Page 30 of Pucking Secret

“Knowing your mother, I would assume that, yes.”

Great. As if Owen’s sudden reappearance wasn’t enough, now I have to deal with my mother too. She might be busy with her latest bit of man-candy, but she’ll come around eventually, and when she does, it’ll be a shit show. My carefully constructed world feels like it’s starting to unravel, thread-by-mother-fucking-thread.

After our visit with Grandma, I drive us to the Night Hawks arena. Sunday mornings are usually quiet because they don’t typically have practice, so it’s a good chance to use the ice with no one else around. Millie is practically vibrating with excitement in the back seat as I pull into the parking lot.

“You promise I can skate on the big ice, Mama?” she asks for the fifth time as she kicks her little feet with her cheetah-print boots.

I smile at her in the rearview mirror. “I promise. Just you, me, and the rink.”

Millie claps her hands together.

“I’m going to go so fast!”

“You’ll go as fast as I let you,” I warn her. “I’m not going to let you hurt yourself. You’ve got your big skating recital coming up, remember.”

She rolls her eyes and groans. “Fine… but you know I’m the best skater in the world. I can go super fast and not fall.”

“Yes, I know But for my own peace of mind, let’s not go too fast, okay?”

“Okay,” she says with a dramatic sigh.

I get her out of her booster seat and grab her skates out of the trunk. She holds my hand and skips beside me as we make our way into the massive building. When we step into the arena, the faint smell of ice and the low hum of the refrigeration system greet us, as well as a few security guards who recognize us and nod as we move past them.

“All right, you can skate for a while and I’ll get some work done,” I tell Millie as we stroll through the arena to the rink.

“Okay!”

I smile at how giddy she is. Millie loves to skate. She takes lessons twice a week after school, but she always wants to skate on the rink just like the team. I think this arena and its rink is one of her favorite places in the world right now.

We walk through the doors to the rink, but as soon as the ice comes into view, I freeze.

Owen is here. His broad shoulders hunch slightly as he glides effortlessly across the ice. He has his stick and is chasing a puck around, his brow furrowed in concentration. He’s wearing a loose hoodie and sweatpants, so he’s able to move with more fluidity than he does when wearing his gear. The way he glides across the ice with so little effort is almost… beautiful.

Goddamn it.

I squeeze Millie’s hand.

“Come on, sweetie,” I whisper, trying to steer her back toward the entrance. “We don’t want to bother?—”

She tugs free of my grip and bounds forward without a second of hesitation.

“Hi, Owen!” she shouts, her voice echoing across the empty arena.

Owen stops mid-stride, the puck coming to a halt at the curve of his stick. His head snaps up, and the moment his eyes land on Millie, they widen slightly before shifting to me. My cheeks heat under his gaze and I quickly look away and down to Millie, who's pressed up against the protective barrier around the rink. Owen doesn’t even have time to recover from his surprise at seeing us before Millie starts talking a mile-a-minute.

“Owen! Are you practicing? Why are you here by yourself? Mommy says we shouldn’t disturb you, but you don’t need the whole rink, do you? Do you want to race?”

“Millie,” I interrupt, trying to catch up with her as she bounces around. “Calm down.”

“It’s fine,” Owen cuts in, skating over to us. “She’s not bothering me.” He crouches to Millie’s level, his expression warm. “You wanna race, huh? You sure you’re up for the challenge?”

“Yeah!” Millie exclaims.

Millie’s excitement is contagious, but my mind is a mess. I can’t do this. I can’t let him in. Not now, not like this.

“Millie,” I start, the whole situation making me uneasy, “maybe we should let him practice…”

“Please, Mommy!” she begs, her hands clasped dramatically like this is the most important moment of her life. “You promised I could skate, and Owen said I’m not bothering him!”

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