Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
JJ
Twenty-One Years Old
Salt Lake City Winter Olympics
“I appreciate you letting me tag along,” I say to Beckett as we make our way through the crowd.
I have a game tomorrow, but I couldn’t miss opening ceremonies. I need to see Adeline. It’s been months since I laid eyes on her in person. Between her training and the Bolts’ schedule, we’re never in the same place at the same time.
“She’ll be thrilled to see you.” He wraps an arm around my shoulders and jostles me around a little. “Besides, you’re family. You’re always invited.”
“Tell me there’s a bar near our meetup spot,” Finn says, bouncing as he walks, peering over the heads around us.
“Addie probably won’t drink. But I say let’s go wherever she wants,” Winnie says.
“And we aren’t taking your sisters to a bar,” Liv tells Finn, giving him the mom look.
The twins, who are seventeen, don’t bother chiming in. They’re too busy documenting their every move on social media, even after Beckett has told them to put their phones away at least twenty times.
Finn nudges me. “Want to go find a bar while they find Addie?”
I fight back a grimace. “Uh. No. I actually want to see your sister.”
He rolls his eyes. “Come on, there are female athletes everywhere. When they find out that you play for the Bolts and I play for the Revs, they’ll be lining up.”
Winnie smacks him. “One: that is sexist. And two: you’re an idiot. JJ only cares about one female athlete.”
I shrug. “She’s not wrong.”
“Fine. But once we find her, you are grabbing a drink with me.”
I’m not, but I won’t waste my breath arguing with him.
My pulse goes haywire every time I even think about wrapping my arms around Adeline again.
I don’t know what to expect. Has she been as out of her mind as I have the last few months?
Probably not. Her focus has been 100 percent on these games.
Like mine should have been on my own. It’s my first goddamn season in the NHL, and the only thing I can think about is when I’ll see Adeline again.
“There she is,” Beckett says, pure affection and excitement in his voice.
I whip around and immediately zero in on my best friend’s big smile. Those brown eyes of hers look straight at me, shimmering. Then she’s launching herself into my arms.
“Ah. You made it,” she squeals.
I spin her around, then set her on her feet and pull back so I can look at her again. “Of course I did. I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”
“I’m here too, ya know,” Finn grumbles. “Missing a preseason game for this. Do I get a big hug too?”
Laughing, she makes the rounds, hugging her family. As she steps to one side, sidling up to a guy I don’t recognize, my stomach sinks.
She shakes her head, still beaming, and turns to the guy. “Ah, sorry. This is Ryan Hobbs. He’s the goalie coach for Team USA. Ryan, this is my family.”
Beckett is the first to step up and shake his hand.
Ryan is the same height as Beckett—so not as tall as me—and he’s got dirty blond hair tied back in a ponytail.
He looks like he’s in his late twenties, but it’s hard to tell since he’s in the Team USA sweats, which make everyone seem younger than they really are.
But he’s muscular, and he’s wearing a perma-smile. One he keeps directing at Adeline.
“His family couldn’t make it for the ceremony, so I told him he could join us for dinner. You guys don’t mind, right?” Adeline peers around the group, only stopping when she gets to me.
Finn nudges me. “How ’bout that drink?”
“Of course he can,” Liv says. “I’d love to hear all about your time working as a coach for the Olympic team.”
Ryan answers a few of her questions as the group follows Beckett.
Lagging behind a little, I snag Adeline’s hand. “Hey.”
“Hi,” she says with a big smile. “God, it’s so good to see you.”
“You too.” I let out a breath. “I was hoping we’d have a little time by ourselves to catch up. Maybe skip out after dinner?”
She glances at Ryan, her teeth sinking into her lip. “Strict curfew,” she mumbles. “I’ve only got an hour.”
“Fuck,” I mutter.
She winces, her dark eyes sympathetic. “I’m sorry. You traveled all this way, and all I have is a free hour.”
“Worth it.” I lock eyes with her, hoping she can see in them that I’d travel anywhere for her. “I was just hoping we could talk.”
She nods. “Of course. You can tell me anything.”
I’d thought of this conversation hundreds of times over the last few months. Every time it ended with her and I together. There definitely wasn’t another man in the picture, that’s for damn sure.
I look her coach up and down. “Alone.”
Lips folding in on themselves, she sighs. “Oh.”
“Is there—” My gut twists, but I force myself to ask. “Is there something going on between you two?”
She lets out an uncomfortable laugh. “What? No. He’s my coach.”
Ryan glances back, and when he sees she’s looking his way, he winks.
Immediately, a flush works its way up her cheeks. Fuck. Shit. No.
“Right,” I grit out. “And that would be totally inappropriate.”
Her brow creases. “Yeah, I’m aware. Stop being weird.”
