Page 101 of Icy Pucking Play

"Actually, it is." He starts gathering pucks. "The question is, are you brave enough to admit it?"

"Brave enough to what? To trust someone who went behind my back? Who…"

"Who loves you enough to try to understand your past instead of running from it?” He skates to the boards. "Who makes you happy?"

"She can’t be trusted."

"She's Sophie. She’s been there for all of us. Repeatedly." He grabs his water bottle. "And you're an idiot."

"Watch it."

"Or what? You'll push me away too?" He starts heading for the locker room, then pauses. "Is that what you want?"

He disappears into the locker room before I have a chance to answer, leaving me alone on the ice.

I check my phone which has way too many new texts.

Julia:Just read Sophie's new draft. It's terrible. Technically perfect, but terrible.

Natalia:Dad? My math grade went down. I miss Sophie's help.

Mike:Fix this. The team needs the Ice Man, not the Broken Man.

And finally, one from Sophie herself:

Found your lucky tie in my car. The one you wore to Natalia's science fair. Should I mail it? Wouldn't want to cross any boundaries.

The sarcasm in that last message stings worse than Ryland's multiple goals on me today.

Coach skates back out slowly, breaking my thoughts. "Want to know what I think?"

"Not really."

"Too bad." He hands me a water bottle. "I think you're so busy protecting yourself from getting hurt that you don't see when you're the one doing the hurting."

"That's what Ryland said."

"Kid's smart." He pauses. "Smarter than his uncle, apparently."

And maybe that's the real save I need to make. Not on the ice. Not in my career. Not even with my family. But with my heart. If I'm brave enough to try. If it's not too late. If...

My phone buzzes again.

Ryland:The real story—the one she didn't submit—includes the line, “Some say Evan Daniels is made of ice. But I've felt his warmth. And that's a story worth telling.”

I stare at the message for a long time.

Then I start typing.

Chapter 26

Sophie

"This is either the best idea you've ever had, or the stupidest," Cynthia says, helping me set up the projector in Julia's living room. "I honestly can't decide which."

"That's reassuring."

"I'm just saying—organizing a surprise video presentation for a man who hates surprises and doesn't trust emotions? Bold move."

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