Page 192 of Always You

Enthusiastically, he quickly skates back to where he began to start all over. The corner of my mouth tugs into a pleased grin.

Seeing my own son practice his moves like that reminds me of my brother and me when we were younger, spending every free minute on this very same rink.

It warms my heart that life made me come full circle like this, even though at some point, I never thought it was in the cards for me.

Snapped out of my thoughts, my phone rings, and I skate to the benches, grabbing the device out of my jacket.

I glance at the screen, letting out a deepsigh.

“No,” I say, firmly, answering it.

“You didn’t even hear my offer,” Gina retorts through the line. She sounds snarky, as always, like the boss bitch that she is, and I can practically see her roll her eyes through the phone.

“I don’t have to hear your offer. The answer is still no.” I turn around, pressing my back against the sideboard so I can watch Logan.

“Thirty million.”

“No.”

“Thirty million if you lose.Fiftymillion if you win. Plus, twenty-five percent of pay-per-views. That’s more than anyone’s ever gotten for a fight!” The cockiness in her voice makes me roll my eyes.

Any other person would tell me I’m crazy, saying no to that kind of money. But I have enough money. I have more blessings than I deserve that are my highest priority, and money ain’t one of them.

“NO,” I repeat.

“Come on, Hansen. Aren’t you even a little tempted?”

“Nope.”

“This is serious money,” she says, as if I don’t know that.

“I don’t care, Gina. My fighting days are over.”

“Hunter, please. The entire world is waiting for this fight. Kal Moreno is the biggest fighter there is right now. The only one he hasn’t beaten is you. Everyone wants to see this.” Desperation is etched in her voice, and if I didn’t know she was such a coldhearted bitch, I might actually feel sorry for her. But I do, so I don’t.

I turn around when I catch movement behind me, watching my wife walk through the door, followed by our three-year-old girl and our dog.

“Daddy!” Lizzy darts past Charls, running toward me, and I drag her up by her coat so I can hold her, while she giggles in mid-air.

“I don’t care, Gina. The answer is no. Just call Jason for some kind of troublemaker who can be your next superstar.” I press Lizzy against my cheek in a tight hug, her small arms circling around my neck, making me even more ready to end this conversation.

“I would, butsomeoneconvinced him to be an agent for NHL players now.‘Fighters are too much work,’he said. Which is bullshit, if you ask me, because hockey players are just as bad,” she mutters through the phone.

“I’m sure he can find you some kid underground who will be the next best thing.”

“He doesn’t answer his phone, the little shit.”

“He just had a baby. Give the guy a break.”

“Fine,” she muses, her voice turning all seductive. “Can you maybe ask him for me?”

I shake my head, both annoyed and amused at the same time. The woman did great things for my career, and I thank her for that, but other than that, she’s a manipulative wench.

“Goodbye, Gina,” I sing-song, hanging up the phone, then I toss it on the bench to reach out my free hand and yank my wife toward me.

“Hey, babe,” I say against her lips, hanging over the sideboard while holding Lizzy on my hip.

“Hey, baby. Gina again?”

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