Page 41 of The Secret Play

And she ran hot like I did. Always taking off layers when convention said to leave them on. Hell, I never wore more than shorts and a fleece when I was on the ice. Sometimes less.

The timeline lined up. Winnie was four, almost five, which matched perfectly with the night I’d spent at the masquerade fundraiser. A night that had stuck in my mind ever since for reasons I hadn’t been able to articulate back then.

Until now.

The whole thing was odd. A series of coincidences, some might say. Plenty of people had those same traits. There was nothing to work myself up over.

But I couldn’t let it go.

I knew I needed answers, but I wasn’t going to get them from Gemma—not yet, anyway. If she was hiding something, I had no idea how to broach the topic without risking the fragile connection we were building. I’d told her the honest truth about us—I was terrified of screwing this up. Nothing would screw it up more than prematurely claiming fatherhood of her daughter.

That left Nico.

He would know things about Gemma that she wouldn’t necessarily think to tell me herself. If I could ask the right questions, I might be able to get the pieces I needed to put the puzzle together. But I had to be careful. The last thing I wanted was to make him suspicious.

The next morning, I called Nico into my office under the guise of discussing logistics for practice. He showed up in his usual relaxed way, still in his sweat-soaked practice gear, a water bottle in hand, and his easy grin firmly in place, dropping into the chair across from my desk like he didn’t have a care in the world. “What’s up, Coach?”

I leaned back in my chair, trying to project the same casual energy. “Nothing major. Just figured we should chat. With your sister hanging around the team so much, I thought I should get to know her better.”

Nico raised an eyebrow, his grin turning slightly amused. “What, are you vetting her?”

“Something like that,” I said, chuckling. “She’s been doing a lot of interviews, spending time with the guys. Just thought it wouldn’t hurt to get some context. I know she’s doing a bang-up job for our PR, so Whit likes her. But you know me. If anyone’s hanging around my team, I want to know them. Figured it makes sense to talk to you first.”

“Fair enough,” he said, shrugging. “What do you want to know?”

I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. “What’s her story? I know she just moved back, but why now?”

“Because of Winnie,” Nico said without missing a beat. “She was in LA for five years, doing her thing, but once my niece got old enough to start school, Gemma wanted her to grow up somewhere more stable. Atlanta made sense. I’m here, our dad’s here—it’s home.”

I nodded slowly, filing the information away. Five years. The timeline fit perfectly into the widening hole in my heart. But I kept my casual smile in place. “How’s she adjusting?”

“She’s doing great,” Nico said, leaning back in his chair. “She’s tough. Always has been. But I think she’s glad to be back. Even if she acts like she’s too cool for Atlanta, I know she missed it. It’s good for her to be around family again. I think the guys are warming up to her, too.”

“And Winnie’s dad? Is he here or LA or something?”

Nico’s grin faltered, and he shook his head. “That’s…a sore subject. Gemma’s private about it—she won’t even tell me who he is. I’ve learned not to push. All I know is he’s not involved, and she seems fine with that.”

“She’s never mentioned him?” I pressed, keeping my voice neutral.

“Not once.”

“You don’t find that weird?”

“That’s Gemma for you. She’s always been independent. Doesn’t like asking for help, doesn’t like sharing her burdens. It’s how she’s always been. Not that Winnie is a burden—she’s the greatest kid in the world. But it can’t be easy, the whole single mom thing.”

I nodded, though my mind was racing. If Gemma had never mentioned Winnie’s father, not even to her brother, it had to mean something. But what? “She looks familiar,” I said, testing the waters. “Is there any reason I’d recognize her? Have we met before?”

Nico tilted his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “I mean, maybe? She’s been around town for a while now. Oh, and she came to that big masquerade fundraiser we did right before she moved to LA.”

My breath caught in my chest. “The masquerade?”

“Yeah,” Nico said, laughing. “You know, the one we all hated but had to go to because it was for the pediatric hospital? Gemma came to that.”

I swallowed, my brain blitzing from too many thoughts. “Why was she there?”

“She had just graduated, and I thought she needed a night of fun before she moved to LA.” He shrugged. “She’s not a party girl, but it’s always good to try something new, right?”

“Right,” I mumbled, still reeling as my stomach sank. “Did she tell you anything about that night? Did she meet anyone?—”

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