Page 87 of Fall to Me
Aspen, Tucker, and Katherine are up in the owner’s suite, but I wanted to sit close to the ice tonight. Thankfully, Hannahdidn’t make me sit by myself. She kicks back beside me, a foot propped up against the empty seat in front of her.
“So, what’s new with you?” I ask her.
“Well . . . I met someone new this week.” She grins as she tucks an auburn curl behind her ear. “Not my usual type, but he’s nice. His name is Spencer.”
“Oooh . . . Spencer . . . give me all the deets,” I goad. “How did you meet?”
“Oh, my gosh,” she covers her face and groans. “Well, Aiden and I?—”
I bust out laughing. “Oh lord. That’s all you had to say for me to know this is gonna be a good story.”
“Oh, it’s an embarrassing as hell story.” She giggles, shaking her head. “Aiden and I went out the other night. And we were standing in line at the bar when I noticed this guy who kept turning his head to check me out. Well, Aiden noticed him too. He kept trying to convince me to go talk to the guy, but after Sean, I’m done chasing men, you know? Anyway, in an effort to encourage me, he shoved me forward just as the guy turned around. I reached out to keep myself from stumbling, and my hand landed on his junk. Like a full-on handful.”
My shoulders shake as I double over, laughing. “Only Aiden. Jesus. So, then what?”
“I was about to apologize, but we all know Aiden doesn’t know when to shut up.”
“Oh, how well we know.”
“Aiden reached out a hand to introduce himself to Spencer and the bastard literally said, ‘I’m sorry about my friend here, she’s alone, looking to bone,’” she says in a masculine voice.
“No . . . he . . . didn’t,” I say between laughing and trying to catch my breath.
“He did. The fucker. And poor Spencer. He looked like he didn’t know what to say. I apologized profusely and told himAiden was an idiot. Then Spencer held out his hand to shake mine. I swear to you, I stood there staring at his hand for a solid fifteen seconds, trying to figure out if I should use the same hand that I used to violated him. Good God.”
“Did you use that hand?”
“Yes. Yes. I. Did. We all ended up hanging out, and at the end of the night, I gave him my number.”
One of the concession salesmen walks in front of us with a vendor tray full of popcorn. I raise my hand up to get his attention.
“You know, you should bring him to Cal and Aspen’s Gala,” I tell her.
I dig into my purse, then trade my cash for the popcorn.
“Maybe I will,” she says, keeping her eyes glued to Sean during warmups as our guys shoot puck after puck at him. “I deserve someone who knows what the hell he wants. Speaking of which, I’m glad I was able to spend some time on your family’s farm last week. I really needed some space away from Sean to put things into perspective. The whole will-he-won’t-he thing was driving me out of my damn mind.”
“I’m glad you came,” I say, shoving a handful of popcorn in my mouth. “The farm is a good place to clear your head.”
She reaches over and steals a handful of my popcorn out of my bag. “It’s slower, you know? Doesn’t feel like everything’s a rush. I could actually hear myself think.”
“If you ever need to get away, I know my mom and dad would love to have you.” I wrap my arm around her, giving her a tight squeeze. “You’re family, Hannah.”
“That means a lot. Thank you, River.”
I release her shoulder, and as I dig back into my popcorn, someone bumps into the back of my seat.
I look back and frown. A man sits down behind me and spreads out in his seat. He’s tall and built. Good looking andhis eyes are striking. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this guy several times this week. I know I have because I remember thinking his eyes were the same unique color blue as Carter’s. I turn back around and face the ice. Why would this guy be following me? My breathing picks up speed.
Jaxon.
Anger begins to boil and take over. Who does this guy think he is? I turn back around in my seat and narrow my eyes at him.
“Excuse me sir, do I know you?”
He looks at me, then casts his eyes to the ice. “No ma’am. I don’t think you do but?—”
“You’re right. You’re right. I don’t think I do either,” I say, cutting him off. “So, then tell me, why the hell have you been following me?”
