He blew out a breath. “Lindon didn’t deny anything, but he didn’t exactly tell me he wanted me to stay on the team.”
Meg couldn’t understand how any coach would want to let Jax go. His career had been amazing. Was still amazing. She swallowed against the growing lump in her throat. “So staying with the Flyers is completely out?”
“Looks like it.”
Their gazes connected, and she saw both pain and resolve in his gray eyes.
She rested her hand lightly on his knee. “This morning’s news talked about how last night was the first night in years that the Flyers arena had been completely sold out. Said it was because everyone wanted to see Jax Emerson score.”
Jax didn’t move for a second, didn’t answer. Then he unfolded his arms and placed his hand over hers. “You sound like my dad.”
Meg bit her lip. Was this a good thing? “I’ve never met your dad, so I can’t really speak for him, but Chicago would really miss you.”
Jax’s gaze dropped to their enfolded hands.
“That’s what my mom said.”
“You talked to her too?”
“Yeah. She called me from the airport. She’ll be at tomorrow night’s game.” Jax shifted forward and snaked his arms around her, pulling her against him.
Meg wrapped her arms about his torso and closed her eyes.
Jax rested his chin on top of her head. “You should meet her.”
Her heart thumped hard. “Your mom?”
“And my dad.” He slid his fingers up her arm, then he moved her hair aside and rested his hand on her shoulder.
Goosebumps skittered across her skin at his touch. She didn’t want him to leave Chicago. Didn’t want him to trade. But she was in no position to ask. They’d barely started dating. So what if she could see herself falling in love with him? She knew from experience that relationships could be very, very complicated, despite anyone’s best intentions.
She was having a hard time imagining Chicago without Jax Emerson. For the Flyers’ sake and for hers. And she didn’t expect Jax to invite her along. That would be crazy. Crazy serious.
Meg tried to erase her mind from the worries of tomorrow and just let herself be nestled against Jax, with his arms around her. She loved that he’d told her what had happened that day, and she loved that the more they were together, the more he shared with her.
“Do you want to come to my game tomorrow night?”
She opened her eyes, realizing she’d started to drift. Work would be busy since she had to finish up inventory while staying open too, but she’d be foolish to turn down Jax. “Yeah, I can come.”
“How many tickets do you want?”
She bit her lip. “Is four too much again?”
“No problem,” he said. His fingers were playing with her hair, and the feel of his body against hers was doing all sorts of crazy things to her pulse.
She should go, like right now.
“Do you have a busy day tomorrow?” he asked.
“Inventory, mostly.” She didn’t want to get into the fact that she was having an employee meeting tomorrow to deliver bad news. “I’m making some changes to the operations, and we need to do some holiday decorating.”
“You don’t start after Halloween like most stores?”
“No, we don’t really do sales at the boutique, so we keep holiday stuff to a minimum,” she said. “I mean, I’m buying select clothing, and discounting it only cheapens the rest of our inventory. Plus the women who shop at the boutique aren’t necessarily bargain hunters.”
“Ah. My mom might like your place.”
“She’s welcome anytime,” Meg said. “I’ll give her the owner’s discount.”
“Like you gave me a discount?”
Meg smiled. “Sorry about that.” She drew away enough to meet his gaze. His eyelids were half shut. “Next time you come in, remind me.”
“It’s fine,” he said, the edges of his mouth lifting. “I mean, you did say that scarf was handwoven silk. Worth every penny. I should have bought a dozen.”
“Hey.” She slapped his chest, and he laughed. Warmth soared through her at the sound of his laughter.
Her ringing phone coming from the kitchen made Meg scoot off the couch. “Um, that might be my grandma. Hang on.”
She hurried to the kitchen and dug her phone out of her purse. It had stopped ringing, but the missed call was from Nashelle. A text came in just then.
Can’t make the meeting so early, Nashelle texted. Bubba’s been sick, so I’m taking him into the vet.
Bubba was Nashelle’s dog.
