Chapter 37

Cha pter 37

Amber

My eyes blur, and I figure it's probably time to head to bed. I'm not getting much studying done at this point anyway. Everybody left nearly two hours ago. Noah was the last to leave. He listened while I poured my long, sordid story out to him. He stared at me with that intense gaze of his, thankfully not pitying me. He didn't scold me either, like he used to when we were younger. He just listened. When I finished, he stood up, said goodnight and disappeared. And that was that. That's how it is with Noah. He's like a phantom, a ghost. He shows up once in a while and then disappears again, but I'm grateful he came. I know he loves me; this is how he shows it—flying in from some unknown country for just a few hours to check on us before he has to fly out again.

I stand up and stretch and start picking up. There's a soft tap at the front door, causing me to frown. I head that way and open it cautiously. Seeing Noah, I pull it back all the way. "Did you even check first?" he asks in a scowl.

"Well, if you had a cell phone like a normal person, you could have called me and I would have known it was you," I return.

"I don't use cell phones."

"Yes, I know." We give him a hard time about it, but he has his reasons. He told me once that cell phones get you dead...whatever that means. He follows me into the living room, and I turn to face him, wondering what he wants this time of night.

"It's over," he says in a low tone.

"Uh, what's over?" I ask in complete confusion.

"The other guy. He'll never bother you guys again. You're free to be with the guy you love."

I blink and then blink again. There was so much to unpack there. "The guy I love?" I guess I'll start there, not with the disturbing part about Adam never bothering me again.

"The hockey player," he says.

"They both play hockey," I say dumbly.

He scowls. "Stop being difficult. The other guy— Adam —will never bother you again. That video will never surface."

"Is he dead?" I can't help it; that's where my mind's gone.

He gives me a look. "No, he's not dead."

"Okay, phew. I mean I know what you do for a living and all, but I really can't have you killing my baby's daddy. I mean that's all sorts of family drama to unpack when she gets older and wants to meet her dad but she can't because...you know her uncle offed him."

"Offed him?" He gives me a look that's so typical Noah, I can't help but laugh.

"I don't know what you call it."

He shakes his head. "He's still alive, unfortunately, but he'll never bother you again. The video is gone."

I stare at him, trying to read him; but that's next to impossible. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with and now you can be with the hockey player that you actually love."

I scoff. "I don't love Rico."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't. We haven't even been together long enough for that. I don't..." my voice trails off.

"I make my living off of reading people, and I'm never wrong. You love him."

I stare at him, open-mouthed. "But that's not...possible. We've barely been together."

He shrugs. "When the heart knows, it knows."

I stare at him, open-mouthed. "Were you just a romantic then?" He scowls at me, and I can't help but grin. "You have a heart buried under all that gruffness somewhere." Of course, I already know that. He wouldn't be standing here in my living room this late at night if that weren't true.

"He loves you too."

His words knock the air from my lungs. I start to argue, but his look shuts me down. "But you're going to have to trust him. You're going to have to break down the steel wall around your heart, Little Sister, and let him in. I know you don't trust well." He grimaces. "We share that trait, all three of us because of dad walking out on us."

I take a breath. "I'm glad he walked out; we didn't need him."

"Yeah, we did, Kid. And he walked out anyway." He stares at me intensely for a few moments. "Don't let this guy go just because you're scared. He's the real deal."

"How do you know?" I can't help the question.

He gives me a softer look. "I know."

I'm so overwhelmed with everything that's happened tonight, I walk over to him and wrap my arms around him. "Thank you."

He rests his head on my head for a moment. "You're welcome." Then he pulls back, and he's once again the guy who flies around the world saving people. "I gotta go. Take care of yourself." I know he's getting ready to leave.

"Wait. Did you even get to see Mom?"

He nods. "I spent time with her this afternoon."

"Oh. Please be safe, Noah. I love you."

"Love you too, Kid." He glances down at my belly. "Take care of my niece."

A soft smile crosses my lips. "I will." I don't even ask him how he knew it was a girl; he always knows everything. He opens the door and steps out. I watch him go a minute, not knowing when I'll see him again. I close the door and lock it and lean my forehead against it for a few minutes. What he did for me tonight, I don't know if I'll ever get over it. I trust him completely. If he says Adam won't be a problem anymore, he won't be. The idea that I can now be with Rico leaves me breathless. I pull out my phone and stare at it. I have so much going through my head, but I keep it simple. I thank him for not giving up on me. My heart nearly combusts when he tells me I'm it for him. I stare at my phone for a long time before putting it down. I sleep better that night than I have in a long time.

