27. Emma

The icy windnips at my cheeks as I hurry across the parking lot, my breath puffing out in little clouds. Winter has Chicago in its frosty grip but I'm practically skipping, my heart light and giddy despite the cold. Things with the guys have been amazing lately—on and off the ice.

I slip into the arena, savoring the familiar smells of fresh ice and sweaty jerseys. The team is on a hot streak, their blades slicing across the rink in perfect synchronicity. But my mind keeps drifting to what happens after the final buzzer sounds.

With Ryan, it's been all lingering glances and soft caresses, the promise of something deep and real building between us. He took the news about my trio of hockey boyfriends surprisingly well.

"I'm not giving up on you, Em," he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "What we have…it's special. I can be patient." My stomach flipped at the sincerity in his brown eyes.

Things are decidedly less chaste with Slade, Alex, and Lukas. Movie nights turn into wandering hands, kisses that leave me breathless and aching for more. It's exhilarating and terrifying, trying to balance all these intense feelings.

I'm rustling through some paperwork when familiar voices drift down the hall.

"…telling you, she's into it," Lukas is saying, his tone gleeful.

"You better not pressure her," Slade warns. "We go at Emma's pace, yeah?"

"Always so protective, captain!" Lukas teases.

"I just don't want to screw this up." Slade sighs. "It's…different with her."

My cheeks warm, butterflies erupting in my stomach. I peek my head out of the office. "Are you boys talking about little ol' me?"

They turn, matching grins spreading across their faces.

"Busted," Alex chuckles. "But can you blame us?"

"Impossible not to, babe," Lukas winks.

Slade reaches for my hand, his touch igniting fireworks under my skin. "We still on for tonight? The four of us?"

"Wouldn't miss it," I breathe, already anticipating tangled limbs and sweat-slicked skin.

As they head to the locker room, I take a moment to compose myself. Four sexy, amazing men vying for my attention, my affection? Somebody pinch me—Emma Collins' luck has definitely taken a turn for the blissfully unbelievable.

A spring in my step, I make my way to my cubicle, visions of tonight's plans dancing through my head. The anticipation shimmers across my skin. I can't wait to be wrapped up in their arms again, lost in a tangle of passion and?—

I freeze, the daydream shattering as my eyes land on the angry black scrawl defacing my cubicle wall.

NEPO BABY

The words punch me in the gut, knocking the wind from my lungs. With a trembling hand, I reach out to trace the jagged letters, bile rising in my throat.

I've always known my family ties to the Blizzards could raise eyebrows.

But I never expected such blatant, cowardly hostility.

Tears blur my vision as hurt and humiliation wage war inside me. Who would do this? Why now, when I'm finally finding my place? I blink rapidly, trying to keep the tears at bay.

Whoever it was, I won't let them see me crack. I can't.

Whirling around, I make a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me. I slump against it, my pulse jackhammering against my ribs as I gulp for air. The cruelty of the anonymous attack swirls in my mind, reopening old wounds I thought long healed.

A tentative knock startles me, and I hastily swipe at my cheeks before cracking the door open. Chloe stands there, her brow furrowed with concern.

"Emma? What's wrong?"

The genuine worry in her voice unravels me. A sob catches in my throat as the truth spills out—my father, our family legacy with the team, the burden of expectation that's haunted me for years.

To my surprise, Chloe listens intently, her expression softening with understanding as I pour my heart out. When I finally fall silent, she reaches out and squeezes my hand, the simple gesture a lifeline in the storm of my emotions.

"Oh, Emma. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this," Chloe says, her voice gentle but firm. "But I want you to know that your talent and hard work stand on their own. You've earned your place here, no matter who your father was."

I nod, blinking back fresh tears as her words sink in. Hearing Chloe's unwavering belief in my abilities helps ease the ache in my chest, the nagging fear that maybe I don't deserve to be here after all.

"Thank you," I manage, my voice wobbly but sincere. "I just…I never wanted special treatment, you know? I wanted to prove myself on my own merits."

Chloe smiles, pride shining in her eyes. "And you have, Emma. Every single day. Don't let some cowardly idiot with a Sharpie tell you otherwise."

A watery laugh escapes me, and I impulsively hug her, grateful beyond words for her support. She rubs my back soothingly, and for a moment, I allow myself to just breathe, to let her strength bolster my own.

When we pull apart, Chloe fixes me with a determined look. "We'll find out who did this, Emma. I promise. In the meantime, hold your head high. You've got this."

I nod, trying to believe her words. As she turns to go, I stop her. "Chloe?" She turns around, holding her pregnant belly. She's due in a few weeks. "I just wanted to tell you…I think you're going to be a really good mom."

She reaches out to squeeze my hand, and I can tell she's genuinely touched. I mean every word. It's great to have someone like her on my side.

A couple hours later, I'm staring at a blank screen. The empty document taunts me, mocking my lack of progress. I run a hand through my hair, the strands escaping my messy bun as I heave a sigh. I can't let those trolls win, dammit.

But even as I straighten my shoulders and attack the keyboard with renewed determination, that poisonous anonymous message seeps into the cracks of my confidence. The ugly words flash in my mind despite my best efforts to banish them.

By late afternoon, my willpower is seriously flagging. Screw it, I need caffeine, and I need it now. I'm making a beeline for the break room when I nearly crash into a solid wall of muscle.

