Chapter 24
SUTTON
The microwave beeps as Gavin’s face fills my laptop screen, his scrubs wrinkled and his hair doing that thing it does when he’s been running his hands through it during long shifts.
I’m curled up on the couch, laptop propped on the coffee table, the muted glow from the TV reflecting off half-eaten takeout containers and a throw blanket that’s seen better days.
The scent of microwave pasta lingers in the air—classy.
Even through the pixelated video call, I can see the concern in his eyes.
“So,” he says, settling back in what looks like a break room chair, “want to tell me why my sister is eating sad frozen dinners while being featured in gossip blogs I didn’t even know existed until my colleagues started asking if we’re related?”
I poke at the sad excuse for chicken parmesan with my fork. “You read gossip blogs now?”
“I read them when they’re about my little sister allegedly having a torrid affair with her hockey captain.
” His tone is gentle, but there’s a protective older brother lurking underneath.
“And before you ask, no, I don’t think you’re some cougar-predator taking advantage of a younger man.
The age difference between you and what’s-his-name is basically nothing. ”
“Campbell. His name is Campbell.”
“Right. Campbell.” Gavin leans closer to his camera. “Sutton, I’ve seen the photos. That man is not a victim. He’s looking at you like you hung the moon.”
I set down my fork, my appetite nonexistent anyway. “It doesn’t matter how he looks at me.”
“Because you’re his boss.”
“Because I’m his boss, because there are board members breathing down my neck, because every decision I make gets scrutinized ten times more than it would if I were a man.
” The words tumble out faster than I intended.
“Because the last thing the Renegades need is their owner becoming tabloid fodder.”
There’s a knock at my front door before Gavin can respond. I glance toward the sound, then back at his face on the screen.
“Someone’s here,” I say. “Can I call you back?”
“Actually, put me on hold for a second. I can wait, and we need to finish this convo while I actually have free time.”
I pad to the front door in my fuzzy socks, already knowing who I’ll find on the other side. Elle stands there with a bottle of wine and a determined expression that usually means she’s about to meddle in my life.
“We need to talk,” she says, pushing past me into the house.
“Hello to you, too. Come right in.” I gesture toward my laptop on the coffee table. “Gavin’s on a video call. You remember my brother?”
Elle’s face lights up as she spots Gavin on the screen. “The heroic ER doctor who saves lives while his sister runs a hockey empire? How could I forget?”
“Elle!” Gavin grins, waving from the screen. “Perfect timing. I was just trying to talk sense into our girl here.”
“About Campbell?” Elle heads straight for my kitchen, pulling a corkscrew from the drawer like she lives here. “Because I have thoughts.”
“So do I,” Gavin says. “And they all involve Sutton stopping her spiral of noble self-sacrifice.”
I sink onto my couch, positioning the laptop so both Elle and I are visible to Gavin. “I love how you two are ganging up on me.”
“We love you,” Elle says, settling beside me with two glasses of wine. “Which is why we’re not going to let you sabotage your own happiness.”
“I’m not sabotaging anything. I’m being practical.”
“Bull,” Gavin says from the screen.
Elle nearly spits out her wine. “I’ve always liked you, Gavin.”
“He’s not usually this aggressive,” I mutter. “This is serious.”
“It is serious,” he continues. “Sutton, can I say something without you getting defensive?”
“When have I ever gotten defensive?”
Both Elle and Gavin give me identical looks that remind me exactly why having people who know you too well is the worst.
“Fine,” I sigh. “Tag-team me. Say your piece.”
Gavin leans forward in his chair. “You know I never wanted to run the team, right? Even before I went to med school, even when Dad was grooming Jimmy to take over, I knew it wasn’t for me. But you? You were born for this.”
“He’s right,” Elle adds. “I’ve watched you turn the Renegades into something incredible. You understand hockey, you understand business, you understand people.”
“You’ve done what Dad never could have imagined,” Gavin continues. “Jimmy couldn’t have done it. I couldn’t have done it. You’ve built something amazing while dealing with men who question your every move just because you’re a woman.”
