Chapter 3
Holden
I folded another hoodie and placed it in my suitcase.
Most people would be excited about getting to stay in a luxury resort in some ritzy mountain town in Colorado during the holidays, but not me.
Especially not when I was being forced to do it as part of my contract with Mynt, a sports clothing brand sponsoring me.
I was grateful for the sponsorship but not grateful for the extra travel.
The Mynt Peak Resort had been generous enough to offer me extra accommodations so my family could join me. Little did they know that their generosity had me feeling annoyed instead of grateful. I didn’t have a family, at least not in the traditional sense of the word.
The sperm donor, as I referred to as the man who was my biological father since there was no way I would ever call that man dad, had left my mom as soon as he had found out she was pregnant with me.
Which my dear sweet mother had never let me forget during the eighteen years we’d lived under the same roof.
My Aunt Maggie, my mom’s sister, had somehow convinced her to keep me, even though my mom never stopped complaining about it.
Aunt Maggie was the only reason I was where I was today, and that was the reason I had offered the extra accommodations to her.
Unfortunately, that meant my uncle and cousin would be coming with her, but Maggie deserved a getaway.
She would love what was sure to be a festive Christmas weekend in Winterbrook, and she was the only one I cared about.
Thanks to her, I’d been signed up at the local youth hockey team, since she’d somehow known I needed to get out my frustrations and forge some kind of nontraditional familial connections.
She’d paid for everything and taken me to all my practices and games.
She had been a true lifesaver for me, and I’d never be able to truly repay her.
This free trip was the least I could do.
My phone vibrated against the nightstand. I grabbed a pair of sweats from my suitcase before reaching to see who was calling and laughed when I saw the name—The Zeke Man.
He must have changed it the last time we were together.
Zeke and I had been teammates when we’d played on the New York Coyotes, before we’d been traded together to the Minnesota Wolves last year. He’d retired after we’d lost in the second round of playoffs and had spent the last seven months blissfully in love with the team’s physical therapist, Piper.
Although we were eight years apart, he and I had bonded over our similar backgrounds, as much as two people who had trust issues could, and I was happy to see his name on the screen.
“The Zeke Man? Really?” I asked in a way of greeting.
His laugh boomed through the speaker. “You know that’s what everyone calls me.”
I shook my head at him even though he couldn’t see me. “No. That’s what you call you.”
“Don’t be jealous.”
I huffed a laugh. “Yeah, that’s it. I’m jealous of The Zeke Man.”
“You should be.” His voice was full of cocky amusement, but then it softened. “How you doing, man?”
“I’m fine,” I said automatically.
Zeke made a sound like he didn’t believe me. “Yeah? ‘Cause I know the holidays can be rough. Just wanted to check in.”
I let my head fall back and stared at the ceiling. “You don’t have to do that.”
Zeke and I weren’t known for talking about our feelings, but since his retirement and being in a relationship with Piper, he was making it a habit of checking in with me.
In a way, I appreciated it, but in another way, it annoyed me.
I’d been on my own practically my whole life.
So I didn’t need—or want—anything else. Well, except for hockey.
“I know I don’t. But I also know what it’s like to spend Christmas alone.” There was a pause. “I got lucky with Piper. You’ll find your person too.”
I scoffed. “Who says I’m looking?”
“Holden.” I could practically hear the knowing look on his face.
Zeke used to be on the same page as me when it came to women and relationships. But all it took was a pretty pair of feisty green eyes to finally change his stance on love. Except the main difference between Zeke and me was that I wouldn’t be so easily swayed.
Suddenly, a pair of chocolate-brown eyes appeared in my vision, strands of honey-blond hair framing a pretty face, and an echo of her laughter filled my ears as I thought about the woman I’d met several days ago.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Belle and that kiss we’d shared under the mistletoe.
But no. I shook my head. I would not be like Zeke.
Or my teammate, Ryder, who also just abandoned the forever-bachelor life for none other than Piper’s sister, Quinn.
Fortunately for me there were no more Fallon sisters to risk falling under their spell.
Thankfully, I would also not be seeing Belle again.
Keeping my focus on hockey—and hockey only—was the best thing for me.
I exhaled sharply and changed the subject. “Anyway, don’t worry about me. I’ll survive. Just gotta get through this charity event first.”
“Charity event?”
“Yeah. Some PR thing in Colorado. Christmas activities, smiling for cameras, pretending I’m a normal, well-adjusted guy who enjoys socializing.” I sighed. “It’ll be great.”
Zeke chuckled. “You sound thrilled.”
“I’d rather stay in my apartment and binge bad action movies.”
“Could be worse.”
I snorted. “Doubt it.”
“You never know. Maybe you’ll meet someone,” he said, and I could hear the grin in his voice.
I rolled my eyes. “Not happening.”
Zeke only laughed again. “Famous last words, man.”
I was happy that Zeke was happy and had found love unexpectedly, but that wasn’t the future for me. I was better on my own, living life on my own terms. No need to get tangled up in relationships and all the drama that came from trying to fit your life with someone else’s.
We talked a few more minutes about the Wolves season so far, about Zeke’s new nonprofit organization he had set up for kids to be able to play hockey, and about his holiday plans. After we hung up, I hurried to finish packing so I could make it to the airport on time for my flight.
This was my first year being sponsored by Mynt, which meant it was also my first time attending their weeklong charity event, Mynt to Make a Difference.
A week was a long time to pretend to be social, and I could only hope that all the Christmas and winter activities weren’t as nauseating as they sounded.
The Founder and CEO of Mynt was none other than Barry Mynt, who also owned the resort where the charity event would be held, The Mynt Peak Resort.
Yes, he loved using his last name in everything he did.
Especially in the itinerary for the upcoming week—it was hard to miss the events titled the Mynt Mingle and Jingle, the Mynt to Be Sleigh Ride, and the Merry Mynt Ball.
I had every intention of keeping myself locked up in my hotel room and only venturing out for the events I was required to attend. I didn’t have it in me to endure all the week’s myntastic events.
But as I made my way out of my apartment building, a nagging feeling settled in my chest. Maybe it was the weight of another holiday spent alone, or maybe it was the memory of Zeke’s voice in my ear, telling me I couldn’t hide forever.
Either way, something told me this week wouldn’t go exactly as I planned.