Okay, keep me posted. Meg would probably have to tell the employees separately then, and that was fine. It had to be done sooner than later so they could start looking for other jobs.
“Everything all right?” Jax asked, coming into the kitchen.
“Yeah.” Meg glanced at him. He looked adorably rumpled, and she wanted to walk into his arms and stay longer, but she needed to get back to reality. “It was Nashelle.” She told him about Nashelle’s text as Jax moved closer to her.
As his hands slid around her waist, she said, “I should probably get going. You have a game, and I’ve got a full day tomorrow.”
“Okay.” He leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. “Thanks for coming over, Meghan.”
“You’re welcome.” She moved her hands over his shoulders, her fingers following the contours.
“And thanks for dinner. It was amazing.”
She smiled and moved her hands behind his neck. “You’re welcome, again.”
His lips brushed hers. “And thanks for listening to my drama.”
“Anytime,” she whispered. And she meant it.
Jax kissed her again, slowly, like he didn’t want to rush his goodbye. She didn’t mind his long goodbye in the least.
Jax skated about the rink, hockey stick in hand, as the music blared throughout the arena during warmups. They were playing the St. Louis Hawks tonight, and Jax had been watching their film most of the afternoon. Clint McCarthy, or Fido as everyone was calling him, was on fire.
He skated like his feet were in flames, and his passing was dead-on.
Jax would have to either stop him or get around him. And that might not be pretty.
The announcer’s voice boomed as the music quieted, and the Flyers lined up for introductions. That gave Jax the chance to search out the crowd. His dad was in his usual box, along with his mom. It would be good to see her again. He’d been more than surprised at her phone call yesterday. She’d obviously talked to his dad, and it seemed in this one matter, they were on the same page and agreed he should stay in Chicago.
But Jax knew he needed a clean break, a new start, if he was ever to have his own life.
He searched out the area where Marcus would be sitting. His new agent was in his seat, reading through the media guide. Next Jax scanned the area where he’d reserved tickets for Meg and whomever she brought along with her. There was Nashelle, all in black, and . . . no grandma. Then he saw Meg. Walking down the aisle. Wearing his jersey number. Eleven.
Jax couldn’t have stopped the grin that spread across his face.
“They just announced your name, dude,” Bones said, shoving his shoulder.
Jax pushed off onto the ice and raised his hockey stick to the cheers from the fans. But his gaze was still trained on Meg. Her gaze connected with his, and she stopped in the aisle and started to clap.
He winked, and he was pretty sure she blushed. The distance made it hard to tell for sure, but he didn’t care. She was wearing his number, and he knew it meant something.
“She’s looking good,” Nate said as Jax skated past him and took his place in the lineup.
Jax was too happy to be pissed about the comment.
And then the music rumbled to life again, and Jax returned to the players’ bench to grab his helmet and strap it on. He glanced at Lindon. The coach hadn’t spoken a direct word to him all night.
But now Lindon moved
toward Jax. “The arena’s sold out again. Nice job, Emerson.”
The coach turned away to talk to someone else, and for a moment, Jax didn’t move. He was stunned. Had Lindon just said that?
Jax exhaled, then skated into position, lining up across from Moose on the Hawks’ team. A beast of a guy, but Jax had bested him over the years. No big deal. His gaze was on the tall center. Clint McCarthy.
The whistle blew, and Jax backtracked as Clint took first control over the puck and passed to Moose.
Jax intercepted the puck, and the arena went wild. Moose was on him in a second, edging him out, but Jax threw an elbow. The ref blew a whistle, but Jax didn’t mind; he’d made his point. No penalty box, since the elbowing hadn’t caused an injury.
“Nice one, Emerson,” Corbie said, skating past.
Not everyone found it impressive, because as soon as the puck was live again, Moose came barreling toward Jax. He dodged the behemoth and ran right into Clint. The timing was impeccable, because Clint had just intercepted a pass between Nate and Roof.
Jax took control, pivoting and barreling past the Hawks, straight toward their goal.