“So why,” Elle jumps in seamlessly, “are you letting those same men dictate your personal life now?”
The question hits me like a physical blow. “That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Isn’t it?” Gavin’s voice is gentle but relentless. “You’re so worried about what the board thinks, what the media thinks, what random people think, that you’re sacrificing your own happiness.”
Elle nods. “What did you tell me when I was freaking out about dating Dixon? When I was convinced the team would think I was unprofessional?”
I take a sip of wine, not liking where this is headed. “I told you that you deserved to be happy.”
“And?” both Elle and Gavin say in unison.
Despite everything, I laugh. “Did you two rehearse this?”
“Great minds,” Elle says with a shrug. “Now answer the question.”
“I told Elle that two consenting people could handle their professional relationship like adults. And that we make the rules.”
“Exactly,” Gavin says from the screen. “We make the rules. So why don’t those same rules apply to you?”
“Because my situation is different—”
“Oh stop it, it’s not different,” Elle interrupts. “Sutton, I’ve watched you stand up to league commissioners, board members, and your own family. You’ve never backed down from a fight when it mattered. But now, when it comes to your own happiness, you’re running away.”
“From a man who looks at you like you have the answers to the universe and beyond,” Gavin adds. “A man who, from what Elle’s told me, stayed late to jump your car battery and showed up in a tuxedo to be your backup at a fancy party.”
I stare at both of them—Elle beside me with her fierce loyalty, Gavin on the screen with his steady warmth. “You two have been talking about me?”
“Elle contacted me after your last conversation,” Gavin admits. “We’re worried about you.”
“We’re worried you’re about to throw away something amazing because you’re afraid,” Elle says softly. “Plus, I noticed you hadn’t even tried to wow me with your word of the day recently, and that makes me worry your little light could dim.”
“My light will never dim.” I shake my head, biting back a tiny laugh. Only a best friend could get away with the things this one says to me. “I appreciate you two being worried about me, but what if being with me costs him opportunities?”
“What if it doesn’t?” Gavin counters. “What if this Campbell is exactly as strong and capable as he seems?”
Elle turns to face me fully. “What if the problem isn’t that you’re too much for him, but that you’re scared you might not be enough?”
The words hit me like lightning, illuminating all the fears I’ve been hiding from myself. Not just that I might hurt Campbell’s career, but that I’m the one who might not be worth the risk.
“I saw how he looked at you in that gala photo,” Elle continues gently. “That wasn’t a man being taken advantage of. That was a man who didn’t realize he was falling in love.”
“The question is,” Gavin says from the screen, “what do you want, Sutton? Not what you think is safe or appropriate. What do you actually want?”
I close my eyes and let myself imagine it. Campbell’s smile, his steady presence, the way he makes me feel like I can handle anything as long as he’s beside me.
“I want him,” I admit quietly. “I want to see if we can make it work. I want to stop being so worried about everything.”
“Then there’s your answer,” Elle says. “You need to go get your man.”
“There’s a game tomorrow night,” I add.
“Are you going to go?” Gavin asks.
The question hangs in the air. Am I brave enough to show up? To face the cameras and the whispers and the possibility that Campbell might not want me back?
“I don’t know,” I say honestly.
“Well,” Elle says, raising her glass, “you’ve got about eighteen hours to decide if you’re going to keep hiding, or if you’re going to fight for what you want.”
“And whatever you decide,” Gavin adds from the screen, “you’ve got us in your corner.”
I look between them—my brother, who believes in me even from thousands of miles away, and my best friend, who won’t let me sabotage my own happiness. For the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe again.
“What if he doesn’t want to deal with me, with this anymore?”
“What if he does?” they say together, then look at each other and laugh.
“Okay, that was definitely rehearsed,” I say, but I’m smiling, too.
For the first time since this whole mess started, I think I know what I want to choose.
And I know exactly where and how to do it so I can get my point across—Sutton-style.