Page 10 of Shoot Your Shot

Walking into my office, I close the door behind me and sigh. I know damn well the lastdongI got was my ex-husband’s. And as much as it pains me to say this, he left some big ol’ shoes to fill. It wasn’t only big. He also knew how to use it.

And now, my vagina is tingling. Awesome.

I’ve been on some dates, sure. But every one of them annoyed me. And technically, I’m still married to Kolt because the fucker has never signed our divorce papers—I’m sure, out of spite. So, I don’t want to hook up with anyone.

One day, when the right guy comes along, I’ll force Kolt to sign the damn papers. But for now, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with that. I own a physical therapy office, and that keeps me busy in itself. Besides, I’ve had my lawyer resend the papers a total of seven times. All of them have gone unanswered. I’m not ready to go face him because even a year and a half later … my feelings for him are very much alive. I need to wait until the place in my heart where he resides is cold, dead, and mean. That way, he can’t try to sweet-talk me.

Not that he would. After all, he pushed me away. I left, and he never came after me. Not once. I’ve seen the tabloids too; he certainly didn’t wait for me to come back before he jumped on the first few puck bunnies to tell him how awesome he was.

One day, I’ll have my life figured out. And when I do, I hope the thought of no longer legally being Paige Kolburne won’t feel like I’m being stabbed in the chest.

But let’s be real; deep down, I know as long as he’s not signing the papers … that means he can’t marry anyone else either. Selfishly, I don’t want Kolt to ever be married to another woman. Even if that makes me screwed up.

I watch Logan walk out of the hospital with Amelia in his arms. Maci, the nanny, follows close behind, and for weeks, it’s been clear that Logan’s in love with the woman. The way she interacts with Amelia makes it clear they are a family now. I’m happy for Logan because for over three years, he’s raised Amelia solo, and even though I know that dude loves being a dad more than anything in the world, the smile on his face when Maci is around is undeniable.

Lucky fucker.

Watching the three of them makes me miss Paige even more than I already do. Something I didn’t think was even possible. When I’m not missing her, I’m consumed with guilt. Not only for how I treated her, but also for not telling her before she left that I was the reason why she wasn’t pregnant yet.

For a long time after she was gone, I was in a dark place. One I’m not proud of. But, fuck, it felt like I was dying. When Logan talked some sense into me, I went to her parents’ house to be honest with her, only to find she’d moved on. After that day, all I had left was hockey. And my Bay Sharks family. Both got me through the worst time of my life. Because since I had been seventeen years old, Paige had been my favorite person on earth.

Bending down, I pick up the huge bullmastiff stuffed animal I ordered for Amelia. Days ago, she was rushed to the hospital with RSV. I have no idea what those three letters stand for, but judging by how much medicine and tests the girl had to go through, I assume the shit is bad.

I don’t have any nieces or nephews of my own, so Amelia is the closest thing to a niece for me. I love that kid.

As the live-in nanny, when Maci moved in with Logan and Amelia, she brought her bullmastiff, Clyde, along with her. Since then, even though Amelia is obsessed with Highland cows and excavators, she’s taken a liking to bullmastiffs too. And if I hadn’t been sure Logan would cut my balls off and feed them to the thing, I would have gotten her a puppy instead.

“Dude, you always have to do this shit,” Ryder says, appearing at my side. “Every single time.”

“Do what?” I grumble, not in the mood for his dramatics today.

“Don’t play dumb with me.” Ryder points to the stuffed animal. “You little one-upper you.”

“Like a ten-upper, I’d say,” Tripp adds, glancing from Ryder’s bouquet of flowers to my gift. “Sorry, Ry. But Kolt is for sure winning this time. Amy is going to lose her shit over that dog.”

Smith walks up to us and holds up a card. “You all suck. I got her money. What kid doesn’t love money?”

“A kid whose dad is one of the highest-paid players in the NHL,” I mumble, looking straight ahead.

“Yeah, what he said.” Ryder jerks his chin toward Smith. “Fuck your cash.”

“Whatever,” Smith murmurs. “What the fuck is she supposed to do with that thing anyway? Besides, don’t you know anything? Kid likes excavators and Highland cows.”

“Nah, lately, she likes bullmastiffs,” I say gruffly. “Sorry. But like Ryder said, fuck your cash.”

Amelia makes her way toward us and rushes to me, looking up at me with her big blue eyes. She’s feeling better—that’s obvious. But she still looks weaker than normal. “Uncle Kolty, is this for me?” She points to the life-sized stuffed animal.

Kneeling down, I nod. “You know it, Super A. Whatcha think? Is big Clyde going to be okay with this guy?”

“Probably will become his newest mistress,” Logan mutters, running his hand up the back of his head before he notices Maci shooting him a glare. “What? Have you seen your dog with the pillows?” He drops his voice low. “Fucker gets after it. My dog is a pillow pimp.”

“So, your dog’s basically a perv, like you?” Ryder grins at him. “The perfect match.”

And even though we gave Smith shit for giving her money, when she tears the card open, she’s fucking pumped.

“Maci, look!” she squeals. “We can go to Target tomorrow!”

Maci smiles, laughing lightly. “Yes, we will!”

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