57. Darcy

CHAPTER 57

DARCY

I'm pacing a hole into the living room rug when Hayden gets home from practice.

"Well?"

"You look… beautiful?" His eyebrows quirk with confusion.

"Hayden." I give him an exasperated look, and he starts laughing. I'm in leggings and his old hockey hoodie, with my hair in a messy bun on top of my head.

"What?" He grasps my hips and walks me back until I'm against the wall, his lips on my neck, making me shiver. "I like when you wear my hoodie. You're so cute in it."

"I like wearing it, too." My breath catches as his teeth nip my earlobe. "It's soft, and it smells like you."

He sucks the sensitive skin beneath my ear, and my lips part in response.

Since we started hooking up, I've learned that Hayden is even more physically affectionate than I thought. I thought he was touchy-feely when we were friends? No. That was his affection on light mode. Every time we're in the same room, his hands are on me—in my hair, around my waist, on my thigh—or if we're walking, he has one interlaced with mine.

And yet, he won't let us go all the way in the bedroom. I'm crawling out of my skin with horniness. As his lips press to my neck and his fingers sneak beneath the hem of the hoodie, toying with the waistband of my leggings, heat coils between my legs. His scent washes over me, clean and fresh from his post-practice shower, and I sigh.

Wait.

"Stop distracting me. The trade deadline is tonight. Did Ward sign Luca Walker?"

He pulls his phone out to check his email. Ward sends out team memos whenever someone joins the organization. "Still no."

I make a strangled noise of frustration. I know he's mentioned it to Ward already.

"I texted Alexei about him, too. He didn't respond." I chew at my bottom lip, insides in knots. I've been watching more of Walker's college games, and the nagging feeling that he could thrive on the Storm only grows stronger every day.

The school year's ending. Now is the time to draft him. Before someone else does.

I glance at the time. Ward's probably still at the arena. My lungs expand with a big breath before I meet Hayden's curious, entertained expression.

"I need to go to the arena," I tell him, closing my laptop and sliding it into my bag.

"Now?"

"Right now."

He beams. "Great. Let's go."

The receptionist is gone for the evening, so I'm grateful Hayden's here to buzz me into the quiet offices. He takes a seat in the private lobby outside the corporate offices and sends me a playful wink. "I'll be right here. Go get 'em, tiger."

I nod, heart in my throat. I can't believe I'm about to do this.

Ward's office door is open, and I rap a quick knock on it as I breeze inside.

"Hi," I say, louder than intended, and he looks up. I clear my throat and lower my volume to a socially acceptable level. "Sorry. Hi."

Amusement dances in his eyes. "Hi, Darcy."

He doesn't seem surprised to see me.

"You need to sign Luca Walker." I set my laptop on his desk so he can see the screen before coming around to his side. "Here's my data." I flip through the models. "I've reviewed every college game of his I could find. The same hunch I had about the Storm power plays and penalty kills? I feel that about this guy." I point at my screen with urgency, heart beating in my ears. I don't even recognize myself right now. The old Darcy would have let this go and then secretly resented Ward and myself for it for the rest of eternity, all while telling myself it was fine.

I don't know where that version of me is, but the person I am today? She knows she's right.

"You need to draft him before someone else does."

Ward studies me thoughtfully for a long moment, and I hold my breath. "I know," he finally says.

"You know ?" I shake my head at him. "So what's the delay? Money?"

He leans back in his chair. "Come work for me."

I'm about to protest, but he shakes his head.

"I can't figure out what the hang-up is." He gestures at my laptop. "This is clearly what you're meant to be doing."

Right? something deep in my chest shrieks. My mind flits to the Women in STEM event, to Georgia, to the guys on the Storm. All these people who love their jobs.

Why can't I have that? Why don't I deserve to put the past behind me, learn, and move on? I'm so tired of letting the past hold me back.

I take a seat in the club chair across from his desk, clasping my hands together between my thighs. "It's a lot of pressure."

He nods. "Yep."

"A lot of eyes on the team." Especially this season, when they're ranking better than they have in years. Fans are getting excited.

"Definitely."

Silence stretches between us, and my thoughts yank to my boring job. The thought of staying there another twenty, thirty years gathers cold dread in the pit of my stomach.

Would I hate myself if I looked back on my life and wished I had done it differently? Would I regret not taking a job that sends an excited thrill through me?

"We're a team," Ward says quietly. "I'm never going to hang you out to dry alone. Win together, lose together."

I'm so afraid of failing again, but what about all the things I could lose out on? What if it's the best job of my life and it's exactly where I need to be? I could help people in this role.

Something occurs to me and my gaze snaps to Ward's. Something that could torch this whole thing.

"I have a conflict of interest."

His eyes narrow. "Go on."

I search for the words to explain what's happening with Hayden and me and come up empty. "Hayden Owens."

He makes a noise of acknowledgment and nods, surveying the scenery outside the office windows that overlook the city. Finally, he turns back to me and shrugs. "I'm not concerned. We have three other analysts to watch for conflicts, and I'll bring it up with the owner and legal team, but unless you're heavily into sports betting?—"

"I'm not," I rush out.

Ward chuckles. "I figured." His dark brows bob, and the final question lingers in his quiet office. "Take a risk, Darcy."

In the lobby, Hayden stands when I come sprinting around the corner. "How'd it go?"

"I took the job."

He lets out a surprised laugh and catches me as I leap into his arms. "I took the analytics job with the team."

Hayden's proud smile is devastatingly handsome. "You did?"

"Uh-huh." I feel like I'm flying, like my heart is about to explode into a cloud of sparkles.

"That's my girl." He wraps his arms around me and I yelp in surprise as he spins me around before pinning me to the wall. His mouth crashes to mine. We're a tangle of lips and moans and teeth, my hands in his hair, my legs around his waist.

"I'm so fucking proud of you," he says between devouring kisses.

It feels so fucking good to be free, like I'm finally soaring after years in a cage.

Someone clears their throat, and we freeze. Ward stands ten feet away, eyebrows sky high, holding my laptop.

"You forgot this."

My face goes molten hot. "Thanks," I squeak.

Ward just laughs and shakes his head. The second he turns the corner, Hayden and I look at each other and burst out laughing.