Chapter 12
SUTTON
I’m pacing behind my desk like a caged animal, phone pressed to my ear with Elle on the other end, when the words just tumble out—like, no filter, no preamble, just verbal word-vomit. “Okay, don’t freak out, but I kissed Campbell.”
Famous last words. I’m the kind of woman who can negotiate a ten-million-dollar deal with a sponsor, yet I’m freaked out because I kissed someone. But it’s not that he’s just any someone. He’s…well, he’s a special someone.
My heels squeak against the floor as I whirl around for the fifth lap, ready for the hysterical laugh building in my chest to explode right outta me.
I half expect confetti to fall from the ceiling, or maybe the universe to smite me with lightning for breaking the unspoken do not kiss your hot player when you own the team rule.
There’s a beat of silence on the other end. Then: “I’m sorry, you did what now?”
“Campbell. Last night. After the gala, at my place.” I stop pacing and grip the edge of my desk. “Oh wow, Elle, I grabbed him by his lapels like some kind of—”
The door to my office swings open without warning and Anna breezes in, carrying coffee and what looks like a stack of contracts. She takes one look at my face, then freezes when she catches the tail end of my sentence.
“—desperate woman who—”
“WHAT?!” Anna’s shriek could shatter glass. The coffee cup slips from her hand, but she catches it at the last second, sloshing liquid everywhere. “You KISSED Camp—?!”
She never finishes his name. I bolt upright, panic flooding my system, waving my arms in the air. “Shh!” I hiss, lunging for my office door. I slam it shut and flip the lock, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Anna, for the love of—”
“You’d better put me on speaker,” Elle’s voice crackles through the phone. “I am not missing this.”
I look between my phone and Anna, who’s now bouncing on her toes like she’s won the lottery. “This is not a celebration,” I mutter, but I hit the speaker button anyway.
“Sutton Mahoney kissed Campbell Stockton!” Anna announces to the phone like she’s a town crier. “Our proper Southern Belle grabbed her captain and—”
“I am not proper,” I interrupt, though even I can hear how prim my voice sounds.
Elle’s laugh echoes through the speaker. “Oh, honey, you absolutely are. But more importantly—details. All of them, even the one you don’t want to say out loud. Now.”
“Oh, why, why, why.” I sink into my chair, covering my face with both hands. “This is a disaster.”
“This is amazing,” Anna counters, her voice a crazed whisper. She settles into the chair across from my desk like she’s getting comfortable for a long story. “Start from the beginning. Was there tongue?”
“Anna!” Her name exits my mouth in a feral screech that I’m pretty sure could be heard from Richmond to London, no worry at all.
“What?” she asks, holding her hands in front of her in faux surrender. “It’s a legitimate question!”
“She’s right, it’s fair,” Elle chimes in, clearly delighted. “We want to know everything. The whole car ride—don’t you see, Sutton? We’re invested. Don’t you dare leave anything out.”
I peek through my fingers at both of them—Anna leaning forward with wide, expectant eyes, Elle’s voice practically vibrating with excitement through the speaker. I can tell they’re expecting a fairy tale, when all I can see is a PR nightmare.
“It was...” I drop my hands, searching for words. “We were just sitting there with our milkshakes, and he had this stupid long-stemmed rose from the photographer, and he was being all charming and impossible, and then he leaned in like he was going to—but I told him to stop.”
“But you didn’t want him to stop,” Elle says knowingly.
“That’s not the point.” I stand up again, resuming my pacing. “We were about to kiss, then the driver hit the brakes. But we got to my place, and then...” I trail off, remembering the heat of his mouth, the way he tasted like bad decisions, vanilla milkshake, and pure temptation that could ruin me.
“Then what…what?” Anna prompts, leaning even further forward.
“Then I kissed him. I literally ran out of my house and chased him down before he left and I kissed him.”
As my two confidants began to scream, I realize I didn’t know human vocal cords could reach that octave. Pretty sure dogs three blocks over just perked up.
“But,” I say firmly, trying to subdue the chaos. “It was a mistake. That man has a preternatural way of making me forget who I am.”
Both women groan in unison.
“Oh, come on!” Anna sniffs.
“Sutton,” Elle’s voice takes on that patient tone she uses when she’s about to lecture me. “That man is obviously wanting you.”
“And he’s so into you,” Anna adds. “The man researched car batteries for you. He stayed to help you jump your car after hours. He was your plus-one to a gala where he had to wear a tuxedo and make small talk.”
“Now wait there,” I interject, pretty sure she’s got that one wrong. “He needed the exposure—”
“He needed to be close to you,” Elle interrupts. “Sutton, the man is gone for you. Anyone with eyes can see it.”
I whirl around to face Anna. “And what happens when the board finds out? When the media gets wind of it? ‘Team Owner Caught Making Out With Player.’ It looks cheap. It looks like I can’t keep my hands off the people who work here.”
Anna’s expression shifts, becoming more serious. “Is that really what you think? That it looks cheap?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” I slump back into my chair. “I worked so hard to be taken seriously in this league. Plenty of people already question every decision I make, already assume I don’t belong. If they think I’m sleeping with my players—”
“But you’re not sleeping with your players,” Elle points out. “You’re attracted to one player. Your captain. A man who clearly respects you and, I’m willing to bet my next paycheck, also cares about you.”
“A man who works for me,” I remind them.
“So did Dixon when I started dating him,” Elle says quietly.
The room goes silent. Anna looks between the phone and me, eyebrows raised. “Oh, here we go.”
“That’s different,” I say finally, knowing that my words are about to be countered like nobody’s business.
Elle and Dixon’s love story came together in a way that was like watching two puzzle pieces finally lock onto each other for life.
