Page 220 of Risking the Pucking Defense

The roar of the crowd vibrates through the arena. The first home game of the season is a buzz like no other. Okay, so being in the Stanley Cup Final at the end of last season was up there with it, but still…this…this is what it’s all about. The unwavering support, the love for our boys and the entire team that surrounds then, making sure they can go out there fully prepared for the next hour and a half or so.

They started this season with a series of road games, all of which they’ve won. So coming into this game with our home crowd fired up and ready to see the team in action…well, I’m buzzing.

I’ve been run off my feet all day, ensuring all the press that has been happening today has run smoothly and not been distracted from what’s really important.

The game.

Usually, after such a busy day, I’d be hiding in my office with the game on the screen hanging on the opposite wall to my desk to keep an eye on while I catch up on emails. But tonight, there’s no chance of keeping myself hidden. I want to be right down there in the middle of the action. I want to see every second of my man on that ice from the closest vantage point I can get.

It’s been a few days since I discovered the image from Casey’s house had been leaked, and thankfully, I’m well over my breakdown. I freaked out, I know this. But, just like that night in the hotel room with Hayden not so long ago, I needed it. I needed to exorcise all of my past demons, my fears, and my shame of the things I was forced to go through.

Am I going to be mortified if all the footage Brandon has of me gets released? Absolutely. But I also know that it won’t be the end.

I’ll do everything in my power to get them all removed, although I’m not naive enough to believe that as the CEO of Caldwell PR, he has a lot more power than I do. Something I’m sure he’s banking on. I’m not going to take it lying down, though. I’ll fight to the bitter end if it means I get to secure my happily ever after with a man I deserve. A man who will treat me right. A man who…a man I never could have imagined being the one for me, but I very quickly discovered that he’s everything.

My heart aches as I think about him. Despite going through his own pain and grief, there hasn’t been a single second that he hasn’t been there for me. He’s the most incredibly selfless and supportive person I’ve ever met. And I cannot wait to discover even more about him.

Tonight, his parents are out in the crowd, and after this game…

My stomach knots.

After this game, I’m meeting them for the first time.

Honestly, I can’t think about it too much for fear of vomiting over my own feet.

I never had any of this when I was forced into a relationship with Brandon. His parents had hand-selected me—lucky me. My biggest hope was that they’d discover they didn’t like me and force me out. Sadly, I wasn’t that lucky.

Hayden’s parents, though…shit. I’m desperate for them to like me. But despite knowing how good we are together, I keep thinking that they’re going to see everything else. Our age gap, the differences between us. Are they going to think that I’m holding him back?

“Fuck,” I hiss, shaking my hands out at my sides.

“Are you okay?” a little voice asks from beside me.

Looking down, I find Sutton staring up at me with a little frown between her brows.

“Yeah, I’m just nervous.”

She nods in understanding. “I get that too before a game. Not for my own, because I know I’m going to kill it. But for Dad’s. I’m not in control when he’s out there. He could get injured at any moment, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything to help.”

“Sutton,” I say, smiling down at her.

“Yeah?”

“Promise me you’ll never change.”

She tilts her head to the side. “Why would I? I’m awesome.”

I burst out laughing as I wrap an arm around her shoulder and give her a hug.

If I’m lucky enough to have a little girl one day, I’d love for her to have Sutton’s confidence and self-worth. Maybe if I’d had a little more back in the day, I wouldn’t have ended up where I did. But then you may never have met Hayden, a little voice points out.

It’s a sobering thought that I had to go through all of that to be where I am now, to be the person that I am now. Maybe, just maybe, it was all worth it.

I startle when the door ahead of us opens, and the second I see who’s on the other side, my heart begins racing for a whole other reason.

“This is a nice surprise,” Hayden rasps.

“Not really, considering I messaged you to say I was out here.”