Page 156 of The Girlfriend Zone

I slow my pace, studying him as he reads something on the screen. Is now a bad time? I really don’t know, but still, I go for it. “Sir, could I please talk to you?”

He draws a big breath. “Not now.”

Then he turns and walks the other way.

Fuck.

This man is not making it easy. I lean against the wall, scrubbing a hand across the back of my neck, regrouping.

I’ll have to find another chance, even though I’m already so tired of waiting.

Good thing we have an afternoon game, though there’s no time to nap—and I couldn’t nap if I tried. Especially since my agent calls just as I’m wrapping up a light workout.

“All right, man. I called Clementine, but she hasn’t called back yet. You have to remember there are always trade talks,” Garrett says.

“You think it’s just talks?”

“I hope so, Miles,” he says, his tone careful, making nopromises. “But try to put it out of your mind and play the game. You’ve always been good at focusing.”

A knot tightens in my chest. He’s right on both counts, but I also know better than to trust reassurances. This game is all about leverage—and right now, I don’t have much.

But I think about the word he just used—focus. I think about the future. I think about Leighton. And the thing is—maybe I don’t have leverage. But I have options. I have choices. I have agency. I can always…quit.

I blink, my mind wrapping around an idea I’ve barely dared to entertain. And yet…here I am, entertaining it.

It’s not my favorite choice, but it’s one I could make. I don’t have to accept a trade. I can also walk away and walk into something else entirely. Something different.

The knot loosens. I have choices and that is a damn good feeling. I can choose how to move forward. The thought of walking away is both terrifying and oddly freeing.

I thank Garrett and get ready to play, choosing to leave these career fears behind.

As I lace up, I know exactly what to say to Coach. I rehearse the words in my head. I’m a planner, a learner, an achiever. And that’s a damn good thing. I also know how to focus on a goal. I hit the ice an hour later, putting the trade talks out of my mind.

Yes, I want to stay, but the only way to control that is by playing the best hockey I can. The rest is out of my hands, and that’s fine by me. Because I know what I want and what I’ll do to get it. I know what I’ve done too, on and off the ice.

And soon, Coach will as well.

He can’t avoid me on the plane that evening. Well, maybe he can. But I won’t let him. Even though he’s talking to the assistant coach as we hit our cruising altitude, I push up and out of my seat and make my way to the second row. “Hey. I need a word, please.”

“Sure,” the assistant coach says, and that’s that.

I grab his seat before Coach can give me the cold shoulder. I turn to him, and I don’t ask—I tell. “I’ve been keeping secrets.”

He barks out a humorless laugh. “I’m well aware of that, Falcon.”

The hum of the plane and the chatter of conversations behind us make this moment private enough.

But I’ve got a hell of a lot more to say. “Sir, what I mean?—”

He snaps his gaze to me, his blue eyes sharp and assessing. “I suspected you two had a thing once you finished up that dog-sitting situation,” he says in a low, cool voice, and I’m momentarily surprised. But then I shouldn’t be. He’s a strategic man. He traffics in strategy. It’s literally his job to read other teams and respond. “I thought you’d talk to me. I thought she respected me enough to trust me with this.”

His words twist like a knife, but it’s okay. I can handle it. And clearly, he needs to say this. “I saw there was some…flicker between you two. And I didn’t hate it, but I figured you’d both come to me.”

He takes a beat, and I seize the chance to wrestle back some of the conversation. “I wanted to, sir. But I also wanted to be patient with Leighton. To make sure she was ready on her own and not simply because I was ready,” Isay, and I’m not throwing Leighton under the bus but making sure he knows I prioritize her. Then I add, “But I had to take care of something first.”

He blinks, perhaps confused, but barrels on. “I was waiting for you to realize you’re the man for my daughter. To show me why you’re worthy. Because I want someone who’s willing to fight for her.”

He has no idea. But he’s about to find out.

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