It was supposed to happen, and was going to happen, no matter what.
“You’re impossible.” Elle’s sigh slams against the speaker. “How?”
“Well, to start, you’re not the owner of the team.”
“No, but I am a coach. I have authority over him in practice, in games. There’s still a power dynamic. And it shifted the day I started here as a coach.” Elle’s voice is gentle but firm. “Do you remember what you told me when I was freaking out about dating him?”
I close my eyes, knowing exactly what’s coming. I could play dumb here, but instead, I simply stay quiet, giving Elle the runway to make her case.
“You, my sweet dear friend, told me that we are the ones who make the rules. That if two people can handle their professional relationship like adults, then there’s no reason they can’t explore something personal. You told me that my happiness mattered, too.”
“But—”
“Uh-uh,” Elle says, clipped. “Why doesn’t that same rule apply to you, Sutton?”
Anna nods emphatically. “She’s right. You literally told Elle that she deserved to be happy, that she shouldn’t let fear make her decisions for her. Why are you any different?”
I stare at both of them, feeling cornered. “My family owns the team. It wasn’t that long ago I was made the face of this franchise, because a certain brother of mine was making a mess of it. If I screw up, it reflects on everyone. The players, the staff, the fans—”
“And if you’re miserable?” Elle asks. “If you’re so busy protecting everyone else that you forget to protect yourself? What good does that do anyone?”
I open my mouth to argue, but nothing comes out. Because deep down, I know they’re right. I know I’m letting fear drive, the same thing I accused Elle of doing when it came to Dixon.
Anna leans forward, her voice softer now.
“Sutton, I’ve watched you run this team.
You’re smart, you’re fair, and we all know you’re tougher than half the men in this league.
You think anyone’s going to question your competence because you’re dating Campbell Stockton, the man who leads this team on and off the ice? ”
“They questioned me being in charge when I took over from Jimmy,” I remind her. “Let’s not forget, it’s always different for the woman.”
“Fine. Two can play this game. Let’s not forget you proved them wrong,” Elle says. “Just like you’ll prove them wrong now…if you choose to pursue this.”
I sink down into my chair, feeling the weight of their expectations, their encouragement, their faith in me. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if we try this and it ruins everything? The team chemistry, our working relationship—”
“What if it works out?” Anna interrupts. “What if instead of trying to figure it all out and see the whole map and where it leads, you stop and take the time to enjoy the ride?”
I look at her, then at the phone where Elle’s waiting for my response. Two of the strongest women I know, both telling me the same thing: that I deserve this. That I don’t have to sacrifice my personal happiness on the altar of professional perfection.
And it’s at this moment I feel the power of these friendships helping me. Breaking me open, pulling out my most vulnerable side, exposing my innermost worries and what’s been brought to the surface by one Mister Campbell Stockton.
“I’m hesitant,” I admit quietly. Fully trusting the two women who have my back. “Not scared. But I am hesitant.”
“Of course you are,” Elle says. “But you’re also Sutton Mahoney. You trust your gut and make decisions, and then you deal with whatever comes next.”
Anna grins. “Besides, if anyone gives you grief about it, I’ll remind them—we all will—that you run this team, not the other way around. And Campbell will probably just smile at any naysayers until they forget what they were complaining about.”
“That smile of his could solve a lot of the world’s issues,” Elle says, her voice incredulous. “Seriously. The man should be a model with those cheekbones.”
Despite everything, I laugh. “His face is ridiculously disarming.”
“See? You’re already thinking about his face,” Anna teases. “That’s progress.”
“You say progress, but honestly I feel worn out.” I shake my head, but I’m smiling now. “You two are terrible influences.”
“The best kind,” Elle agrees. “Speaking of which, are you going to the away game next weekend?”
I laugh, recognizing that tone. “Let me guess. You’re asking because you know I’ll get a suite, and then you can stay in it instead of some room amongst the team?”
“Yes,” Elle replies without shame. “That, and I want some female company on this trip. I’m tired of watching fans camp out in the hotel lobby waiting for autographs.”
“Please!” Anna chortles. “Last time I tagged along, Ollie and I caught you in the parking lot talking to a group of girls and signing jerseys.”
“Okay, fine,” Elle acquiesces. “I want a nice room to stay in with a little smidge of luxury, is that so wrong?”
“Fair enough,” I say. “You’re welcome to join me. But don’t think this means I’m going to spend the whole trip analyzing my love life.”
“Oh, you absolutely will,” Anna chimes in. “And you need to make sure one of you tells me all about it. I’d come, too. if I wasn’t already headed out of town this weekend for work.”
“You won’t miss much.” I groan. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“The best kind,” Elle repeats with a laugh. The room falls quiet for a moment before she continues, asking a question I need to figure out a response for: “So what are you going to do about Campbell?”
I look out the window again, down toward the rink where Campbell’s probably running drills, being the leader this team needs.
The man who stayed late to help me with my car, who researched batteries like it was the most natural thing in the world, who made me feel safe and seen at a gala full of people trying to diminish me.
The man whose kiss has thrown me for such a loop I’m considering changing my name and moving to an island in the Caribbean. There’s no ice hockey there…I think.
“I don’t know yet,” I say honestly. “But, I do know that I’m not going to let fear decide for me.”
“That’s my girl,” Elle says proudly.
Anna claps her hands together. “This is going to be so much fun to watch.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t get too excited. I haven’t decided anything yet.”
“You kissed him back,” Anna points out. “That’s deciding something.”
And as much as I hate to admit it, she’s right. The moment I walked back out my front door and launched myself into Campbell’s arms, I crossed a line. Now the only question is whether I’m brave enough to see where that line leads.