Page 45 of Wild Card 13

Sharper around the edges.

More tired.

But somehow still unmistakably Ty.

He wasn't looking down the hallway.

Wasn't checking his phone.

Wasn't talking to anyone passing by.

The entire arena seemed to be moving around him while he stood perfectly still.

Waiting.For me.

My pulse stumbled so hard it hurt.

Outside the office, people continued moving through the executive corridor carrying laptops, game-day reports, coffee trays, and radio headsets. Someone laughed near the elevators. A pair of coaches disappeared around the corner. Somewhere below us, the sound of pucks striking the boards echoed faintly from the rink.

The building was alive.

Busy.

Loud.

And yet all of it seemed to fade into the background at once.

Because Ty was standing twenty feet away. Because after years of silence, years of distance, years spent convincing myself that chapter of my life was over, he was standing outside my office looking at me like he hadn't slept either.

The worst part was that I knew immediately why he was there.

Not Sarah.

Not Player Operations.

Not paperwork.

Me.

He hadn't wandered into this hallway by accident.

He hadn't gotten lost.

He hadn't happened to glance through the glass and notice me sitting there.

He had come looking for me.

And judging by the expression on his face, he hadn't come for a friendly conversation.

CHAPTER 5

BUZZ

NOW

Ishould leave. The thought had been bouncing around my skull for minutes. Long enough that I should've listened to it.

Instead, I stood outside Lucy's office staring through the glass wall like some kind of creep while my coffee slowly cooled in one hand and my gym bag hung from the other.