What he didn’t see was Clint, who plowed into him from the side. Jax veered off course, control of the puck gone. The arena groaned their disappointment and screamed for a foul. But it had been a clean interception, and Jax righted himself and turned around.
Clint had the puck again, and Jax was too far away to do anything about it. Hopefully he could catch the rebound shot if Lucas did his job on goal.
Lucas failed. Clint scored.
“And the Hawks score first!” the announcer yelled to a booing arena.
Clint’s grin was about a mile wide as he skated back to center position, and Jax had to hand it to the guy. The shot had been beautiful.
And Moose still had his number. The guy was practically frothing at the mouth.
Jax squared his shoulders as the puck dropped, then he pushed off at a dead power move straight across Moose’s path. Jax clipped the guy’s skate with his hockey stick, and Moose nearly tripped. Jax ignored it and cornered Clint against the plexiglass.
“Welcome back to Chicago,” Jax ground out as he stole the puck.
“Welcome to your team losing,” Clint said, stealing the puck right back.
“Corbie!” Jax shouted. In a single move, he had control of the puck again and blindly passed it, hoping that Corbie was there.
He was.
Jax escaped Clint and skated for the goal just as Corbie returned the pass. Jax deflected the puck and shot into the deep corner, a centimeter past the Hawks’ goalie’s left skate.
Music blared as the fans screamed. Jax! Jax! Jax!
Jax’s heart and head were both pounding furiously.
One to one.
Time to turn up the heat.
He circled back to position, his gaze connecting with Bones. They didn’t need to say anything to know that both were on the same page. They had to keep the momentum, no matter the cost.
Nate decided not to be left out of the equation.
Clint won the puck and drove it to the Flyers’ goal, but Lucas was ready and blocked the shot.
Nate passed to Corbie, who passed to Bones, and Jax skated with Bones into Hawks territory.
Someone clipped him, but he recovered in time for Bones to shoot on goal. The Hawks deflected, but Jax was right there with a second shot. He punched the puck high, so that it sailed right under the goalie’s arm and into the net.
The arena turned into a stampede. Jax had just scored twice in eight minutes.
He turned to raise his hockey stick in celebration when Moose checked him from behind. Jax went to his knees, sliding across the ice.
The whistles blew, the crowd screamed, and Moose went to the penalty box.
“You okay?” Corbie said, gripping Jax’s arm.
“Yeah.” Jax moved to his feet and circled the ice, trying to shake the blurred vision. It was clearing, and that was good. Coach stepped out onto the ice, but Jax waved him off.
He lifted his hockey stick to show the fans that he was fine, and they cheered and clapped. His gaze landed on Meg, who was standing, her hands over her mouth.
I’m fine, he wanted to tell her. And we’re going to win this game. Moose was out for five minutes, and Jax planned to take advantage of it.
The Hawks scored in the second period, but the Flyers scored twice more in the third. One by Corbie and the final one by Jax.
The arena erupted on the final goal, and Jax glanced over at Lindon. He stood with his hands on his hips and gave Jax an approving nod.
Jax might be trading teams, but he’d go out in style.
As the final seconds of period three ticked down, the fans shouted along with the countdown numbers. Then the final buzzer rang, and Jax took a victory lap with his team. He was happy with the recognition, and his heart still pounded from the exertion, but right now, he wanted to be with Meg and Meg only.
Before heading to the team bench, Jax paused by their opponents’ bench, where the Hawks were vacating the space.
“Nice game, kid,” Jax told Clint.
Clint turned, a half smile on his face. He clasped hands with Jax. “You’re the legend, man. You’re gonna have every team clamoring for you.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll see,” Jax said. “You hanging with Marcus tonight?”
“Yep.” Clint pulled off his helmet. “My brother’s going to come too—he’s off-season. Wanna join us?”
“I might stop in. Text me the details.”
Clint laughed. “You got your woman on your mind, don’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Jax Emerson, mind if I ask you a few questions?”
He recognized Sheila’s voice immediately, and he turned around.
“Sure thing, Sheila.”
