Page 20 of Falling for You

He still has a grin on his face, even as he bends a little when the ref lifts his hand and drops the puck, as my sister calls it, on the ice. He still grins, especially when he beats his dad to said puck, but his dad moves his stick and instead of trying to grab the puck, he puts it beneath his son’s skates. My eyes widen as Taylor trips, just catching himself before he can fall, which gives his dad enough time to get the puck and the crowd laughs knowing he just cheated.

Taylor shakes his head and skates after his dad, managing to shove him hard into the boards and trip him in the process, where he does fall. I laugh as the ref blows his whistle and sends him to a box near where his team is sitting, all while his father laughs, knowing he got away with the foul while his son didn’t.

Taylor throws his head back and groans, I grin wide.

“Looks like this is going to be one funny game,” Avery laughs, and I nod.

I’ve never been to a hockey game before, but I know they’re more serious and aggressive than this, so it’s nice to watch my first one full of fun and laughter.

I couldn’t stop the laughter for the next sixty minutes, watching father and son on the ice. Every time Nico Evans did something to his son, the ref misses it, but when Taylor retaliates, he ends up in the sin bin, as Avery called it.

It’s hilarious, and the fact that he doesn’t lose his grin just amazes me. They’re all having fun, the atmosphere has completely relaxed me.

We watch as the ‘Oldies’ win, but I keep my eyes on Taylor and my palms begin to sweat knowing it’s now or never. The players are all slapping hands, some exiting the ice.

“Penelope, you ready?” Avery says loudly over the roaring crowd while I look through the players for Taylor, who has disappeared in the rowdiness.

“Let's go,” I say to Avery. She nods, grabs my hand, and carefully moves out of the stands before pulling me to the hallway. We walk down the corridor and stop when we see security.

“Excuse me,” Avery says, and a massive guy looks at us, raising a brow.

I wince at the cold look, but Avery doesn’t miss a beat and states, “My name is Avery Calvins, my sister is Penelope Vine, we need to speak to Taylor Evans; it’s important.”

The guy scoffs, but when he sees we’re serious, he sighs, puts his mouth to his mic, and opens his mouth, giving me hope, until a loud, nasally voice asks, “What is the problem?” Stopping the guy. He turns to a woman wearing a short skirt with stripper heels, a strappy top and a blazer. He walks over to her while I eye her up.

“She looks like the devil,” I mutter to my sister, who agrees.

They whisper for a few seconds, and I share a look with Avery before the woman stands in front of us and demands, “You have five seconds to get out of this arena, or I’m calling the police and ordering a restraining order. I have repeatedly told you to back off, enough is enough.”

“Ah, Elena, I presume,” I ask with attitude as I eye the bottled blonde again. It’s all coming together now; why she continuously disregards me and threatens me.

She narrows her eyes and snaps, “Escort them out and put a ban on them.”

I smirk, making her cheeks heat, knowing I’ve caught on, but before the guy goes to touch me, I snap, “You lay one finger on me, and my father, Carl Vine, will ruin you.”

The guy’s eyes widen, obviously recognizing the name, I turn without argument and mumble to my sister, “It looks like we’re popping in at Mom and Dads on the way home.”

Avery nods and mumbles, “I bet he fucked her once; she has territorial written all over her. No way she’s stopping contact because she’s his agent.”

I nod, not surprised she picked it up either, my stomach sinks because I am nothing like Barbie over there, so what in the hell did he see in me?

“Mom, Dad,” My sister says loudly as we walk into our parent's estate an hour later, creams and whites entering my vision blinding me like normal.

“We’re in the dining room,” Mom's voice rings out and I take a deep breath and walk ahead of my sister through the bland living area and into the dining area. I internally groan when I see Zane-hole and his parents sitting at the table.

“Penelope, this is a pleasant surprise, sweetheart,” my mother says as she dabs around her mouth and stands before wiping down her maxi cream dress. She walks around the glass dining table, her red hair immaculate, not a hair out of place in her small bun despite most likely not leaving the house today.

While dad goes to the office daily, my mother, Aria Vine, likes to work from home.

“Hi, Mom,” I say as she kisses my cheek and then my sisters.

“Is everything okay, Pen?” my dad asks with concern and stands, his blue eyes looking over me to ensure I’m okay.

I give him a small smile. Despite knowing he'll never stand by me, the man has redeemed himself by sticking by Avery with herhusband. I’m hoping he’ll prove me wrong right now, otherwise, I’ll be alone but my gut tells me he’s about to disown me, especially doing this with the Andrews’ present.

“Actually, Dad, I came here for some legal advice,” I admit, and his eyes widen as the Andrews stand and walk over to us.

“What does my future wife need legal advice about?” Zane-hole demands, I roll my eyes at him.

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