Page 100 of College Hockey Bully

“Yes,” he mutters.

Mom whips around. An awareness crosses her face and she turns back to him. “One more thing. If you dare send that email to New York, I’m contacting my attorney. Stay out of Aiden’s way.”

“Come on, Marianne. That was an empty threat. Do you really think I’d ruin my son’s future like that?” He cast an earnest look at me. “Aiden, I swear to God, I wouldn’t have sent it. I just wanted Casey’s dad in my back pocket.”

“Well, you’re going to need to figure another way to do that, because I’m not taking Casey back,” I announce, turning to follow Mom out of the room.

“Seriously?” he calls after me. “Aiden, come on!”

Ignoring his protest, I catch up with Mom, slipping my arm around her shoulder. “I’m proud of you.”

She shakes her head. “You shouldn’t be. Look at what I’ve done to you. Blackmail, ruining your relationship with Scarlett… you should be disgusted. I know I am.”

“Look, I can’t deny how pissed off I’ve been with you, but you’re not responsible for me and Scarlett breaking up. You didn’t force her to take that money.”

Mom stops. She sighs deeply, her gaze dropping to the floor. “She didn’t actually take the money, Aiden.”

What feels like a solid punch in my gut forces me to suck in a breath. It takes me a moment to finally get out, “What do you mean?”

“I offered her the check and she refused it, so I placed it on her dresser before leaving. To date, she hasn’t yet cashed it.”

Backing away from her, I breathe harshly, dragging fingers through my hair.Holy shit, I fucked up. This is all on me, not Scarlett.

I fucking ruined everything.

“I’m so, so sorry,” she whispers.

Dipping into my pocket for the phone, I dial Scarlett’s number, almost clearing the side door when the voicemail chips in. It closes behind me with a bang and I slide into the driver’s seat of my car, a dozen thoughts racing in my head. As the carspeeds through the main gate, there’s only one on the forefront. I need a miracle to get Scarlett back.

Chapter 40

Scarlett

“What do you want me to do with all these flowers?” Theresa asks as Mom helps me into my coat.

My first thought is to say, “Dump them,” but they’re so beautiful. Then again, they’ll only remind me of the asshole who sent them. Aiden sending me a roomful of flowers while being with someone else is diabolical to me.

“I don’t care,” I mutter as Mom guides me gently toward the door. Dad is waiting for us in the parking lot, warming up his truck.

“I’m going to take a couple for my living room,” she announces. “Mom, do you want some for yours?”

“Sounds lovely, dear,” Mom replies.

I roll my eyes. Annoyingly enough, Aiden’s grand gesture with the flowers has won Theresa over and she’s clearly trying to keep my memory of him alive. As if it matters. My ex has already moved on and so will I.

Theresa runs past us and by the time Mom and I get to the nurses’ station, she’s on her way back with a trolley. She catches us by the elevator with all the flowers stacked, looking mighty pleased with herself.

“This is an expensive gesture,” she says when I give her the stink eye. “I can’t afford to waste it.”

“You didn’t spend a goddamn cent,” I point out with slight amusement. She shrugs and pushes the trolley into the downstairs lobby.

My heart sinks when we get to the parking lot to find Dad with the truck hood open, peering inside. The stinging air nips at my face and I zip my coat up. We can’t stand out here for too long.

“Been trying to get it going for the last fifteen minutes,” Dad explains forlornly. “Needs a mechanic, it seems.”

Mom pulls her phone out. “Let’s call an Uber, then. Scarlett needs to get off her feet.”

“Or we could hitch a ride,” Theresa points out.

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