Page 13 of Broken Promises

“I did until right now,” I say, earning me a glare from Diego.

“Are you going to be alright for the meeting, Diego?” We all turn to see a man standing in the doorway. Coach Jones is older than my last coach. His hair is fully white, but he’s in shape and has that look in his eyes that tells you he takes no shit. I already like him.

“I’m fine,” he says, adjusting his tie and clearing his throat. His cheeks are red, and he is avoiding looking at me.

I stand and offer my hand. “It’s great to meet you, Coach. This is my wife, Willa.” Willa smiles and shakes his hand.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Monroe.”

We follow him into his office. Diego, being the idiot he is, takes one of the two available seats. So I take the other and pull Willa into my lap. She comes willingly and wraps her arm around my neck. I kiss her cheek. I really missed the comfort of having her close after all the years we spent apart. Even before I signed with the NHL, we only saw each other over the summer, but for whatever reason, we’ve always been comfortable with each other.

Coach Jones stares at the casual display and smiles. “Do you know why you were asked to attend this meeting, Mrs. Monroe?”

“Please call me Willa,” she says, still smiling. I think I like it more when she scowls at other men. “Can I speak candidly?”

“I’d rather you did,” Coach says, returning her smile. Okay, I don’t like that either. Who knew getting married, even if it is a farce, would make me possessive?

“Declan has spent a lot of his life thinking with his dick,” she says casually. I make a sound of surprise, but that doesn’t stop her. “We’ve known each other since we were kids. I know more about his antics than anyone else.” She’s not wrong. “But he’s been working on himself, and I promise that part of his life is over.”

“What made you decide to make a change?” Coach asks me.

I look at Willa and see pain in her eyes. I know she’s thinking of the same night I am. “I made her cry.” Willa lowers her gaze, not wanting me to see whatever emotions are on her face.

“That’s it?” Coach asks skeptically.

“Willa doesn’t cry. Making her cry cut my heart to shreds. I knew I would do everything in my power to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.” My words are for her as much as they are for my new coach. I hug her tightly to my chest.

“You married her to get her to stop crying? Please tell me you got a prenup,” Diego says. Willa shoots up from my lap before I can stop her.

“I’ve had about enough of you. All you do is insult my husband and now you’re insulting me. You’re supposed to be his advocate, not his bully,” she says in that eerily calm way she does that’s scary as fuck.

Coach clears his throat and pushes a paper in my direction. “Sign this and then I suggest you find someone else to represent you that will have your best interests in mind.” I sign the paper quickly and stand, pulling Willa back to my side.

I shake Coach’s offered hand and thank him. “You’re not fired, Diego. Because contrary to what happened in here, I do think you have my best interest in mind. You just really need to get your shit together around my wife.”

I pull Willa out of the office and away from Diego before he can protest. Once we’re away from everyone, I pull her into my arms and spin. She laughs while holding me tightly. “We did it,” she whispers in my ear.

“You did it, Princess. I said nothing in there.” I put her down and check my watch. “I only have a few minutes until I need to be in the locker room.”

“That’s fine. I need to go meet with Jon.”

I frown. “Who the fuck is Jon?” Willa just laughs at me.

“My manager. The rest of the band will be there too. We’ve had a lot of brand deals coming in and requests for interviews. Then there’s the whole tour rescheduling thing.”

“Right. I knew that.”

“I’ll see you tonight. We can eat your boring healthy food since you’ll officially be in season and maybe watchWhere the Heart is?” She smiles up at me in a way she knows I won’t say no to. I groan and act put out, anyway.

“Again?” It’s her favorite movie. She’s made me watch it with her over FaceTime a bunch over the years. We’d always talk about which snack foods we’d name future children. My favorite so far is Cheese Puff. Willa’s is Pizza Roll. “Fine,” I relent, just like she knew I would.

Her phone vibrates in her hand, and she glances at it. “Shoot. I’m going to be late.” She hugs me quickly and runs for the parking lot. I watch her go, noticing, not for the first time, how great of an ass she has.

“She’s a fuckable little thing.” I turn, grabbing the collar of the man who just spoke and shoving him into the wall.

“What the fuck did you just say about my wife?” I growl in his face. He lifts his hands in a placating gesture and laughs.

“Just calling as I see it, new guy.”

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