Page 15 of Pucking my Enemy Boss

I'm about to leave when I hear a conversation behind me.

"He’s so handsome. It's such a shame he doesn't do fan events. I want to meet him," a blonde Blizzard fan says.

I know immediately she’s talking about Ethan.

"I know," another woman replies. "I heard it has something to do with his brother."

I turn around, my curiosity piqued. "His brother?" I ask.

The woman nods. "Yeah, he died a couple of years ago. It was a really tough time for him."

I feel a pang of sympathy. So that's why he's so guarded.

"I didn't know that," I say, quietly.

The woman looks at me sympathetically. "It was a tragedy. He's never really been the same since."

The news about Ethan's brother hits me like a ton of bricks. I didn't know. How could I not know? Lauren should have told me, but as his team therapist, she probably wanted him to do it. She’s been hinting he has trauma, but I was too caught up in my own drama to listen.

Guilt washes over me. I've been so focused on my own problems that I haven't stopped to think about what he might be going through. Maybe that's why he's been such a jerk. Maybe he's just trying to protect himself.

I thank the woman for the information, my mind racing. I need to talk to Lauren. I need to understand what's going on.

I nod, feeling a strange connection to Ethan. Loss, grief, they're emotions I understand all too well. Gran stood in for both my parents when they weren’t in my life and losing her last year was the most painful period I could imagine—it felt like I lost my dad and mom at once.

As I leave the arena, I can't shake the feeling that I've learned something important about Ethan. And maybe, just maybe, I understand him a little better.

As I go through the turnstiles, I almost collide with someone.

“Sorry—”

“Jake Roland!” Someone gasps. “It’s Jake Roland!”

“Hey everyone!”

I look up to see the last shit-grin I’d ever want to see right on my ex’s face.

It's Jake. Of course.

He's standing there, looking smug, with a woman draped over his arm. She’s a carbon copy of the countless models he’s dated in the past.

“Excuse me, sweetheart. Go wait in the car.”

The Barbie smiles and follows one of the security details away. I look into Jake’s smug face and cross my arms.

"Well, well, well," he says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "If it isn't the fallen angel."

4

ETHAN

The locker roombuzzes with post-game energy, the air thick with the mingling scents of sweat, adrenaline, and victory. We narrowly clinched the game 2-1, and the mood is triumphant, but I can’t shake the lingering tension in my shoulders. I strip off my gear, dropping it to the floor with a heavy thud, and sit down on the bench between Ryan and Liam.

“That was one hell of a game,” Ryan claps me on the back. “You really pulled through in the clutch, Ethan.”

I nod, wiping my face with a towel. “Thanks. You guys were solid out there, too.”

Liam, on my other side, grins. “Man, that last goal was insane. I thought they had you cornered, but you just slipped right through.”

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