Page 6 of The Love Trick

“She cannot possibly have an emergency,” Mom reiterates, her voice growing tired as she turns to me. “If this is another one of Blaze’s schemes to get you out of doing something…”

“Mom, I don’t know. What if he’s actually in trouble?” I use my most innocent tone, shrugging my shoulders like I absolutely didnotsend anSOStext.

She narrows her eyes at me. “Adeline, I hope, for your sake, you’re not trying to finagle your way out of helping your sister plan her wedding.”

“I’m not.” I raise my hands in surrender and then scoot back in my chair, turning to Aurora. “I’ll make it up to you.”

She smiles and then mouths, “Lucky.”

And just like that, I’m off to see what thisemergencyis all about.

Chapter Three

Blaze

IftheWilliamsfamilydidn’t already think I was a little obnoxious, after this, theydefinitelywill…

But Addy sent an SOS. So, did I even have a choice?

Sometimes, I wonder if her family thinks I’ve corrupted her over the years since we met in college. After all, I’m nothing more than an aged-out foster kid who only made it to college because of a hockey coach who wouldn’t give up on me.

And sure, as a result of all that, I was drafted to the NHL, and the rest is history…

But internally, I’m still an orphan of sorts.

“Oh my gosh,” Addy huffs as she comes storming into the lobby. “I couldkissyou right now!”

“That bad, huh?” I smirk.

“It was the absolute worst.” She beelines straight out of the building, shaking her head.

“Thanks, Molly.” I smile at the hostess before turning to leave. But she doesn’tsmile back.

Whatever.

I jog to catch up with Addy. The afternoon sun hangs high in the Atlanta sky, and the heat is brutal right now. And it’s on days like today that I wish I’d have gotten drafted for a team located further away from the equator…

But then I’d be further from Addy, and that’s not worth the tradeoff.

“If I were to ever move teams to a different state, would you come?” I blurt out, the random question causing her to peer up at me with a funny expression.

“Uh …Areyou changing teams? You literallyjustwon the Stanley Cup…”

I shake my head. “Intrusive thought.”

She laughs, threading her arm through mine. “Those are seriously the worst, but to answer your question, I might follow you. Maybe even hide in your suitcase. At this point, I think my own family would be relieved if I left town.”

“Oh, stop,” I tell her, rolling my eyes. “Your family loves you.”

“Yeah, as long as I do exactly what they say and get married before I turn thirty.” Her tone sours as we continue down the street. It’s full of tourists this time of year, so it’s fairly easy to blend in. Most people don’t recognize me outside of the rink.

Thank goodness.

I couldn’t handle that level of fame.

“Are you even listening, Blaze?” Addy nudges me.

“Yes, sorry.” I rub the dark stubble on my jaw. “I think you’re going to be just fine. It’s rare for your parents to say anything to you about your marital status unless it’s the holidays or something, and even then—”

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