Page 38 of Hooked On Them

Wrong thing to say.

“Safer.” He repeated the word like it tasted bitter. “Right. Because I’m what? Dangerous? Volatile? The asshole hockey player who can’t be trusted with something this important?”

“Dominic…”

“No, I get it.” He ran both hands through his hair, leaving it standing on end. “I’m the guy who lets everyone down when it matters most. Last night’s game is Exhibit A. My entire fucking career is Exhibit B through Z.”

This was spiraling faster than I could control. “This isn’t about your performance on the ice.”

“Isn’t it? Everything in my life comes back to that. My father made sure of it. Everything I do, everything I am, is all measured against his fucking legacy. And now this. A baby. With my skating coach. Do you have any idea what the media will do with this? What my father will say?”

“This has nothing to do with your father.” I took a step toward him, but he backed away. “We can figure this out. There’s time.”

“Time?” He looked at me like I was speaking another language. “There’s no time. There’s no fixing this. It’s just one more way I’ve managed to fuck things up.”

I recoiled. “Is that what this is to you? A fuck-up?”

His eyes widened, regret flashing across his face. “I didn’t mean—” He stopped, shaking his head. “I don’t know what I mean. I can’t think straight right now. I can’t...” His gaze darted around the room like he was looking for an escape route.

“You can’t what?”

The raw vulnerability in his eyes caught me off guard. “Do you have any idea what’s happening right now? I’m in the worst slump of my career. The media’s all over me. My father calls after every game to tell me everything I did wrong. The team’s counting on me to turn this around, and I’m...” His voice cracked. “I’m failing. At everything.”

“You’re not failing.”

“And now this.” He gestured vaguely toward my stomach. “A baby? Are you kidding me? I can barely take care of myself right now. I’m a mess. I’m...” He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes. “My father is going to lose his mind.”

“No one needs to know right away,” I said softly. “We can take some time to figure this out.”

“Figure what out?” His laugh had an edge of hysteria. “How to co-parent with someone I hardly know? How to explain to the world that I knocked up my skating coach? Yeah, that’ll go over great with the family-friendly sponsors. My entire life is on display, Nora. Every mistake, every failure, all of it gets picked apart in public. And this? This would be the pinnacle of my screw-ups.”

I flinched at his crude description. “You’re in a much better situation than I’m in. I could lose my whole career over this.”

“I can’t do this right now.” He backed toward the door. “I can’t. Not now. I’m sorry.”

And then he was gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click that somehow hurt worse than if he’d slammed it.

I sank into my chair, the silence of my office pressing in around me. My hand reached for my phone automatically, Carter’s name hovering under my thumb. He’d want to know how it went. He’d probably come over with dinner and make me feel better.

But I set the phone down again. For this moment, I needed to sit with this feeling; this devastating loneliness of having watched someone walk away from me.

I’d known this wouldn’t go well. I’d prepared myself for anger, for blame, for negotiation. But somehow, Dominic’s retreat into himself left me feeling hollowed out.

The baby would be fine. I would be fine. I had Carter’s support, my job for now, my friends, and my family. But as I stared at the closed door, I couldn’t shake the image of Dominic’s face—lost, overwhelmed, and so terribly vulnerable—or the sinking feeling that I’d triggered the beginning of something much more complicated than I’d anticipated.

Chapter14

What If…?!

Miles

Iwas mid-conversation with one of our strength coaches in the hallway when movement caught my eye. Dominic was exiting Nora’s office, and although he didn’t slam the door behind him, the tension rolling off his body was enough to make me pause mid-sentence. His shoulders were hunched, his jaw tight, and his eyes were locked straight ahead. He looked like a guy trying to walk away from a fire without breaking into a run.

The nearest exit was to the right. Instead, he veered left, down the corridor that looped past the medical rooms and the weight area. I watched him disappear around the corner without so much as a glance back.

Not good.

I glanced toward Nora’s office. The door stayed closed.

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