Chapter 71
PARKER
Silence fills the bedroom as Linc’s words echo in my ears.
Did he…did he really just say—
“You’re in love with her?” Rett asks, his voice softer, calmer all of a sudden.
“Yeah,” Linc agrees as easily as he would if Rett were asking if he wanted another beer.
“In love with her, like… you want to marry her and make babies with her?”
My heart slams against my ribs.
Things have moved so fast here that I haven’t taken a moment to think about the future. I’ve been so focused on the now, of the possibility of losing my job, of being the laughingstock of the NHL, that where this could be leading has escaped my attention.
But marriage.
Babies.
That all sounds really freaking serious.
“Yeah, all of that and more. There isn’t anyone else I want. There hasn’t been anyone else I’ve ever wanted.”
“But…it’s Parker.”
“Yeah,” Linc says, holding me tighter and turning to kiss my forehead. “And she’s perfect in every way.”
My eyes burn as tears flood them.
“Fuck,” Rett breathes, looking between the two of us with the same confused look on his face. “I…uh…” he mutters, combing his fingers through his hair. His knuckles are red and angry, but I can’t find myself to care all that much. He shouldn’t have been throwing them around in the first place.
Linc’s face, however, is what I am concerned about. He needs ice, and I need to make sure his nose isn’t broken.
“I need to get out of here. Promised Coach I’d be at the hotel when the rest of them arrived.”
When neither of us says anything, he begins backing toward the door, his eyes still darting between us.
We let him go without saying another word. He closes the door behind himself, and the second it clicks, I exhale.
“Holy shit,” Linc mutters, lifting the bloody tissues in his hand to wipe his nose before turning to face me. “Are you okay?”
“I…uh…I don’t…you love me?” I ask, my brows pinching.
A wide, hopeful smile spreads across his swelling face.
“Yeah, babe. I do.” He cups my face in his giant hands and closes the space between us until our noses brush. “I think I always have. I just…I didn’t understand it before.”
I try to swallow the huge lump that crawls up my throat, but it’s pointless.
I blink up at him, trying to find some words to respond with, but I can’t get any.
“It’s okay,” he soothes, sensing my anxiety levels rising. “I’m not expecting you to say it back. Maybe one day, but not yet.”
I nod. It’s all I’m capable of right now.
“Rett is right, though. I need to get moving as well.”
He gives me the briefest of kisses before stepping away. The second I lick my lips, the coppery taste of blood hits me.
“No, wait,” I cry, stopping him from going too far. “I need to check you over. Your nose. It could be—”
“It’s not broken, babe,” he says with the kind of confidence only a hockey player who’s experienced his fair share of broken noses can.
“Then you need ice for your eye. You won’t be able to play later if you can’t see out of it.”
He wants to fight it, but the longer he stares into my determined eyes, the more it drains from him.
“Okay, I can give you fifteen minutes to play doctor and nurse.”
“This isn’t some kinky roleplay,” I chastise.
“Oh, what? So you don’t have a slutty little nurse’s uniform hidden in here somewhere?”
“Behave,” I warn, as I move around the room. “Lie on the bed. I’ll be back.” I rush toward the door and pull it open. “And don’t get blood on the sheets,” I shoot over my shoulder before darting down the hallway.
It isn’t until I get to the kitchen that I think of Rett. Nerves rattle through me that he’s about to appear and tell me what he really thinks of what just played out in my bedroom.
Suddenly, I’ve hyper-aware of the fact I’m still not wearing any panties.
Not wanting to flash my brother should he appear, I bend over gingerly to pull an ice pack from Linc’s freezer.
But as I make my way back to the bedroom, there’s no sign of him. I can only assume he’s already left.
Regret tugs at my insides. We should have been more considerate. We should have spoken to him before we did anything reckless.
But it’s too late to think about all of that now.
Rett knows about it, and soon, the entire world will too.
I take a few calming breaths before I push my bedroom door open and step inside.
As ordered, Linc is lying in the middle of the bed with his boxers resting low on his hips and the rest of his body on full display.
“See something you like?” he taunts, lifting his arms and tucking his hands behind his head, knowing that it makes his torso even more defined.
“You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to pretend you’re not God’s gift to women every now and then,” I tease as I crawl onto the bed beside him.
“I don’t care about being a gift to women, Parker. Only you.”
“On second thought, maybe it is a good thing you’re hot with lines like that.”
“You think I’m hot, pretty girl?”
“Meh, probably a seven out of ten on a good day.”
He laughs at my blatant lie before he hisses as I press the ice pack to his eye.
“Rett isn’t in a good place,” he says, his tone much more serious.
“No, I saw that. He’s always the same whenever his team is on a losing streak,” I explain, remembering some of his worst moments as a teenager. “The Bandits will find their feet again, and he’ll turn a corner.”
“I hope so. It’s been a while since he’s been this bad.”
My concern for my brother grows. There is only one person on this Earth who knows him as well as I do, and that’s the man looking back at me.
Both of us are too far away to really do anything, especially during the season.
We can be there at the other end of a phone whenever he needs us, but when Rett is like this, he shuts himself off.
Sometimes, he’s impossible to reach unless we physically turn up and force him to talk.
