Caspian (Carolina Reapers 8) - Page 76
The silence of the rink wrapped around us as we all digested that statement.
“Would you give up hockey for London?” I asked Sterling, looking him dead in those silver eyes of his.
“In a heartbeat,” he answered without hesitation. Then he swallowed and glanced across the ice. “I’m not saying it wouldn’t hurt like hell, or that I wouldn’t search for a compromise, but if push came to shove, and she needed me to quit, I would. None of this—” he gestured to the empty rink “—matters without her to come home to. All of this will be gone in a few years.”
“Which is why you don’t give it up in your prime,” Maxim countered. “You’ll despise her eventually if you do.”
Sterling snorted. “Brother, you’re confusing having a career with having a life. We both know we have less than a decade in these jerseys. I have a lifetime with London. She wins. I hope that one day you’ll be able to say the same about the woman you love.”
“I’ll never love a woman more than I love the sound of the goal horn,” Maxim countered before turning to me. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t. I’m just saying to look for the compromise.”
“And I’m just saying to get on a fucking plane,” Sterling added. “That kind of love—the kind that strikes hard, fast, and true, doesn’t come along twice.”
My chest tightened with resolve as we picked up the pucks and skated off the ice.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was for the last time.
Three days later, I sat across from Asher Silas, the owner of the Carolina Reapers. Guy was only a few years older than I was, but his tech company had made him billions—enough to win the bid for what had been an expansion team.
He sighed deep and heavy as he looked over the papers on the desk between us. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
Silas was notorious for doing whatever was best for his players, damn the cost or consequences, which was one of the reasons the Reaper jersey was one of the most coveted in the NHL.
“Yeah.” I nodded slowly, rolling the pen between my fingers.
“All for a woman you’ve known for a month?” he questioned, his gaze narrowing slightly as he stared at me like he could see past the bullshit and straight to someone’s intentions, which he had an uncanny knack for. There was a reason he was loaded.
“A woman I’ve known my entire life,” I corrected him. “And she’s not just a woman. She’s the woman.”
He leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers together as if he was working over a problem in his mind. “I know how many favors you had to pull to get here, how important it was for you to be close to your sister.”
I swallowed the knot in my throat. “London has Sterling. She doesn’t need me to watch out for her anymore. And it’s time I start living for myself and stop hovering over my little sister like she’s some breakable piece of china.”
Asher nodded and pushed the paper across the desk. “If this doesn’t work out, if you change your mind, I’ll do everything I can to fix it, but I can’t make any promises.”
“I appreciate that. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and for London.” I found the line with my printed name. My pen hovered just above the paper. “Would you do it? Uproot your entire life for a chance with the woman you love?”
“If I fell in love?” He gave me a wry smile. “No. I wouldn’t bother uprooting. I’d burn it to the ground for the right woman. Lucky for the Reapers, she doesn’t exist.”
I took a deep breath.
Then I signed.
18
Ryleigh
“What are you reading?” I asked my mom as I came into the kitchen. I dropped into the seat across from her at the kitchen table, totally exhausted. When I got back, I hadn’t wanted to be alone, so I came here. There was nothing like Mom’s cooking and comfort to help me feel human again.
“Just a magazine,” she said. “London’s mom sent one over to me because London is featured in it.”
“Really?” I perked up at that, beyond happy for my friend’s success in both love and life. A sting zapped me right in the chest as I realized I’d never be able to see London and not think of Caspian, but at least I could try to heal for her.
Mom slid the magazine over to me, opened to the center spread. “It’s all about the Reapers and their spouses. Apparently, love sells.”
I forced a laugh, smiling softly at the shot of London and Jansen walking hand in hand at some gala event. “She looks beautiful,” I said, and then my heart clenched because if this was about the Reapers and their spouses, I wondered if Caspian would be in here? Not that he was married, or at least I didn’t think he was, but that woman at his house was pregnant. Wouldn’t that be sellable too?
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