Page 26 of Breakaway to You

There was only one tiny problem.

The image of him looking at me in reverence while he told me how much he liked seeing me in his kitchen would forever be ingrained in my mind. That and the fact that Zeke Lawson hadn’t had another woman in his kitchen since Anna, the last girl he had been in love with…but he wantedmeto stay. My brain could take that thought alone and have a heyday with it.

But no. I couldn’t let myself dwell on anything he’d said tonight. It was purely a work visit. One during which we’d watched a movie, then he’d opened up and shared something hard from his past, and now we were about to have dinner together. Yes, a work visit.

At least, that was what I was going to keep telling myself. I had to. It was the only way to protect not only my job but my heart.

Chapter10

Zeke

Two weeks off the ice had felt like the longest days of my life. Which only made me even more scared of what my life would be like once I retired. I was meant to be on the ice, meant to be training, meant to be busy. The only thing that had kept me from going completely crazy were my physical therapy sessions with Piper. It had helped to feel like I was working onsomething.

Things between Piper and me were…fine.

It seemed like a lifetime ago when she’d been at my apartment, helping with my knee, making dinner with me. She’d left as soon as she’d cleaned up after dinner, acting like she couldn’t leave fast enough, probably because I had shared too much with her that night.

I still couldn’t believe I had told her about Anna. I never told anyone about Anna. She was this painful part of my past I liked to pretend had never happened. So why I had decided to blurt out how Anna and I had gotten together was beyond me. There really was just something about Piper, no matter how much I tried to ignore it.

Seeing her in my kitchen had sent me instantly into a daydream of evenings spent together, maybe with her wearing my jersey, as we cooked dinner together. It had been a crazy thought. One that had hit me so hard and so sudden that I hadn’t known how to guard my expression or figure out something else to tell her. But then again, I had also found myself wanting to tell her, wanting her to know I liked her being there with me.

“Yo, Zeke.” A hand waved in front of my face. “You ready for this?”

I blinked, focusing on being back in the visitors’ locker room, not realizing I had spaced out for a minute.

Holden stood in front of me, waiting for me to answer him.

“Of course I’m ready.” I pushed him out of my personal space. “I’m always ready.”

“You sure sound confident for someone who has missed our last two games for an injury,” he said, pulling his jersey out of his locker. “Tuvalo is going to push you hard tonight. He knows you’ve been injured and is going to be itching to get you out for another few games.”

I ground my teeth, knowing Holden was right. We were playing the Blue Jays again tonight at their home arena. Normally Tuvalo was just an annoying pest, but now that I knew he was also Piper’s cheating ex, I had a score I wanted to settle with him. I hated the thought of him with Piper, and knowing that he’d had her—and hurt her—was enough to get my blood boiling.

“Hey.” Holden slapped me on the shoulder. “Save all that anger and adrenaline for the ice. Just make sure it doesn’t get you put in the sin bin.”

If I had any hope of putting Tuvalo in his place, I’d have to maintain control. But when it came to Piper, I hadn’t proven to have much of that.

Thankfully, she had enough control for the both of us. The past few weeks, she’d been distant, keeping most of our conversations strictly about my physical therapy. I wondered if it was because of me saying that I liked seeing her in my kitchen—that I’d gone too far when I’d told her that. Or maybe it had been because I’d shared something so personal with her and she had no interest in our relationship going beyond the professional interaction of physical therapist and player. Either way, things had changed between us since that night at my apartment. I tried to not let it bug me, but after every session with her, I left a little more irritated than the last time. Every once in a while, I’d try to say something flirty, hoping to get a reaction out of her, but she’d always dismiss it.

Her lack of interest in me, platonically and otherwise, should have been a good thing. And in a way it was. But that didn’t stop me from thinking about her way more than I’d ever thought of a physical therapist before.

Really, I hadn’t thought about a woman this much since Anna. Which I was taking as a bad sign. I couldn’t have Piper taking up all the space in my brain when I needed to be focused on hockey and not re-injuring myself. Except here I was, thinking about Piper right before I was about to play.

Grabbing my helmet and stick, I got ready to hit the ice. It was game time.

I’d mistakenly thought that Coach would put me in during the first period, but I was wrong. Then I’d thought for sure I’d be playing the second period. Wrong again. By the start of the third period, I was bouncing in my seat and if I didn’t get put in soon, I was going to explode.

This was ridiculous. I was a way better right wing than Cornell.But also more of a liability, a voice in the back of my head liked to remind me. We were down by one, and everything in me wanted to be out there on the ice.

“Lawson,” Coach Hill yelled to me. “I need you to make something happen.”

Finally, I wanted to yell.

“Yes, sir.” I jumped up, putting on my helmet.

I sent up a little prayer to the hockey gods, hoping that not only could I help us score a couple goals but that I wouldn’t get injured again. I needed this game to go well. If I got hurt again, this could be my last game.

As soon as my skates hit the ice, it was like I could breathe again. The mere thought of not being able to do this anymore was terrifying. How could I let go of the only place that had ever felt like home?

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