38. Sawyer

Chapter 38

Sawyer

The crowd explodes in cheers, drowning out the whistle signaling the end of the game that just brought us one step closer to the playoffs. There are thousands of beaming faces in the crowd, most of them cheering for the Aces, but my eyes immediately scan them for Violet’s.

There she is, holding Jake at her side and waving excitedly at me as Jake squirms in her arms. I make a heart with my hands at the two of them, knowing that Jake will be the only one who can make it back at me. He does, his little hands making more of a circle than a heart, and Violet laughs but keeps waving.

I take a victory lap around the ice with the rest of the Aces, then follow them into the locker rooms to freshen up. Dunaway tells us that there’s already a gaggle of journalists wanting to talk to us, but while we’re arguing about who’s going to go do the interviews, I hear my phone ringing in my locker and rush off to get to it and answer it before it stops.

It’s Desiree, my agent, so I swipe to answer and bring the phone to my ear, despite all the noise in the locker room. “Hi, Desiree. You caught me at just the right time. I’m hoping you’re calling because you have good news?”

She laughs on the line. “Well, that depends,” she says with the hint of an accent. “How do you feel about a commercial opportunity with Beaumont?”

I almost drop the phone because they’re one of the biggest brands in hockey. “You mean like the Beaumont? The equipment company?”

“That’s the one. They liked the media package we had put together for you, and they’re interested in having you shoot a commercial for their newest line of skates.”

“Are you serious?”

“Sawyer, I’m your agent. I’m always serious when I call with something like this. So, what do you say?”

A grin splits my face so fast it hurts. “Hell yes! Let’s do it.”

“Excellent. I’ll let them know and be in touch with you about next steps. I’m sure they’ll be pleased as well. You’re quite the rising star, you know.”

“You’re my agent. Aren’t you supposed to say that kind of stuff?”

Desiree laughs into the line again. “Now you’re getting it. Congratulations. Talk soon.”

She hangs up, but I just stand there staring at the phone. As if it wasn’t already exciting enough that the Aces are probably going to the playoffs, now I just had this huge marketing deal fall into my lap. I’ve been hoping to land some commercials or endorsements to extend my career beyond the ice, and it’s finally coming together.

I set a reminder on my phone to send Desiree a thank you gift, then round up all my stuff and head for the family and friends lounge to meet Jake and Violet.

Jake spots me first, his face lighting up like a thousand watt bulb.

“Daddy!” he shouts and weaves through the other gathered family members to get to me. He jumps the last few feet toward me, and I catch him to swing him around in a small circle. He giggles the whole way and doesn’t stop even when he’s sitting perched on my hip.

“Someone’s riding high,” Violet says when she catches up. I want to tell her the news about the commercial right away, but Grant strides into the room and Jake taps his hand on my shoulder to point him out.

“Daddy, Grant’s here! Can I go say hi?”

“Yeah, sure.” I set him back down on his feet and watch him tear off toward Grant.

“Uncle Grant!” he exclaims, and I realize Jake must actually have some kind of kid magic because he makes grumpy Grant break out into a smile. Grant scoops him up off the floor and lifts him over his head to park him on his shoulders, which Jake loves. His feet kick happily as they dangle, and he launches into a play-by-play recap of all the goals Grant stopped tonight, but Grant eats it up.

“That much closer to the playoffs, huh?” Violet asks.

“Yeah, and that’s not even the best part,” I tell her. But I don’t necessarily want the whole team knowing the news yet, so I lead Violet down the hall a bit where we can have privacy and no one will overhear us.

“I got some great news right after the game,” I say quietly. “You aren’t gonna believe it.”

Her eyes brighten. “What? Tell me!”

“Do you know Beaumont, the hockey equipment company?”

“Sawyer, are you kidding? My brother is a professional hockey player too. Of course I know them.”

“Right, right. Sorry. Anyway, Desiree called to tell me that they want me to shoot a commercial for a new line of skates.”

“No way!” Violet looks like she’s going to jump out of her own skin with excitement, and it makes me feel even more thrilled. “Oh, my god! That’s amazing, congrats!”

She throws her arms around me, her lips meeting mine in a happy kiss. Before I can even register that we’ve made a mistake, a sharp voice cuts through the air.

“What the fuck ?”

