Page 78 of Hitting the Goal Line
I give him a nod.
“I also wanted to ask you something in regard to the wedding,” Hunter says, taking my head out of the mental calendar that I’m creating.
“What’s up?” I ask, trying to think of what he could possibly ask me.
“Think you’d want to be my best man?” The question rolls off his tongue and it fucking shocks me.
As a kid whenever I thought of Hunter getting married, I figured I would take no part of it. What with our age difference and how we were estranged from each other for a few years. I always thought that the role of best man would go to one of his friends or a teammate, not me.
“Really?” I ask, a little stunned.
“Really. I wouldn’t have it any other way, little brother.”
Wouldn’t have it another way.
Never did I think that I would hear those words come out of his mouth.
Why do I feel all emotional right now?
Through all the emotion, I find myself nodding.
“Yeah, I’m down to be your best man.” I say, trying to play it down, but the smile on my brother’s face is making it hard.
Holy shit, I’m going to be his best man. I don’t know why but that feels more exciting than winning the cup.
“I guess now that we have a best man, we should pick out a date,” Selena says and right away, her and Hunter start throwing out dates that they can use.
While I listen to them talk, I think about the future. About how one day, there is going to be another wedding.
One where the bride is Sophia and instead of me being the groom, like I thought if I would just tell her how I feel, I’m the one standing behind her as her best man or maid of honor or whatever the fuck she wants me to be. I’ll be standing behind her and not next her. I’ll be standing there and watching as she marries someone, as she professes her love for him.
And it will be all because I was too much of chicken shit.
I came to see Hunter and Selena so that it could serve as a distraction.
But instead of a distraction, all this visit did was paint of picture of an unhappy life, where I’m unable to love Sophia.
All because of stubbornness.
If things don’t work out with this guy, I’ll tell her.
Yeah, that’s what I will do. If things don’t work out, I’ll tell her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
SOPHIA
Four months from present day
“That smileyou’re wearing is pretty big. Do you want to tell me who put it there?” Chloe asks as we make our way into the Knights arena, for the second home game of the season.
Even though it’s only the second home game, the place is packed with people. Winning The Stanley Cup really brought in more fans for the Knights, especially with all the press that the players have been getting these last few months. Everyone on social media loves them and now everyone is wanting to get a piece of them in person.
I dodge a few people as Chloe carries Emma to the elevators.
“It’s Elijah,” I say to her when I finally catch up to her, a smile spreading across my face yet again.
“Oooh, the elusive boyfriend,” Chloe says, wiggling her eyebrows at me as she pushed the button to call the elevator. “Is this the day I finally get to meet him?”