The next morning, I'm up early and antsy. It's Sunday, so I don't have class or work. I check the schedule and see that Rico doesn't have a game today. I walk over to the counter and grab my keys. I am going to do this. I make the drive over to his house. But once I park, doubt creeps in. I'm not sure how long I sit in the car, staring at the front door before I finally make myself go up the porch steps and knock on the front door. He opens the door, and my mouth dries up. He's only wearing sweats, hung low on his hips. My eyes take in the wide expanse of his bronzed skin with multiple dark tattoos.

"Did you look your fill?" I hear the humor in his voice.

I shrug. "Not really. I mean if you're going to put all that perfection in front of me, who am I not to look?"

His eyes dance. "Come on in here." He steps back, so I can step in. When I do, I brush against his chest, and his cologne hits my nose. I take a deep breath, letting the comforting scent of him fill my nose. "What are you doing here?" he asks softly.

"I needed to come see you." He stares down at me intently. I look down at his chest again before looking back up at him. "Um, do you think you could put a shirt on? It's hard to concentrate."

He grins. "Give me a sec." He's back in record time, and I'm disappointed to see he did indeed put on a shirt. But it's good because maybe I can concentrate now. "So why did you need to come see me, Amber?" His words are light, but I can hear the seriousness behind them.

"Noah said he took care of Adam; he'll no longer be a problem."

Rico stares down at me. "Is he dead?"

A laugh bubbles out of me. "That's exactly what I asked! Noah said no. I actually don't know what Noah did or said to him, but he said he took care of it. And I trust him."

It's quiet between us a minute before he asks, "Do you trust me?"

I swallow and go for one hundred percent honestly. "No." His face falls. "But I'm trying." His eyes meet mine. "I don't trust anybody, I guess. Noah brought some of this to my attention. He said it has to do with our dad leaving us and probably everything else I went through." I know Rico understands that because his own dad walked out on him and his mom and sister. "I don't trust well, but I do know that I trust you probably more than I do anybody else and that counts for something."

He studies my face. "What about Adam?"

I shake my head. "I want nothing to do with him. I haven't wanted to since the night I found him in bed with another woman. The only reason I went back with him—" I swallow. Here goes. " He had a video."

Rico's eyes narrow in confusion. "What video?"

I meet his gaze head-on. "He had a video of you and Gunner fighting his team. He said he was going to release it, and that you and Gunner would be released from the Green Thunder because they have a strict no-fighting off the ice policy." He stares at me.

His eyes turn hard. "He blackmailed you with that? To stay with him? You should have told me."

"Do you have a no-fighting policy? Would that video have gotten you in trouble?" His silence is all I need for an answer. "Rico, why would you fight if you knew what would happen?"

He steps close. "Amber, I would do it all over again. I have no regrets for what happened that night. If I lost my spot on the team because of it, then so be it."

My eyes widen in horror. "That's exactly why I went back with Adam. I couldn't let that happen!"

"That wasn't your decision to make."

I stare at him in shock. "You're mad?" I ask incredulously.

"No, I'm not mad; I'm furious."

"Why?" I sputter.

"Because instead of talking to me, you took matters into your own hands. We almost lost everything between us over this."

My eyes are wide as I try to reason with him. "Rico, I wasn't going to let you ruin your career over this!"

"That wasn't your decision to make." I don't even have words. "I would give up my entire career to have a chance with you."

I shake my head. "No. That's not—"

"Amber, when will you get this through your beautiful head. I love you. If I had to give up everything to be with you, I would."

I stare at him. "No."

He cocks his head to the side. "Why no?"

"I'm not worth it; I'm not worth giving up hockey…your life for."

He smiles. "Baby, hockey hasn't been my life since the moment you walked in and stole my heart. Hockey has taken a backseat since then."

"Rico," I whisper as a tear drips. He catches it with his thumb.

He sighs. "Will you stop fighting me and just let me love you?"

I close my eyes as more tears drip. "I don't know how," I whisper.

His hands frame my face. "Then let me show you." His lips cover mine so gently; it's barely a touch. "Let me spend the rest of my life showing you."