Page 73 of Pucking My Grumpy Accidental Husband
"I did. We need to talk."
The way her expression immediately shifts to concern tells me my tone gave me away.
"That sounds ominous. Come in."
Her apartment smells like coffee and the vanilla candle she burns when she's stressed. There are papers spread across her coffee table—job applications, I realize with a sinking heart.
"You're looking for new positions?" I ask, nodding toward the paperwork.
"Just keeping my options open. I want to be prepared." She sits on the couch and pats the space next to her. "What did you want to talk about?"
I remain standing, too restless to sit. "I had a meeting with Harrison today."
"Oh god. What did he want now?"
"To offer me the opportunity of a lifetime." I run both hands through my hair. "Boston wants to trade for me. Seven years, full no-movement clause, and they want me as captain."
Tessa goes completely still. "Boston."
"Yeah."
"Your childhood team. The ones with all the posters in your bedroom growing up."
"You remember that?"
"I remember everything you tell me, Dax." Her voice is quiet. "This is huge. This is everything you've ever wanted."
"There's a catch."
"There always is. What's the catch?"
"Harrison's making it clear that the offer comes with an expectation. That I leave all... complications behind."
Understanding dawns in her eyes. "Complications like me."
"He didn't say it outright, but the message was clear. Clean slate, fresh start, no distractions."
Tessa is quiet for a long moment, staring at her hands. When she looks up, her eyes are bright with unshed tears.
"You have to take it."
"Tessa—"
"No, listen to me." She stands up, and I can see her shifting into that professional mode she uses when she's trying to protect herself. "This is the opportunity you've dreamed about since you were a kid. Captain of the Boston Bruins. That's not something you walk away from."
"I'm not walking away from anything. I'm trying to figure out how to have both."
"Both?" She laughs, but there's no humor in it. "Dax, I can't move to Boston. My whole life is here, my career?—"
"Your career is working with professional athletes. Boston has professional athletes."
"It's not that simple. I'd have to start over completely. New contacts, new reputation, new everything. And after what happened in Seattle..." She shakes her head. "I can't take that risk again."
"So you're telling me to choose hockey over you."
"I'm telling you to choose your future over a relationship that's been nothing but complicated since day one."
The way she says it, like we're just some messy fling instead of the most important thing in my life, makes my chest feel hollow.