It’s Reese. I can tell from his voice without even turning around to look at him. But when I do, he’s standing in the hallway a few feet away, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, looking at Violet’s hands draped around my neck like he can’t quite believe what he’s seeing.

My body moves in front of Violet’s instinctively, like it can sense a threat before my brain picks up on it, as Reese storms toward us. “What the hell is going on here?”

Neither of us answers for what feels like forever, until finally Violet steps around me to look her brother in the eye.

“Sawyer and I have been hooking up,” she says as evenly as she can.

Reese looks like I just punched him square in the guts. His expression falls and his eyes widen, and for a second, I swear I can see the room spinning in his vision. Not that I blame him. I don’t think I would’ve taken this news any better if I were in his shoes.

But this is exactly what we’ve been trying so hard to avoid all this time. I don’t want to blame Violet because it isn’t really her fault, but we should’ve known better than to be so friendly with each other around the rest of the team.

And especially around Reese.

I knew I was playing with fire, but I was stupid enough to think I could keep it under control. Well, now it’s firmly out of my control—and I’m about to get burned. Reese’s eyes drift back to mine, searching my face.

“Is she telling the truth?”

I’m too caught off guard to speak, and I’m afraid I’ll say the wrong thing if I try anyway, so I just nod. Reese brings his hands to his head and paces back and forth like a shark that smells blood in the water.

“What the fuck , Sawyer? I offer to set you up with the perfect person to watch your kid, and this is how you repay me?”

There’s nothing I can say to defend myself, so I just stay quiet. But Reese takes my silence as an attack and lunges at me. He catches himself before he does anything, but the betrayal staring back at me in his eyes hurts me more than any punch he might’ve landed.

I never meant for anyone to get hurt, least of all Reese. He’s right, he did Violet and me one hell of a favor by setting us up to help each other when we needed it. I feel so stupid, so guilty, and not just because of what I did—but because I never really even stopped to think about how much it might hurt one of my best friends when he inevitably found out.

Because as careful as we thought we were being, this was always going to happen. But I was too arrogant to see that.

“You promised me,” Reese mutters, and I feel my heart lurch at the ache in his voice. He gestures down the hall toward where our teammates are celebrating the win, oblivious to what’s happening outside the family and friends lounge. “Every one of you looked me in the fucking eyes and promised me you wouldn’t try anything with Violet.” His eyes narrow. “Guess that promise didn’t mean much, huh?”

“Reese,” Violet interjects, and he turns toward her.

“Don’t you start! You lied to me too, so I can’t trust a word you say either. Jesus, this is so irresponsible, Violet!”

“Hey. Be very careful what you say to her next,” I bite out, the back of my neck bristling at the way he’s talking to Violet.

He might be her brother, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him—or anyone else—treat her with anything but the respect she deserves.

Reese presses his lips together. He’s silent for a moment, and then he says, “You lied to me. Both of you.”

Clearly frustrated, Violet steps forward so she can face her brother fully. “I’m sorry. We should’ve told you. But neither of us wanted to say anything and make a big deal out of it because it was never anything serious. We agreed it would end when I leave, so we were just trying to keep things uncomplicated.”

She’s not wrong but hearing her say it feels like someone is driving a jagged shard of glass right into my heart. It doesn’t feel right. Doesn’t feel real. And it damn sure doesn’t match with the way things have been going between us lately.

Is she just saying this to calm Reese down, or does she mean it?

I can’t tell, but either way, it seems to be working. And that’s a relief because the last thing I want is for this to come to blows, but if Reese kept talking to her that way, it might’ve happened.

Still, Reese stares at his sister. “Yes, you should’ve. All I’m trying to do is make sure you don’t do something stupid or make a mistake that could cost you.”

Violet puts a hand on his shoulder. “We weren’t thinking, and it wasn’t intentional. I’m sorry. But this thing we have is going to be over soon anyway, so let’s not make a bigger deal out of it than we already have, okay?”

I flinch at her words and spin away so neither of them sees it.

She’s right, all of this will be over soon, and that realization sits on my chest like a fucking anvil, making every breath painful and labored. It doesn’t mean I have to like it, but it does mean that I have no right to ask for more. I know how badly Violet wants—no, needs —this job out in California to prove herself and rebuild her career, and I would never dream of holding her back from that. Especially not after what she’s been through to get to this point.

But I don’t have a clue how I’m supposed to go back to life without her when she does.