“And here we are, making it worse,” I mutter sadly.
“We can’t stop living our lives because Rett is in a bad place,” Linc says, taking my hand and lifting it to kiss my knuckles. “We knew he wouldn’t like this. But we are not responsible for his reaction.”
“I know,” I sigh. “I just hate hurting him.”
“Me too. And I must admit, him finding out while I’ve got my head between your thighs probably wasn’t ideal.”
“We should have told him last night.”
“Well, he knows now. He’s just going to have to figure out a way to deal with it because it’s not changing anytime soon.”
“I’m going to talk to HR today. Speak to Coach and Jarad and get everything in place.”
Linc nods, aware that it needs to happen sooner rather than later. We have to be ahead of the gossip, and if Rett doesn’t cool off before the game later, I fear the media might just put two and two together, and all hell will have broken loose by the morning.
Once Linc’s allocated fifteen minutes were up, he climbed off the bed and plodded to his room to get ready.
I did the same, and only thirty minutes later, we’re descending through the building and toward his car.
My knee bounces the entire journey as my nerves about telling everyone what’s been happening between us get the better of me.
Linc keeps telling me that it’ll be fine, and a part of me believes him.
But what if it’s not?
What if I’m effectively signing my resignation by confessing to being in a relationship with him?
This is my dream job. Everything I’ve worked so hard for.
But he’s Lincoln Storm.
The only guy I’ve ever truly wanted.
If I had to make a choice…if I could only keep one…
Fuck.
I can’t even think about it.
The second he pulls his car to a stop in his space beneath the arena, he kills the engine and turns to me.
“Do you want me to come with you?” he offers.
“No, you need to go and get dressed for practice,” I say, holding my head high.
“Coach won’t mind,” Linc argues.
“I think we both know him well enough to know that he will. It’s a game day, Linc. A big one, too. You need to be focused.”
“I won’t be while you’re up there worrying.”
“I’m fine. Everything is going to be fine.”
He sighs. “Okay.”
“I’ll be rink side before you know it. And please, please try not to injure yourself any more than you already are,” I beg.
“I’ll see what I can do. Come here,” he says, wrapping his hand around the back of my neck and dragging me over the center console to meet his lips.
He kisses me until I’m breathless and my concerns over how today is going to play out have lessened.
“I meant what I said earlier. I love you, Parker. And I have every confidence that all of this will work out.”
I want to believe him, but until I hear the right words from the powers that be, I’m not sure I will.
Together, we climb out of the car, and side by side we walk into the arena. But instead of heading to the trainers’ room, I continue to the elevators that’ll take me to the front office.
By the time I walk into the HR office, I’m a wreck.
The young woman sitting behind the reception desk smiles at me, but it falters when she takes in my expression.
“Uh...hi…I was wondering if Esme was free?”
“Let me just see,” she says before tapping on her computer.
Behind me, a set of heels click-clack down the hallway, and before the receptionist can respond, the woman I’m dreading to see appears beside me.
“Good morning, Parker. Is everything okay?”
“I…uh…I was wondering if you have a few moments?”
“Yes, of course. Come on in and take a seat.”
“Ma’am, you have a meeting in ten minutes,” the receptionist calls.
“I’m aware, thank you,” Esme sings before closing the door behind us. “So, Parker, what can I do for you?”
I stare across the desk at Esme. She’s perfectly put together, her brown hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, her makeup flawless, and a soft, friendly smile playing on her lips.
She’s the picture of perfection, and I’m sitting here feeling like I’m falling apart.
“I need…I need to tell you that I’m involved in a personal relationship with a player,” I blurt.
She sits back in her chair, her smile growing wider.
My suspicions instantly rise.
Why isn’t she more surprised?
Why isn’t she asking me who it is?
Why isn’t she shouting at me and telling me that I’ve abused my position and that I should be ashamed of myself?
“Parker,” she says softly. “The organization is already aware of your relationship with Lincoln Storm. They have been since before you walked in here on your first day.”
“I…I’m sorry?” I stutter, sitting forward as if that’ll help me hear better.
Esme’s smile continues to grow.
“The day that Lincoln came in here to tell me that you’d be moving in, he also ensured we were aware that the two of you weren’t just friends.”
“B-but…but we were,” I argue. “Hell, I’m not sure we were even friends. He’s driven me crazy for years. I went out of my way to annoy him just so he would leave me alone,” I ramble.
“Well, it seems that Linc may have seen things a little differently. It’s already noted in your file. Everyone who needs to know does, and everyone is happy, provided your relationship doesn’t influence your judgment or ability to provide objective care.”
I slump back in my chair again as if the wind has been knocked clean from my lungs.
“Everyone knows?”
“Everyone who needs to know, yes.”
“And no one thought to tell me?”
Esme laughs. “Had we known that you weren’t aware, we may have considered mentioning it.”
“Wow, okay. So…what happens now?”
“Now, if you don’t have anything else you need to discuss with me, then you get your butt back downstairs and do everything in your power to ensure our boys beat your brother tonight.”
I have my fingers wrapped around the door handle ready to leave when I pause.
“Esme, before I leave, I’d like to make a formal complain about a member of staff.”