47. Sutton

47

SUTTON

I tried to focus on rearranging cupcakes and the other baked goods Thea and I had brought. As if making the perfect display would erase the images in my mind. But I couldn’t. I just kept seeing that woman’s lips on Cope’s cheek, her hand on his arm.

My stomach churned, nausea settling in. It wasn’t that I thought Cope had done anything wrong; it was that he hadn’t told me he worked with an ex. It might not have been a lie exactly, but it was one hell of an omission.

“Sutton.”

Cope’s voice skated over my skin in that familiar sandpaper way. My body reacted instantly, the traitor. I looked up and forced a smile. “What do you need?”

Cope’s mouth pressed into a hard line as he rounded the table and gently took my arm, tugging me off to the side.

“I need to help. I?—”

“Warrior,” he cut me off. “There’s nothing between Angie and me, not anymore.”

My mouth snapped closed, my back teeth grinding together. “But there was.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway. “We dated for a couple of months. It wasn’t serious.”

“Looked like it was serious to her.”

I knew what it felt like to look at Cope and wish for something you couldn’t have. But Cope had come along and given me a dream I hadn’t thought was possible. Today was just a reminder of what I could lose.

Cope scrubbed a hand over his face as guilt splashed across his features. “I didn’t realize she felt that way until today.”

I tugged the corner of my lip between my teeth. “You should’ve told me. I know you have a past, but you should’ve given me a heads-up that I was about to meet that past.”

“I didn’t know she would be here?—”

“Cope.” I cut him off with that single word.

“I should’ve assumed.”

“And you should’ve told me that you work with someone you were involved with. That’s respect. You want this to be more, but you have to treat it like that, too. I don’t want to be in another relationship where someone lies to me. By omission or otherwise.”

A muscle fluttered in Cope’s jaw. He opened his mouth to speak, but Frankie cut him off. “Reaper, stop flirting. We gotta suit up.”

Cope’s gaze swept over my face. “Later.”

I gave him a quick nod, but unease settled in my belly. I didn’t like being at odds with Cope. Didn’t like having something hanging that felt unfinished. But more than that, I hated the sting of doubt making its home in my chest right now.

The Sparks moved across the ice with an ease I’d never truly seen before, and this was only an exhibition scrimmage. There was a beauty to it I hadn’t expected. And Cope was one of the best out there. At least, as far as I could tell.

He dodged and weaved, escaping one player and then another, sending the puck flying into the net. The kids leapt to their feet in the bleachers, cheering their heads off. I spotted Luca jumping up and down, going absolutely wild.

“Thank you for feeding my team,” a deep voice said to my right.

My head swiveled to take in Lincoln Pierce. He wasn’t wearing a suit like I expected. He was dressed casually in jeans, worn boots, and a button-down. But something told me each item of clothing had cost more than I pulled in during an entire day at the bakery. And I didn’t miss the glint of gold at his wrist where a watch peeked out.

“It’s the least I could do. Thank you for making these kids the happiest I’ve ever seen.” Having the Sparks here for a whole week would be something they’d never forget.

Linc watched the players skate back across the ice. “It’s good for my team, too. To remind them what it’s all about. Might be something we need to do every year.”

“That would be incredible. I know the community would love it.”

Frankie shot the puck and just made it into the net. As the kids cheered, he did some kind of dance across the ice. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“This really is a whole other world,” I mumbled.

I felt Linc’s eyes move to me. “You’ll get used to it. The attention on the guys can feel like a lot, but you won’t even notice it before long.”

I tried my best not to shift at Linc’s ability to read my thoughts. Because I wasn’t sure I’d ever handle this kind of scrutiny well. “I’m not great with it. The attention. For obvious reasons.”

There was no point in pretending Linc hadn’t seen the articles or the news coverage. He was here for a reason. And that was to change the narrative. That meant he, like countless others, had seen the photos of me at my most vulnerable. Bruised and broken.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you. Any man who lays hands on a woman—on anyone more vulnerable—is no man at all.”

There was a ferocity to Linc’s tone that had me searching his face. His hazel eyes sparked with a gold fire that spoke of rage, something he shouldn’t have felt for a woman he barely knew. I felt the bizarre urge to comfort him. “I’m okay now. I got out. Got free.”

Linc gave me a clipped nod. “You did. Which tells me you’re strong as hell.”

One corner of my mouth kicked up. “I try my best.”

“You’ve been good for Cope, too.”

That had me shifting from one foot to the other. “I like to think we’ve been good for each other.”

Just saying the words aloud reminded me. Reminded me of the belonging we’d given to one another, the home. How Cope loved my boy and me. It didn’t matter how many exes were waiting in the shadows or how many eyes were on Cope. Whatever lay in our path, we’d figure it out.

Linc smiled, and his whole face changed. It was then that I realized the man didn’t do it often. I’d seen him grin, caught his lips twitch, but not a full-out smile. Until now. And when he did, it was devastating.

“That’s how it should be. Give and take, each person making the other stronger,” Linc said.

“What about you?” I asked. “Do you have a partner who gives you that?”

The smile dropped, and the light went out of those hazel depths. “No. Hasn’t been in the cards for me yet.”

I hated that I’d made the light in his eyes dim. Because it was a shame when the shadowy coolness slipped back in. “You’ll find them. I have no doubt. And sometimes, they come around when you least expect it.”

Linc’s lips twitched. “Maybe I just need to move to Sparrow Falls. Seems like something’s in the water over here.”

Movement on the ice caught my attention. Cope was battling for the puck with another player. The other player turned, revealing his jersey. Warner.

Crap.

They shoved at each other, but Marcus slammed into Cope, sending him flying back a few paces as he stole the puck. Marcus wasn’t quite as artful as Cope, but he managed to dodge the few players between him and the goal and slapped the puck in.

Linc shook his head. “I really hope those two don’t kill each other one day.”

I winced. “The whole violence piece of this sport isn’t really my favorite.”

Linc glanced down at me for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Sutton, I needed that.”

I fought a grin. “Are you saying I’d better get used to it?”

“That or buy a blindfold for the games. It’s up to you.”

I sighed. “Blood and gore, yay.”

Linc just grinned. “I can see why you’re so good for Cope. Keep at it. If there’s one person who deserves light in his life, it’s him.”

With that, Linc turned and strode off. But something told me Linc also needed light in his life.