Page 51 of Shot Through the Heart

Clearing my throat, I cover the move by bending to pick up my drawstring bag. As I hike the bag over my shoulder, I keep my voice low so Harper doesn’t overhear.

“I wanted to put something out there for you to think about.” I pull my phone from my pocket and open the confirmation email I got a few days ago. “You don’t have to answer right away. Take your time to think about it.”

Handing her my phone, I hold my breath as she reads over the details.

“This is…” Her eyes snap to mine. “How did you…”

“When you ran off, I placed a bid before following you,” I tell her.

I still don’t fully know what I was thinking by bidding on the getaway to the Georgia mountains back at the gala. The two of us had barely spoken at that point. Hell, I didn’t even know about Harper.

Still, the thought had been planted. The plan of having a weekend with Stella to give us more time to figure things out was all I wanted. I even originally planned on asking Dominik and Lilly to come to influence Stella into going along.

Now, though, the idea of spending the holiday weekend with just Stella and Harper is even better than anything I could have come up with.

If she says yes.

“If you and Harper have plans or traditions, it’s no big deal. I know it’s only a couple weeks away, so it’s kind of last minute. I’m sure one of the guys would gladly go instead. I just thought…” I trail off, shifting my weight between my feet.

“Yes.” Stella steps closer and takes my hand in her. “Our holidays consist of pajamas and eating all day long. When I was looking at the bid, I was thinking about how much Harper would love seeing snow at least once this year.”

“Does she like the winter?” I ask, glancing at Harper as she shoves her mouth full of her breakfast. Stella squeezes my hand and laughs lightly.

“She had a breakdown last month when she found out we couldn’t build a snowman. Luckily, the idea of a snowman made from sand was funny enough to distract her. For now, at least.”

Stella bites her bottom lip, hesitating for a moment. “We could tell her then, who you are to her, I mean.”

There’s no doubt that the shock is clear as day on my expression.

Swallowing thickly, I hold back the onslaught of emotions that threaten to spill. “Are you sure? You don’t have to rush telling her if you’re uncomfortable.”

The last thing I want is for Stella to do something she’s not one hundred percent on board with yet. I already intended to put the work in for however long it took to prove to her that I’m all in.

“It doesn’t feel rushed to me,” she says, her smile softening. “She should know who you are. I don’t feel right letting her continue to get to know you when she doesn’t know the truth. Everyone says kids are resilient, but I’d prefer not to be the reason for a possible therapy session in the future.”

Chuckling, I wrap Stella in my arms, dropping a kiss to her forehead as she melts into me.

“Thank you,” I whisper. Before either of us can say anything more, the feeling of Harper throwing her entire body weight at our legs catches me off guard. I pull away just enough to look down at our adorable toddler as she wraps her arms around us.

“Are you leaving?” she asks me with a frown.

“Yeah,” I tell her, my throat tight at the sight of her displeased expression.

“Why?” Her question is so innocent, but it feels as if she’s squeezing my heart.

“I have to go to work,” I explain. “My plane leaves in an hour and a half.”

Harper’s eyes widen. “You’re going on a plane? Do you fly them?”

“No.” I laugh. “I have to go to a lot of places to play different teams.”

Her mouth drops open, her surprise making me chuckle. “You play for work?”

Stella shakes her head, finally twisting from my embrace to squat down in front of Harper. “He plays hockey. So he has to skate on ice and…” She looks up at me, eyes wide with panic. “How do you explain hockey to a toddler?”

“There’s something called a puck, and we have to use sticks to keep it away from the other team and score in their goal.” I try, not quite sure if I did any better.

“Okay.” Harper nods as if she actually understands. “Can I see?”

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