“I just want five minutes alone with you. Can we do that? Ditch everyone for a few?”
I sound pathetic begging like this, but I don’t care.
“Sure. How about we sneak off for a few after we order?” She squeezes my hand like she’s trying to settle my nerves, like she can sense my internal freak-out.
I don’t even care, because for five fucking seconds with her hand in mine, I relax.
Forty-five minutes later, Adeline and Ryan are still regaling us with stories of training, discussing the upcoming games, and sharing inside jokes they’ve amassed during their months together.
And I lose my shit.
Desperate for fresh air and concerned that if I stay here any longer, I’ll launch myself across the table and strangle him, I excuse myself, holding up my phone, pretending I’m getting a call.
I’m pacing back and forth, trying not to pull my hair out when the door opens and Adeline appears.
“What are you doing? Is everything okay?”
Pulling up short, I frown. “Huh?”
“Your phone call? Is it your mom? Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“What?” I’m so off-kilter after tonight that I can’t make heads or tails of the conversation.
When she steps up and presses her hand to my racing heart, she does me no favors, but like hell will I back away.
“JJ, it’s me. You can tell me anything. What’s going on?”
“I just wanted to see you,” I admit, my voice rough.
Her eyes warm as her lips curl up. “Well, hi.”
I blow out a breath, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Hi.”
“What’s going on?”
I shake my head. Where do I even start?
“Fine, I’ll go first,” she says, still smiling. “I’m scared that I’m going to miss every shot and cost our team the win. I’m insanely excited to see you. And you’re kind of freaking me out.”
That lightens the weight pressing on my chest a little. “We both know you aren’t scared, Adeline.”
She grins. “You’re correct. Now you go. Like I said, you’re freaking me out.”
Licking my lips, I take a step closer. The ground beneath us is cobblestone, and the light coming from the old kerosene streetlamp makes Adeline’s brown eyes twinkle as she assesses me.
I press my hand to her cheek, stroking her warm skin gently with my thumb.
“I haven’t gone a day without thinking about you.
I’m crazy jealous of that Ryan guy because he’s gotten all this time with you.
And if I don’t find out what your lips feel like right the fuck now, I’m going to lose my goddamn mind. ”
Adeline’s smile falls and her eyes rove over my face. “What?”
I inch closer. So close her breath mingles with mine. “Guess the lie, Angles.”
“Um—” Her voice wobbles and I swear she stops breathing.
My heart races. Does she want this as much as I do? Has she wondered what would happen if we threw caution to the wind? Does she hate the air between us, and the distance too?
“Maybe I should just show you,” I murmur, my mouth ghosting over hers.
“Addie, we gotta go.”
Adeline jumps back, her eyes going wide. “Oh, shit.” She glances at Ryan, who’s standing just outside the restaurant. “Can you, um, just give me one minute?”
I don’t look away from her. Every muscle in my body is rigid. Why the fuck didn’t I just kiss her the moment she walked outside?
“Hey,” she says, slightly breathless. “Can we—can we talk about this when the Olympics are over?”
I nod, my mouth dry.
She throws her arms around my neck and squeezes me tight. “Mine were all true too,” she whispers. “Wish me luck.”
I hold her close, inhaling her scent. “You don’t need luck, Angles. You’re going to kick ass.” I press a kiss to her shoulder and then let her go. When I turn around, Beckett is standing a few feet away, attention locked on us.
“Run in and say goodbye to your mom.”
Adeline takes a step forward, then pauses and glances back at me. With one final smile, she steps into the restaurant with Ryan on her heels.
Beckett doesn’t move. “It’s hard being away from her,” he says.
I’m not sure if he’s talking about how I feel or how he feels, but I nod anyway. “Yeah.”
“Did you know I met Liv before she met Adeline’s biological father?”
Frowning, I study him. He’s watching me just as closely, this serious look on his face, like he’s about to impart wisdom.
With a sharp inhale, I shake my head. “I didn’t know that.”
“Only a few seconds before, really. We got on the elevator and struck up a conversation. Drake got on a floor or two up.” Beckett shakes his head.
“My point is, I saw her first. I was immediately intrigued by her, yet he asked her out before I got the chance. Seconds, JJ. That’s all it took.
I hesitated for mere seconds, and I lost a decade with the woman who makes my life worth living. ”
I slip my hands into my pocket, a weight tugging at my gut. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Time isn’t guaranteed. I’d hate to see you standing on the outside like I was while Adeline finds her forever with someone else. All because you waited a few seconds—or years—too long to speak up.”
A strangled chuckle works its way out of me. “And you’d be okay with me—” I duck my head, my face going hot. “With me saying something?”
Beckett wraps an arm around me and guides me toward the restaurant. “Son, nothing would make me happier.”