Page 36 of Let's Be Forever

“Hi, Rosie.” His voice is soft, a tone so tender and sweet it makes my heart swell.Dammit, Anna, stop it.She feels it because she peers up through her lashes and flashes him the tiniest smile. “Were you playing with your kitchen?” He points at the playset Jenny got her for Christmas.

That hooks her attention when her gaze follows his finger. Her eyes sparkle and she bobs her head, her pigtails bouncing. “I cook in kitchen.”

Her words aren’t super clear, but Sylas doesn’t seem to have trouble understanding. “Oh yeah? What do you like to cook?”

She cocks her head, pointing a tiny finger to her lips. “Papas, eggs, chocolate.”

He chuckles, glancing at me then back at her. “Wow, that sounds so yummy. Can you cook for me?”

“Si!” She animatedly pushes away from me, grabbing one of his fingers and tugging him to her kitchen. He moves on his knees, nodding as he listens to all the different foods that she can cook. “I don’t like coli,” she whispers to him.

“Broccoli?” He grins, sitting on his butt when she releases his finger.

“Ew.” Her nose scrunches. “It’s yucky.”

“But it’s good for you.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Cakes are yummy.”

“They are. Your mommy makes the best tres leches.” Sylas hums in delight, eyes reminiscent as they shift to mine, but I look down at Rosie before the flashbacks of all the times I baked him that particular cake play in my head. “What’s your favorite kind of cake?”

“Fresas with chocolate.” She places a slice of plastic cake on a plate and sets it on his large palm.

I can only watch two more seconds of their interaction before I turn around and shut my eyes. I try to steady my breathing, urge my eyes to stop welling up, don’t sniffle even though I need to because I feel my nose running.

I am not going to cry. I will not cry, I chant in my head, but he’s interacting with her so seamlessly that I’m struggling to keep my composure. I expected him to feel unsteady, act strange because this is out of his element, freak out a little, but he seems fine. Unless it’s not really set in yet, though it doesn’t feel that way.

“She speaks both English and Spanish?” Sylas questions, impressed.

“I speak to her in both, yeah. I think it’s confusing her a little, but the doctor isn’t worried. She says it’s normal for kids living in bilingual households.”

“Trilingual. I’d love to teach her how to speak Portuguese.”

Fuck my life, I’m really going to lose it. “Yeah, go for it. She’s really smart, so she’ll pick up on it quickly.”

His palms are filled with toys. Rosie keeps stacking things because she realized how huge his palms are and how much can fit in them. “Smart just like you. She definitely got that from you.”

I look away because he’s staring at me in a way I don’t like. I’m sure it means nothing, but I don’t want to take my chances and read into it.

Instead of replying, I stay quiet, watching them play and talk. She’s beaming, elated that he’s playing along to whatever she says while he watches her with hearts in his eyes. And all while that happens, I can’t help but feel an ache in my chest.

15

SYLAS

“How are you doing?”Harlow asks, her tone wary but empathetic.

Her genuine concern almost levels me, and I don’t know why. Even though we’ve not worked together long, she’s nothing like my previous agent. I imagine if I had shared this news with Camden, he would have lost it, would have probably already called my parents, maybe tried to bury the news the way they did. He’d have definitely made sure it never saw the light of day.

This entire situation is fucked. Thinking about it makes me want to do questionable things. But I don’t. I already have many regrets; I can’t add more.

“I’m okay. I’ve had some days to process it. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Sylas, it’s okay.” She leans forward, resting her elbows on her desk. “I can’t imagine how overwhelming all of this is, but I have questions. I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about, but it needs to be done before the media gets ahold of this. Considering who your parents and some of your family members are, people are going to be invested. We want to avoid them digging into your business.”

Hockey players aren’t particularly high in the fame hierarchy. We’re professionals and get paid millions, but that doesn’t mean we have the tabloids keeping tabs on us the way they would A-listers. There are certain athletes who are in the spotlight and can’t ever catch a break, sure. But it’s not usually hockey players.

Unless you have parents and family members who are globally recognized like mine. And because my parents are all about appearances, Thea and I have unfortunately been in the spotlight. Albeit not as much recently because we don’t live with them, nor are we close. Though the public doesn’t know that. My parents have kept the fact that Thea hardly speaks to them quiet, and I don’t engage with them unless necessary.