Page 15 of Pucking Daddy

He leaves with a promise to coordinate schedules via text and a sixth cookie wrapped in a napkin.

I stand at the counter afterward, staring at the Raptors schedule pinned to the refrigerator with a glitter-crusted magnet Lily has clearly made herself.

There’s a game circled in red a couple of weeks away. Media day. Whatever that means in hockey world.

The afternoon melts into evening.

I help Lily with a puzzle, supervise her dinner while Mrs. Henriksen takes a well-deserved break, and read her three chapters of a book about a princess who tames dragons instead of needing princes to save her.

By the time I tuck her in, she is already halfway asleep, blonde curls spread across her pillow like a halo.

"Zara?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?"

“I’m glad you came.” She yawns, her eyes fluttering shut. “Daddy works a lot… and sometimes he forgets to be fun.”

My chest tightens, but I smile softly, brushing her hair back. “Well, we’ll have to remind him a little, won’t we?”

I leave her door cracked open, light from the hallway spilling in, and make my way back toward the kitchen.

Mrs. Henriksen has already gone home. The apartment is quiet except for the distant hum of the city below.

I am putting the last of the dishes away when I hear the front door open.

Footsteps. Heavy. Deliberate. The sound of a bag dropping onto hardwood.

This must be my new boss, Jaxon Halberg.

And then he walks into the kitchen.

Oh God. This can’t be real. This can’t be my life.

Because I recognize him.

Not long ago, I kissed this man. More than that, I slept with him.

The tall, handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes—

It’s him.

Jax.

Just Jax.

4

JAXON

Unexpected Reunion

Control.

That’s the word I keep coming back to, over and over, like if I repeat it enough, it’ll settle into my bones and stay there.

Maybe if I have control on the ice, in the meeting room, at home—maybe then I can control what happens in the courtroom, too.

I know the logic is flawed, but I can’t stop myself.