Page 70 of Hard to Break

I LOVE YOU BROOKE ELLIS.

My heart stops as I read the words spelled out in letter beads.

He’s looking at me as though I’m everything that matters. “It’s not Van Cleef or Cartier or whatever, but I thought you might like it.”

I lean closer. “I love it.”

Miles rubs a hand over his jaw. “Only the bracelet?”

I kiss him, and cheers go up.

19

MILES

HOOPSNEWS UPDATE: HAWKINS VOWS KODIAKS “DON’T STAND A CHANCE” IN MUST-WIN VERSUS BOSTON

“He's been running his mouth all week, saying how he's going to shut us down,” Atlas grunts as we gather in the locker room.

Clay shakes his head. “Let him talk. We'll do our talking on the court.”

A chorus of agreement rises from the team, a unified front against the looming challenge.

As the chatter continues, I slip away to my locker. The pregame jitters are there as always, but there's also a heaviness, a worry that gnaws at the pit of my stomach.

I reach into my bag, my fingers finding the edge of the photographs. I pull out the stack and stick them one by one up in my locker next to the picture of Brooke.

There’s one of my guys after finals last year, another of me and Jay in college, plus a new one of Brooke and Grams from theretirement home yesterday with Brooke beaming and the blue bracelet I made her just visible on her wrist.

Yesterday, I told Brooke I loved her. It felt so damned good to get the words out after all this time.

But today, as I trace the lines of her smile, a chill of doubt snakes through me. The scandal, the rumors, and the speculation have been circling me like vultures, threatening to pick apart everything I've built.

What if I can’t live up to what everyone expects of me? If I can’t make the people I care most about proud?

I don’t want this season to end. The Kodiaks need to make the playoffs and I’m going to get us there.

I owe it to the team, to myself, to be the man Brooke and Grams believe me to be.

“Miles, you ready for this?”

I turn to see Rookie, his eyes wide with a mix of nerves and excitement.

“Yeah.” I clap him on the shoulder, mustering a smile. “Just stick to the plan.”

As we gather, the energy in the room shifts. It's electric, a crackling current of determination and unity.

“All right,” Jay says, his voice cutting through the tension. “This is it. There’s no way around Hawkins, we’ve got to go through him.

“Boston thinks they have us beat. They think they can intimidate us, but they don't know what we're made of. They don't know the hours we’ve put in, the sweat we’ve left on this court. They don't know the heart of this team, but they're about to find out.”

A ripple of energy passes through the room, a shared resolve that binds us together.

Coach claps his hands in agreement. “I want you to go out there and play your game. Play smart, play hard, play together.”

His words wash over me, fueling the fire in my veins. I look at my teammates, seeing that same fire reflected in their eyes.

“Let's do this,” I say, my voice ringing with conviction.

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