Page 106 of Over the Moon

Because the reality was, I was in love with a man I knew I couldn’t keep.

And it was weighing heavily on me.

“I might just take you up on that,” I said.

“I hope you do, sweetheart. Because now that we’ve had some time with you, you’re stuck with us. We aren’t going anywhere.”

My heart raced at her words.

I wondered if that could be true.

If there’d be a way to not only keep Clark, but to keep his entire family.

twenty-five

. . .

Clark

When I signedmy two-year contract with the Lions before last season, it was all with the hopes that this would be my long-term home. After having a kickass first season, our team won the Stanley Cup my first year on the roster, but I still had one more season before I could negotiate a new contract.

A contract that was predicted to be a much more impressive package than what I’d originally signed.

I had the season of my life this last year, which was why it was so important to me to come back stronger than ever this season.

And now, I wasn’t so sure that my place on this team would be my long game anymore.

Eloise Gable had changed the game for me.

We arrived back in the city yesterday, and this was our first official day of preseason practice, also known as training camp.

I snuck over to Eloise’s tiny-ass apartment last night in a baseball cap and a hoodie, because things were different here, and we were both aware of it. There was press and paparazzi constantly around the training facility, and more people would be paying attention here than they were in Rosewood River, and my girl was terrified of being caught.

But preseason training was a time for teams to experiment with different combinations of players, as well as strategizing new plays. This was when teams worked on chemistry and formed deeper relationships.

Real friendships.

We were already there in a lot of ways, but there were three new guys on the team this season and a few who still preferred to keep to themselves, so this was an opportunity to build on those strengths even more.

We played preseason games to test out different roles and tweak some positions, and then Coach would make adjustments before the regular season began.

But this time was all about teamwork and bonding and all the other things that go into being part of a winning team.

“Holy shit, Chadwick. You were not joking about working your ass off this summer,” Weston said, as I dropped down from the pull-up bar, music blaring in the background.

“Yeah, our boy definitely did not spend his summer floating in the lazy river back home.” Walter Wizowski barked out a laugh. “You’re definitely looking even stronger than last year.”

We called him Wizz, and he was our goalie, and after last season, many considered him the best goalie in the league.

“Let’s see how he does on the ice before we give him a big head,” Sebastian said, as he stood next to Randall and Coach Gable. He must have just walked in because he hadn’t been here a few minutes ago.

The dude was inserting himself in conversations he didn’t belong in. If my teammates wanted to comment on the work I’d put in over the last three months, he should be happy to see it.

That’s what training camp was all about.

But this fucker and I clearly didn’t like one another.

“I think they're referring to my big muscles, Sebastian, not my ego.” I kept my tone light, and he chuckled.

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