She smiled, her lipsticked mouth stretching wide. “How about that game, huh? Did you at any point think the Flyers were going to lose?”
Jax glanced about the arena. The place wasn’t clearing out anytime soon. People were sticking around, talking and celebrating. More reporters than ever crowded the ice, interviewing other Flyers players. Jax looked into the camera. “The Hawks are a great team, and they have some of the strongest players in the league. But no, I didn’t think we were going to lose.”
Sheila laughed a chirpy laugh. “Your three goals certainly helped.”
“Every point helps.” Jax shrugged. “It doesn’t matter much who makes them, just that they’re made.”
“I don’t know about that, Mr. Emerson,” Sheila said, her blue eyes sparkling. “You’re scoring points that seem impossible for other players to score.”
Jax rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, I’m just happy to see so many of the fine people of Chicago out here tonight.”
“Tell us about Clint McCarthy,” Sheila continued, her full smile back. “He’s a Northbrook alumnus. How is it playing against your old teammate?”
“Clint’s a great player, and he’s well on his way to a stellar career,” Jax said.
“What about the rumblings between the two of you at the beginning of the game?”
“No rumblings,” Jax said. “Just hockey.” He directed his gaze again into the camera. “Thank you for all your many years of support, folks. Have a good night.”
The interview was over; Jax had other things to get to tonight.
“Thanks, Sheila,” he said, then turned and headed into the players’ box without waiting for her to come up with more stalling questions.
His parents were coming down toward him, and he nodded his acknowledgment, then looked for Meg. She was still in her seat, talking to Nashelle. Look over here, he willed. A few seconds later, she glanced over at him, and he motioned for her to come down. He couldn’t very well go up the steps in all his gear. He’d be mobbed for signatures.
Meg’s smile was quick, and she nodded. Then she said something to Nashelle.
Soon she was heading down as
well.
He turned his attention back to his parents. “Mom,” he said as Gina Emerson reached him. Her red hair was pulled into an elegant twist, and she wore a pale-ivory suit that made her look like she’d stepped out of a board room meeting.
“Jax, honey,” his mom said. “I’m so happy to see you. You did wonderful tonight.”
Jax knew his mom wouldn’t hug him when he was covered in hockey sweat, so he leaned down and kissed her powdered cheek.
“Great game, son,” his dad said.
Jax flicked his gaze to his dad, who stood behind his mom. The man was wearing a designer suit as usual. “Thanks,” Jax said. Simple, short. Despite all that his lawyer had found, the information still sat like a stone in Jax’s gut. If his mom hadn’t been here, Jax probably would have gone straight to the locker room.
But Meg was here too.
“Mom, Dad, I want you to meet someone.”
The introduction would be completely out of the blue for his parents, but that’s how Jax wanted it. He didn’t want his mom or his dad looking up everything on Meg. He wouldn’t put a background check past his dad.
“Oh?” His mom smiled, not a wrinkle on her carefully botoxed face.
“Hey,” Jax said, looking past his parents to Meg. “Come here.” He wanted to scoop her up in his arms and tell her she looked adorable in his jersey. But he kept things formal, with his parents both looking at Meg with interest.
She gave him a nervous smile, and he grasped her hand. She held onto him pretty tightly, and he squeezed her to give her reassurance.
“Mom and Dad, I’d like you to meet Meghan Bailey,” Jax said. “We’ve been dating for a few weeks.” He looked down at Meg. “These are my parents, Todd and Gina Emerson.”
Still clinging to his hand, Meg extended her right hand. “Nice to meet you both.”
His mom stepped forward and grasped Meg’s shoulders. “Oh, it’s wonderful to meet you too.” Then his mom air-kissed Meg’s cheek.
Meg only smiled.
Next his dad stepped forward. His brows were drawn together as he slowly shook Meg’s hand. “Meghan Bailey.”
“That’s right, sir.”
His dad narrowed his eyes and cut a glace toward Jax.
Was his dad upset? Annoyed that he didn’t know every little thing about Jax’s life?
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