Novel-novel oleh felixmaurer870

POV: JaceI stared at Ethan's text about the administrative login logs, put my truck in gear, and started back toward Frost Arena. Before I'd even pulled into the players' lot, my phone rang—the PR coordinator telling me she needed me in the media room immediately, no exceptions. By the time I parked and walked inside, she was already waiting by the entrance with a thick binder, cutting me off before I could head down the hallway to meet Ethan and leading me straight into the executive media rooms.I dropped into the leather chair across from her, my jaw tight and my brow furrowed as I thought about the administrative login logs. She looked up from her papers, narrowed her eyes at my expression, and tapped her pen against the table."Stop frowning, Jace. You look like you are going to a funeral, not a school visit," she said.She slid a clipboard across the table toward me.I shifted in the chair and looked down at the typed schedule. "I am not frowning. I am just tired. Can we hurry

POV: Daisy"Did he run?" Emma asked, her tone shifting from curious to protective in an instant."It's complicated," I whispered. "He thinks I did something I didn't do. He thinks I'm a liar.""And you didn't tell him about the baby?""No," I said, looking her in the eye. "He made his choice. He chose his family and his reputation over me. If I tell him now, it'll just look like I'm trying to force my way back into his world."Emma studied me for a long moment, then let out a soft sigh. "You're incredibly stubborn, Daisy. You know that, right?""I'm surviving," I said."Fair enough." She stood up and held out her hand, bracing her arm to help me up. "Come on. Let's get you to your feet. Slowly."She didn't let go of my elbow until she was certain I was steady. She even insisted on walking me all the way down to the lobby and out to the bus stop on the corner. Before my bus pulled up, she pulled a pen from her pocket and wrote her number on the back of a crumpled receipt."Call me," Em

POV: DaisyI froze, my hand still braced against the counter, listening to the tumblers turn.Only one person besides Dad had a key to this house — Emma. I let out the breath I'd been holding and quickly wiped my face with the back of my wrist, not wanting her to see I'd been crying.The door swung open and Emma stepped inside, still in her work cardigan, a folder tucked under her arm. She took one look at my red-rimmed eyes and didn't bother with a hello."I saw the schedule sent to the school," she said, setting the folder down on the counter like it was something that might bite her. "Jace is coming to the school. I'm not letting you walk in there alone.""Emma, it's late—""I know what time it is." She pulled off her work cardigan and draped it over the back of a kitchen chair. "When you go to the school, I'm going with you. That is final."I shook my head, keeping my tone low so I wouldn't wake my dad resting down the hall or Oliver sleeping soundly in his small bedroom. "You can

POV: JaceEthan's message stayed on my mind throughout the drive across the city. I hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him after morning skate before my mother's office summoned me to review the foundation's schedule. Pulling my truck into the building's underground garage, I rode the elevator up to the executive floor and walked down the quiet hallway.The glass door of my mother's office clicked shut behind me, the sound echoing lightly off the polished marble floor. Victoria didn't look up from her desk immediately. She was sitting straight in her high-backed leather chair, her eyes fixed on the desktop monitor where an updated draft of the foundation's outreach schedule was open."You're late, Jace," she said, her voice clipped and cold. "And the local sports columns are already questioning why the foundation's itinerary changed to include a regular public school.""Practice ran long," I said, walking across the room to drop my keys onto the console by the door. "And the reporters

POV: JaceDaisy reached for the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up. I helped her get it off. Her hands moved over my chest, then down my stomach, slow and deliberate. I unfastened her jeans while she worked on mine. We undressed each other without hurry, clothes dropping to the floor in a quiet pile. When she was down to her underwear, I stepped back just far enough to look at her. The freckles across her nose, the soft rise of her breasts, the way her chestnut hair fell over one shoulder. She watched me watching her and didn’t look away.I stepped close again and kissed her, deeper this time. My hands slid down her back, under the waistband of her underwear, and I pushed them down over her hips. She stepped out of them. Then she did the same for me, pushing my boxer briefs down until I kicked them aside. We stood naked in the cool air of the room, bodies pressed together, the heat of her skin against mine.I guided her back onto the bed. The thick blanket was soft beneath us. I kiss

POV: JaceI hadn't slept much since Ethan walked out of the locker room the day before. His words kept circling— some doors are better left shut —and every time I closed my eyes, I pictured him locking his phone screen rather than showing me what was on it. Whatever he'd found in those files, it was bad enough that my own teammate and friend wouldn't even say it to my face.I had planned to corner him right after morning skate. But before I could even finish my coffee, the team's PR assistant called, telling me I needed to head in. Ethan’s radio silence got pushed to the back of my mind—not gone, just buried beneath whatever fresh disaster was waiting for me now.After taking the time for a thorough, non-negotiable post-practice shower and a quick bite to eat, I headed out, parked my truck in the players' lot, and walked inside. The assistant offered a tight, sympathetic nod as I crossed the bullpen, muttering that she was already waiting for me. I gave a brief, polite acknowledgment