentially do well, make a lot of money, and the upside is that I’d be far away from my father.
But that’s also the downside.
Because it will mean being away from Viktor.
I honestly can’t understand how we got from point A to point B, and I am acutely aware that one conversation could potentially fix everything. But what if it doesn’t and I get in his head and somehow fuck up hockey for him? If it were at any other time of the season, I would have talked to him already.
Just not now.
And I’m caught between the proverbial rock and hard place because not talking to him is probably getting in his head too.
His coldness last night hurt, so I couldn’t face him this morning.
I don’t know what’s happening between us. How we went from genuinely building something to…coldness and secrets and distance.
I’m just reading another email from the company in New York when I hear Viktor’s step outside the door. I quickly close the laptop and look up from where I’m sitting cross-legged on the bed.
And all I see in the doorway is a humongous bouquet of roses that essentially covers all over Viktor’s upper half.
A laugh escapes me and I slowly get up.
“What in the world?” I ask softly.
He peeks around the pink and white roses sheepishly. “I’m sorry,” he says in a gruff voice.
And just like that, the hurt melts and I see the man I’ve fallen in love with. My husband. My savior. The stranger who stepped in when I literally had no one else to turn to.
“Thank you,” I whisper, suddenly choked up. I reach for the bouquet and pull in a deep whiff of the fragrant flowers. “They’re beautiful.”
“I was ugly last night,” he says, eyes trained on mine. “I was angry at everything but it was not right to behave this way. Not with you.”
I don’t say anything because I can’t trust my voice. This is completely unexpected and now I feel even worse about the secret I’ve got.
“You have been nothing but sweet and kind, and I treated you like…afterthought. I promise you, I will never do this again. And if I do, you must remind me of this conversation.”
I sigh.
Not because I don’t believe him but because I’m completely overwhelmed.
