Page 18 of Zero Pucks

Brave. Be brave. “Th-that’s not really your business.” Tucker lived in little nowhere town I’d never heard of two hours from Boston, but I wasn’t about to tell Bryce that.

“Fine, whatever. When are you leaving?” His voice was tight and a little terrifying.

“Six days.” Six days, what the fuck? “I’ll be staying with Alessia until then.”

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “Ah. I’m sure the Bitch talked you into that one, didn’t she? Leave your annoying boyfriend who never treats you right.” His voice rose to mock hers. “He’s so bad to you. All he does is love you and pay the bills and give you whatever you want so you don’t throw tantrums.”

I wanted to laugh. Never in my life had I thrown a tantrum. I didn’t even think I was capable of it as a child. I was too terrified of upsetting people. But Bryce had said this for years—convinced me it was true. I felt like I was losing my mind because logic told me he was wrong, but…was he?

“You and I both know this relationship is toxic?—”

“Oh,fuckyou,” he nearly shouted, standing up. “Miss me with that therapy-speak bullshit, Amedeo. You want to whore around with half the fucking state and ruin a good thing, go for it. But don’t come crying to me when this rando makes your life a living hell.”

I smiled. I hadn’t really meant to, but it was that moment I knew that no one could make my life worse than he had. Except maybe myself. And I was going to go. I was going to look Tucker in the face, apologize for any possible complication I might have caused him, assure him that I would never bother him again, and then enjoy a few days on the other side of the country before I had to go back and clean my life up.

I’d let Alessia handle the apartment. She could do it. She was good at it, and she’d make sure Bryce lost his balls if he tried anything with my stuff.

“Don’t look so pleased with yourself,” Bryce said. “You didn’t win against me. I’ve been fucking around on you for years.”

I looked him in the face, my smile just a little smaller. “I know. He’s cute.”

It was clear Bryce didn’t know what to say, so he did what he did best—he turned, snapped his fingers at his current plaything, and disappeared out the door. It slammed to the rhythm of my heavy heartbeat and opened again when my sister walked in.

She was at my side in a few quick strides, cupping my jaw. “He’s gone.”

“Mm.”

“And you’re going to—what is this place again?”

“Turenne, Muh-Massachusetts.” According to Google, it was a tiny little town with two supermarkets, three high schools, a population under fifty thousand, and an entire country away from where I was right then.

A place where no one knew me—and no one knew Bryce. Where I could be a total stranger for just a little while and, maybe in that time, find myself again.

And my not-quite husband was there. The man who had—whether he knew it or not—saved my life.

It had to mean something.

Didn’t it?

CHAPTERFOUR

AMEDEO

I was goingto shit myself. Literally. My stomach had been rolling all morning, and on the way to the airport, I was seventy percent sure I’d seen Bryce in a car behind us, though that was probably my anxiety talking. I wouldn’t have put it past him to stalk me and make sure I was telling the truth though. But as far as I knew, he was leaving me alone.

He hadn’t been back to the apartment. Or if he had, he hadn’t taken any of his things. I got mine, then left Alessia with the key before getting into the rideshare and heading out for my flight. I had a single suitcase with me, my Kindle in my bag, three audiobooks loaded on my phone, and three Xanax to get me through the two layovers before I landed in Boston.

My rental car would be waiting for me there, and then it was a two-hour drive to the little vacation rental I had for ten days. My plan was to settle in, see the town a bit, and then hopefully find a way to contact Tucker without showing up on his doorstep like,Hey, I’m the guy you drunk married in Vegas. How’s a divorce sound?

Not that we needed one, but I still didn’t know if he remembered anything about that night. I was the one with all the paperwork, and since nothing had been filed, there was a good chance he hadn’t been able to track me down even if he wanted to.

Though…why would he?

If I was remembering him right, he was one of the most gorgeous men I had ever laid eyes on. He was muscular with piercing eyes and strong, calloused hands. I vaguely remembered him talking about hockey, and during my insomnia fit before the flight, I broke all etiquette protocols and looked him up.

Not that I was sure there were social etiquette rules about random strangers you got drunk and married in Vegas, butstill.

I felt bad when I typed his name into a browser and learned that he’d signed with a professional hockey team a few months before he survived a violent car accident. The article on the NHL website was short and to the point. He was a junior in college who’d just signed with the Sea Dogs—the captain of his collegiate team—and in a single twist of fate, his entire career ended before it began.

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