Playing for Forbidden Love

1. Jax

CHAPTER ONE

JAX

The deep, rumbling engine of the boat roars while we cruise over the sparkling turquoise water of Okanagan Lake.

Nestled between the lush, pine-covered hills of the Okanagan Valley, it’s one of the most beautiful sceneries of my hometown.

Summer in Kelowna, British Columbia is my favorite time of year.

Besides the perfect weather for all outdoor activities, it’s the only consistent time I get to spend with my thirteen-year-old daughter, Chloe.

Sharing custody of her with my ex-wife and living in another city for work makes summer time precious.

As each year passes, the summers seem to get shorter and shorter, and before I know it, it’s time for me to go back to Chicago to resume playing professional hockey for the Chicago Phoenixes.

I glance over my shoulder to check on my daughter and her two friends.

I smile, seeing them with their arms up in the air, giggling and singing as loud as they can to some song that I’ve never heard of before.

These are the moments I live for—seeing my daughter happy.

This summer has been pretty epic with our annual father/daughter travel adventures.

When my team was knocked out of the second round of the playoffs, I whisked Chloe away, and we spent the last part of June traveling and exploring Hawaii and Japan.

We stayed closer to home in July, splitting time between Kelowna and Vancouver.

Now it’s the last week of August and summer is coming to an end with only a few weeks left before I head back to Chicago for training camp.

I slow our speed down as we get closer to the spot where we’ll drop the anchor.

When the boat stops and is basically floating with the waves, I put down the anchor and tell the girls they can now eat lunch and go swimming.

It’s a common occurrence for me to rent a boat during my summers home and take Chloe and her friends out on the lake.

The friend group has changed over the years, but the tradition stays the same.

I turn the music down to a normal decibel level and then go into the cabin to grab the floats I brought for them. While the girls eat their lunch, I start inflating the floats that need more air.

“Nice washboards, Mr. Morrow,” Tabitha, one of my daughter’s friends, comments while throwing her trash from lunch out in the designated garbage bag.

I look down at the float I’m holding, confusion written all over my face. “Where do you see a washboard?”

She points to my stomach and smiles. “Your abs, Mr. Morrow.”

Thank god my sunglasses are blocking her from seeing my eyes pop out of their sockets.

WTF? Why is my daughter’s friend commenting on my abs?

I’m so disturbed by her observation that I drop the float that I was holding, find my rash guard shirt and immediately put it back on to cover myself up.

I glance over at my daughter; the frown on her face and the look she’s giving Tabitha confirm she heard every word her friend said.

I inwardly groan as this is not the drama I want to be dealing with today.

“Don’t check out my dad like that, Taby,” Chloe demands when Tabitha walks back up to her and Penelope.

I pick up the float I was working on and continue to inflate it, pretending to be busy when, really, I’m listening in, waiting for the burning fuse to ignite the dynamite that will trigger this conversation to blow up.

“He had his shirt off. How could I not?”

Shit, I should’ve never taken my shirt off. I view Chloe’s friends as tiny little girls who are like daughters to me, not little teenagers who might be hormonal and boy crazy. When I took my top off to soak up some sun, I didn’t think much of it.

Chloe crosses her arms, her eyes narrowing on Tabitha. “You don’t need to be making those kinds of comments. That’s my dad! It’s just gross.”

Tabitha rolls her eyes. “Chill out, Chloe. I was just making an observation on something we’ve all talked about. Right, Penny?” Both girls look over at Penelope, whose cheeks turn red under the scrutiny.

“Um…” Penny pauses, clearly not wanting to be part of this conversation. “I don’t remember talking about it.”

Chloe looks back at Tabitha and questions, “Who’s we?”

“Everyone has talked about it, Chloe.” She waves her hand, brushing off the subject.

“You’re making this out to be a big deal.

Your dad’s hot. Not to mention, famous. You know it; everyone knows it.

We all talk about how he’s exactly the type of guy girls want to marry when they’re older, so don’t play dumb and act like we haven’t. ”

I see my daughter’s lips narrow, her jaw locked and I know she’s pissed. “We—” she points back and forth between her and Tabitha, “—have never specifically talked about my dad, and just because someone is famous doesn’t mean they’re always a good person. You want to marry a jerk?”

I have to bite the inside of my cheek from chuckling at the condescending tone my daughter uses.

Pride fills my heart because she’s absolutely right.

Lots of famous assholes in the world, and fame is definitely not what it’s cracked up to be.

Everyone feels entitled to know your personal business, as if it’s owed to them.

They feel that they made you famous—not the hard work you put in.

You’re rich because of them; so therefore, you should let them into your life.

It’s exhausting, not to mention terrifying, the lengths people will go to even get a selfie.

Unfortunately, my daughter has been subjected to it all.

“Of course I want to marry someone nice, but if they’re rich and can take care of me, then I can ignore them being a jerk.”

Spoken like a true puck bunny in training.

I shake my head in disgust while I gather the floats.

I wish this conversation surprised me coming from Tabitha, but it doesn’t.

She learned this from her mother, who’s best friends with my ex-wife.

I hate that my daughter is constantly around them.

I’ve talked to Chloe about not relying on a man for money and have encouraged her to have her own career when she’s older, but when she sees her mother living it up on my child support and her current husband’s money, it’s hard for her to know any different.

Chloe lifts her chin in defiance. “Well, that’s just sad that you would accept a guy being mean to you just because he has money. I would rather be poor than marry someone who’s going to treat me badly.”

Tabitha scoffs. “Girl, please. You know that isn’t true.”

This conversation needs to stop, or I’ll be getting arrested for throwing Tabitha overboard. “Time to go swimming, girls.” It’s not a suggestion, but a command. I hand each of them a float and breathe a sigh of relief when the conversation is dropped and they get in the water.

I grab my sandwich out of the cooler, sit down, and watch the girls lounge in their floats.

Tabitha and Penny are chatting it up as if nothing happened, while Chloe watches them in silence.

I can see the wheels turning in her head as she observes Tabitha.

Secretly, I’m hoping this marks the end of their friendship since I think Tabitha is a bad influence and sometimes can be downright mean to Chloe.

Due to the friendship between the moms, I think Chloe will always have to endure Tabitha being in her life.

Chloe will just have to determine in what capacity that is.

Right now, they’re supposedly best friends, but I doubt that will always be the case.

This is just part of the drama she has dealt with in middle school.

As Chloe has gotten older, her friends have started to realize who I am.

Lately, it has become a problem with Chloe not knowing who wants to be friends with her for the right reasons.

Gone are the days of youthful, na?ve innocence.

Now we’re dealing with conniving girls and boys who pretend to like Chloe so they can say they know me.

Kelowna is a much smaller city than Vancouver, so everyone here knows about local boy Jax Morrow making it to the hockey big leagues.

In Chicago, I’m a small fish in a big lake, but here in Kelowna, I’m the big fish in a small pond.

The disaster that was my last relationship making headline news did not help keep my notoriety down and brought even more attention to my life.

I try to keep a low profile while I’m here.

I don’t date despite everyone and their mothers trying to play matchmaker.

I concentrate on spending time with my family and keeping in shape.

Once I get back to Chicago, my lifestyle takes a drastic turn.

I eat, sleep, and breathe hockey. I train and work hard, and when it’s time to have fun, I play hard.