"Whoa there, Emma." Alex's hands grip my shoulders to steady me. His green eyes search my face, a frown tugging at his lips. "What's wrong, sweetheart? You look upset."

His gentle concern slams into me like a freight train, and I feel my composure crumbling. Before I can stop myself, I collapse against his broad chest, breathing in his comforting scent of clean soap and warm skin.

"Oh, Alex," I mumble into his shirt. "It's been a hell of a day."

His strong arms wrap around me, one hand stroking soothing circles on my back. "I'm here, babe. Talk to me."

And so I do. I start by telling him the truth about my dad. Alex confesses that he'd already figured it out, that he recognized me from around the facility all those years ago.

Once we get past that, the whole sordid story comes pouring out—the vandalism, Chloe's warnings, the anonymous trolling. Alex listens quietly, but I can see his shoulders rising with each word.

"Who the fuck do they think they are?" he finally bites out, his normally calm voice laced with suppressed fury. He tilts my chin up, forcing me to meet his blazing gaze. "Emma, you are a star at your job. Anyone who can't see that, or who doubts your reasons for being here, is a fucking idiot."

The absolute conviction in his words takes my breath away. In that moment, with his unwavering faith wrapping around me like armor, I start to believe that maybe, just maybe, I can rise above all the bullshit.

That I am enough, exactly as I am.

An irresistible urge seizes me, and before I can second guess it, I stretch up and capture Alex's lips in a scorching kiss. He makes a low noise of approval, his arms tightening around me as he takes control, deepening the kiss until I'm practically climbing him like a tree.

We stumble backward, my back hitting the wall as Alex presses his hard body flush against mine. The rest of the world fades away, narrowing down to the hot slide of his mouth, the intoxicating press of his hips, the electrifying dance of his fingers across my skin as they slip under the hem of my blouse.

Sweet baby Jesus. Making out with a gorgeous man at work is all kinds of inappropriate, but holy hell, I'm so far beyond caring right now. I just need more, more, more….

Alex's hand roams higher beneath my shirt, his calloused fingertips skimming the lace edge of my bra. A moan escapes my lips, muffled against his insistent mouth as he swallows down the needy sound.

We shouldn't be doing this here, not with the facility bustling just outside the flimsy break room door. But the exhibitionist thrill only amps up my desire, the forbidden nature of our tryst like a shot of adrenaline.

"Fuck, Emma," Alex groans, tearing his mouth away to blaze a trail of open-mouthed kisses down the column of my throat. "You drive me crazy, you know that? I've been dying to get my hands on you all day."

His words send a shiver racing down my spine, my head thunking back against the wall as his teeth graze the sensitive spot just below my ear. My hands rake his muscled back, nails digging through his dress shirt.

"God, Alex," I gasp out, arching into the delicious pressure of his body against mine. "I need you. I don't care if it's wrong to be doing this at work, I just…I need this. Need you."

A low growl rumbles through his chest, and then his mouth is back on mine, hot and demanding, his tongue sweeping past my parted lips to tangle with my own. I can feel the hard length of him pressing insistently against my stomach, and it makes me weak in the knees, my thighs clenching with the aching need to have him inside me.

We're both panting when Alex suddenly wrenches himself away, putting a few inches of charged space between us. I blink dazedly, my kiss-swollen lips tingling with the loss of him.

"Emma, wait," he rasps out, his voice rough with desire. "We can't do this here. Not like this."

I swallow hard, trying to corral my stampeding heart rate. He's right, of course he is. Hooking up in the break room in the middle of the work day is a one-way ticket to HR purgatory. But oh, how I want to throw caution to the wind and drag him back to me.

Alex steps further back, visibly collecting himself even as his eyes devour me, dark with promise. "Tonight," he says firmly. "Our place. I want to take my time with you, explore every inch of your gorgeous body until you're begging for mercy. Think you can handle that, sweetheart?"

A whimper escapes my lips at his heated words. "God, yes," I breathe out. "I'll be counting down the minutes."

He flashes me a wicked grin. "Atta girl. Now straighten yourself up and get that sexy ass back to work before I lose what's left of my self-control and fuck you right here against this wall."

I can't suppress the full-body shudder his filthy promise elicits. Forcing my shaky legs to move, I smooth down my rumpled blouse and rake a hand through my mussed hair. Alex watches my every move with predatory intent, like he's memorizing me, already stripping me bare in his mind.

"You know," I say, "I used to watch you play in the junior leagues. I had the biggest crush on you."

Alex laughs. "I'm aware. The looks you used to give me!"

I give him a playful smack on his rock-hard chest. "Hey, I was a tween! I thought I was being subtle."

Alex flashes me a wolfish grin. "Trust me, babe, there was nothing subtle about the way you eye-fucked me across the ice. I'm glad we've grown up, and now I can freely drag you into the locker room and have my wicked way with you."

My face flushes at the promise.

"Seriously, Emma," Alex says. "Don't let some hater get to you. And if you want me to hunt them down and destroy them, just say the word."

I laugh, but I can tell from his tone that he's serious. It feels so good to have someone on my side like this. And I have a feeling that if I told Lukas about this, or Slade, or Ryan, they'd all have the same reactions as Alex.

For the first time in years, I'm starting to feel like I have a chance at…a family.