Page 99 of Goalie's Obsession

He sinks back onto the edge of the bed, legs open, arms out, and I move straight into his hold like my body’s been waiting for it all morning. His arms wind around me, strong and secure, like he’s trying to shield me from everything outside that door.

I bury my face in his neck, and for the first time since Logan opened his mouth, I let myself really breathe.

“I should’ve seen it coming,” I murmur after a moment, voice tight. “The debt. The way he talked from the moment he came back to Iron Ridge. I knew Ethan gambled. I knew he liked yachts and parties and bad investments. But I didn’t know it wasthisbad.”

Connor doesn’t say anything. Just holds me tighter.

“I thought it was surface-level stuff. Like usual. Flashy shit that’d fade eventually. But this? Now it’s circling back to me—and to you.”

His fingers move along my spine in slow, grounding strokes. “Hey. None of this is on you, Lucy.”

“But itfeelslike it is.”

I pull back to look at him. His eyes hold mine, full of that steady warmth that’s kept me sane ever since our moment in that hallway in Vegas.

“I hate that he’s dragging you into this,” I whisper.

“Then don’t look at it like that,” he says. “I’m not being dragged. I’m choosing to be here. With you.”

My throat tightens.

“You don’t have to carry this alone,” he adds, voice softer now. “You never did.”

And that’s what undoes me a little. Not the talk about Ethan. Not the debt. Not the fact that my last name is once again tangled in something scandalous enough to be whispered about at flashy NHL galas.

No—it’s this.

Connor Walsh, calm and unshakeable, holding me like I’m something fragile and fierce all at once. Like I’m worth protecting, even from my own guilt.

I press a kiss to his collarbone and rest there a moment longer.

But then… I straighten and suck in a deep breath.

Because I can’t hide in his arms forever.

I’ve got a flight to catch, a brother to find, and a job to protect. Ethan’s screw-ups aren’t just threatening my peace anymore… they could put Connor’s entire career on the line.

Andthat?

That’s something I will never, ever let happen.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Connor

WetouchdowninIron Ridge just before ten, the team SUV rolling to a slow stop in front of the arrivals curb while the crisp mountain air smacks me in the face like a cold reminder that the off-season’s over.

And so is this little bubble we’ve been living in.

Lucy’s quiet beside me. Calm on the outside. But I can feel the tension in her posture, in the way she’s been fidgeting with her phone since we landed, scrolling but not actuallylookingat anything.

“Still want to meet Emma at the café?” I ask softly.

She nods, eyes on the window. “I just… need to see her. Sink into my corner chair at Chapter & Grind. Drink a coffee I didn’t make. Pretend for five minutes I’m not a Daniels, you know?”

That quiet ache in her voice damn near guts me.

I reach into the pocket of my jacket and pull out the small gift I picked up at the airport bookstore. One of those random impulse buys that actually felt kind of perfect.

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