Page 104 of Home Ice

CHAPTER 63

THE ADULTS ARE HAVING A DISCUSSION

LILY

Thanks to her damn traffic laws, the third period is underway by the time we pull on to Sting Way. Who the hell ever invented the 25mph speed limit, and how can I make them suffer as much as they just made me? I direct Em to the staff parking lot behind the building, and I'm out of the car before she even has it in park. I swipe us both through the door and sprint into the concrete mechanical tunnel.

Noah walks out of the plumbing room just as we pass by and almost collides with Em. "Hey, there's our girl. Meant to tell you, that fancy fish place you told me about? Fantastic. Maybe I should say fin-tastic. Anyway, you're right as alw?—"

"That's great." I walk backward down the hall so I can see him while still making my way to the dressing room. "I'm in a hurry now, though. Sorry."

"Of course. You see the boys out there? Inspired. Don't know what got into them, but Nashville ain't gotta chance." He chuckles. "Especially with that boyfriend of yours in the net. Music City meet Block City, right? I was just watching with?—"

"Noah. I really have to go. But I'm glad I got to see you one last time. I'll miss you." His face scrunches in confusion, but I wave and turn away before he has the chance to say anything else. As nice as he is, he's not the reason I'm here.

And what exactly is that reason? A voice pops into my head to ask me. Because Brant had his helmet redesigned for tonight? That doesn't mean anything. Or maybe I'm too afraid to admit that it might mean something.

"Shit."

Em pulls back on my elbow. "Would you slow down a little?"

I glance down at her boots. "Wish you had a pair of these godawful trainers now?" I try to match her snobby accent from earlier, but it's kind of hard to do when I'm jogging down the hallway while dragging my best friend and fighting to keep my internal organs all in the approximately correct locations. "I shouldn't do this." I pull up short, just outside the entrance to the dressing room.

Steph is standing security beside the door. Her long blonde hair is pulled up into a bun so tight it could form a blackhole. Her face is stern but unfocused until she sees us. "Hey Lily. Didn't see you earlier. Great game, isn't it?"

"From what I hear," I mumble.

"Do you literally know everyone in this arena?" Em asks. "The people who take tickets? The docents? The vendors?"

I roll my eyes. "This isn't a museum. They're called ushers, not docents. And I maybe know a few."

Steph laughs and points to Em. "I bet you're not wrong. Everybody knows Lily. We all love her. I haven't seen you around before, though. Are you two sisters?"

"Sisters?" I look at Em. No one has ever thought that before. Probably because we look nothing alike. Em's hair is a warm copper, almost an auburn, unlike my black. Her skin is pale and pink, and her eyes are... nope, not feeling sick to my stomach as I compare the light green of her eyes to the forest green of Brant's.

"Adoption's a thing." Steph says. "You two going in?"

"Practically sisters," Em answers. "And yes."

"No." I say at the same time. The last logical part of my brain searches for any reason why I shouldn't go in there, park myself in front of Brant's stall and throw myself down, begging for mercy and promising to move to his estate. It's possible the logical portion of my brain has been watching too many historical dramas recently. "We can't. She doesn't have a visitor's pass. You don't have a pass," I tell Em. This is the best I could come up with?

I point to Em's chest to make sure Steph notices there's no large plastic card, but she waves me off. "She's with you. Just stay together and no one will care."

"I still think it's best if we—" The sound of grown men shouting and whooping like children comes from behind us. So much for holding everything inside me in place.

"We're doing this every game of the season. Every. Single. Game." Kayden barks.

I've been up and down the tunnel enough that I know he's just a couple of seconds away from the corner that will let him see me. And I have no doubt that Brant has told him everything. Every instinct is telling me to run away. Find somewhere to hide. But there isn't time. I draw my body stiff and close my eyes to brace for whatever is about to come. I don't expect it to be his voice, though.

"Every game that we have to," Brant says. "Every game until she realizes..."

Fuck.

He's always the last off the ice. Always the last to come down the tunnel. Except tonight.

"Lily." He somehow sounds like the happiest and saddest man on earth as he says it.

The team goes quiet—even Sammy, which is quite an accomplishment—and I take a deep breath. And another. Just as I start to take a third, Em clears her throat and yanks at my arm, forcing me to turn around. I'll have to remember to be angry with her about that later.

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