Page 18 of The Forever Play

She’s here because of him.

Is she with him?

Are they a couple?

Do they live together?

Is Zoey his?

Fuck no. He was like four or five years older than her. She wouldn’t have… I mean, right?

By the time I can see the arena, I’ve slowed to a crawl.

The building looms ahead of me in the distance, and I’m wondering if this is the dumbest idea I’ve ever had. Charging in there to talk to some assistant hockey coach who’s never even met me before?

He might not even know Sienna!

There has to be more than one Russell Fisher who lives in the US. It’s not that uncommon of a name, right?

But I can’t not take this chance.

I have to find her, and he’s the closest lead I’ve got right now.

Squaring my shoulders, I ball my hands into fists and walk toward the arena, steeling myself for whatever this guy is going to tell me.

CHAPTER 7

SIENNA

I sit on the floor, staring at the blocks Zoey’s playing with until they’re a blur in front of me. My daughter is stacking the colored pieces of wood, then using the toy hammer to smash her tower down. She’s having a blast, and usually I’d be laughing along with her, but today… all I seem capable of is vacant stares.

Snap out of it, Sienna! You have a little girl who deserves your attention!

I blink and force myself to sit up straight, reposition myself cross-legged on the floor, and smile down at Zoey.

“Bang! Cash!” She laughs as the blocks tumble into a messy pile.

“Bang. Crash.” I grin, hoping my voice is bright enough. Hoping I can hide the angst churning my insides to mulch.

Zander’s in Nolan.

Zander saw Zoey.

Zander called me Sparks.

Zander’s still the most gorgeous man on the planet.

Zander, Zander, Zander!

Ugh! I wish I could stop thinking about him, but he’s haunting my dreams, taking over every square inch of my brain.

I don’t know how to shake this.

“Pay squeen?” Zoey looks up at me, rounding her eyes in that puppy dog way she does when she wants something she knows she probably shouldn’t have.

My heart melts, and I don’t have the energy to steel myself against it today.

“Okay, you can have twenty minutes on the iPad. We’ll set a timer, okay?”

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