Page 45 of Vital Blindside

“Okay. I’ll invite her. But I’m not promising anything. She could already have plans,” he says. I lean forward a bit.

Who is he talking to? And what are they talking about?

I swallow the questions in my throat and knock on the door a bit harder than necessary. He quickly says goodbye to the woman he was speaking to and hangs up but not before I catch him throw out the L word.

Bile churns in my stomach, and I lose my balance, stumbling right into the door and pushing it open. Adam’s eyes are alert when they meet mine.

“Scarlett,” he says. Are those nerves in his voice? If so, what the hell kind of conversation was he having to be nervous about?

“Hi. Is now an okay time to talk? I can come back. You sounded busy.”

“I’m never too busy for you. Come in.” He gestures for me to enter, and I do, opting to leave the door open.

I cross the room and sit in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Adam steps around his desk and sits on it, facing me. He folds his arms and grins.

“I’m surprised to see you’re still here. You usually leave right at four.”

“Yeah, something came up. Or someone, I guess.”

His eyes flash with interest. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s Willow,” I sigh. “She found me when I was leaving. God. She was crying and hugging me, and I had no idea what to do or say.”

A warm hand brushes my knee, and I find Adam watching me intently with a look I can’t decipher. It makes my heart beat erratically.

“Slow down,” he urges softly. “Why was she crying? Tell me how to fix it.”

“She can’t afford this place anymore. Her family probably won’t be able to afford hockey at all next season. You need to help her. She can’t lose this. Please don’t let her go,” I plead. My chest constricts, and my lungs clutch onto the air inside of them like it’s the last taste of it they’ll ever have.

“What changed? Is it something I need to be concerned about?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. She didn’t seem worried about anything but hockey. Her mom’s job cut hours, and from what she told me, they’re barely holding on as it is.”

He blows out a long breath and, without breaking eye contact, says, “Okay. I’ll help her.”

“What?” I gasp. The corners of my mouth tug, and before I realize what’s happening, I’m grinning at him. “Are you sure? Do you even know how you’ll do it? You don’t have to decide today.”

Adam’s smile sears my insides. “It seems as though I would do anything you ask me to, Scarlett. Especially when that smile is my thank you.”

17

ADAM

I don’t know why I just told her that, but I do know it’s the truth.

Even now, as her blush-coloured lips pull up in a beaming smile that I feel coiling itself around my heart, I accept that I’ll do anything and everything she wants just to see her look at me like that again.

Like I’ve done more than simply agree to help a phenomenal athlete continue her training regardless of finances.

My confidence is bubbling like soda in a can that’s been shaken a few too many times, and I use it to my advantage. If I don’t ask her about Gracie’s party right now, I risk the possibility of chickening out.

“Actually,” I start and sigh in relief when her smile only wavers with silent curiosity. “I was already planning on asking you about this before you walked in here—actually, it’s what I was just talking on the phone about, so know this has nothing to do with Willow or my choice to help her. But there’s a birthday party that I’m going to this weekend, and I would love it if you came with me.”

I don’t bother clarifying that it doesn’t have to be a date because I think that’s exactly what I want it to be, as unorthodox as it might be.

Scarlett’s eyes go wide, and her lips slowly fall. I feel sweat break out on the back of my neck before I reach back and rub it away. Eternities of silence is what it feels like as I wait for her to answer.

“Is this a date?” she finally asks. There’s no immediate repulsion in her words, so I’ll take that as a good sign.

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