Page 8 of Goalie's Obsession

She’s beautiful. In a way that’s almost aggravating. Like she doesn’t evenrealizehow stunning she is.

Fuck, I’m so screwed.

I barely register Ethan shifting beside me until he exhales, rubbing a hand down his face.

"Alright," he mutters, standing. “We need to go.”

Lucy blinks. "Go?Go where?You just got here!"

Ethan looks at her, something unreadable flashing across his face. "I'll explain later. And Luce? Maybe call mom back. You'll know about it if her hair starts falling out because of you."

Lucy swears at her brother as I follow Ethan out of the bookshop, the cold Iron Ridge air slapping me in the face. Snow crunches beneath our boots as we head down Main Street, past the storefronts decked out with twinkling lights despite it being the middle of summer.

That's Iron Ridge for you—always ready for winter, even in July.

The streets are quiet tonight. A few locals nod at me as we pass—the Stanley Cup hero treatment still going strong even though it's been weeks since we brought the cup home.

I should be riding this high forever, but something's been off ever since we got home from Vegas.

"Ridgeview?" I ask, though I already know the answer.

"Where else?" Ethan grins.

I've spent most of the off-season partying—team celebrations, sponsor events, the whole championship circuit. My face is everywhere for fuck's sake. I should be on top of the world.

Instead, I keep finding myself walking past that damn bookshop, hoping to catch a glimpse of her in that armchair in the corner.

Lucy.

She's the one person I've wanted to see since Vegas. The one who's been avoiding me like I'm a power play she needs to kill. All because of that one moment thatsheinitiated.

We turn the corner, and I can see the warm lights of Ridgeview Tavern up ahead. The place where I first landed in Iron Ridge, where Ethan introduced me around when I was already a hockey God.

Fuck, back then I had more nerves than skill.

"Remember when you brought me here my first night in town?" I ask.

"Yeah, you looked like you were gonna puke in Eli's good scotch."

I laugh. "I almost did."

The memory makes me smile… two kids with big dreams. Now I've got a championship ring and Ethan's got... whatever the hell he's got. Yachts. Parties. Investments.

But what I don't say is how I remember Lucy being there that night too. Eighteen, smart-mouthed, with those blue eyes that melted away the pain of my high school break up.

Back then, I still wrote her off as Ethan's annoying little sister.

Now she's all I think about.

Vegas changed everything. One barely-there kiss in a hotel hallway, her back against the wall, my hands itching to touch her. Then she ran, and I've been chasing ever since.

The irony isn't lost on me.

I've finally caught everything I've been hunting my whole career, but the one thing I want most keeps hiding in that fucking book shop.

The heavy wooden door of the Ridgeview creaks open, and the place smells like beer, wings, and victory.

"Well, look who finally graces us with his presence!" Eli's voice booms across the bar. "The pride of Iron Ridge!"

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