Lahat ng Kabanata ng My Hockey Temptation : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

I was silent for a moment.The truth was, I didn't really know how to answer that. It was going both well and terribly. I was finding things, pieces of information that felt important but I had no idea what to do with them. I was making progress, but I was also making mistakes."It's complicated," I said finally."Complicated how?"I hesitated.Ethan noticed. "You don't have to tell me," he said quickly. "I know it's confidential. I just," He paused. "I saw you looking at your notes earlier. You looked worried. That's all."I let out a breath. "I am worried.""About what?"I stared out the window for a moment. The buildings were getting more familiar now. We were close to my apartment."I found something," I said. "Something about his family. Something that might be important."Ethan's brow furrowed. "What kind of something?""I don't know yet." I shook my head. "That's the problem. It's just hints, othing concrete.""But you think it's real?"I thought about the self-published artic

Third Person POVCarter's Bar & Grill hummed with its usual night energy.The lights were low and warm, casting golden pools across the polished wooden tables. The smell of grilled food and spilled beer hung in the air like a familiar blanket.Brielle’s eyes swept across the room, taking in everything at once. The couple in the corner who'd been nursing the same drinks for an hour. The group of businessmen at the center table who were getting louder with each round. The spilled drink near the pool tables that needed cleaning before someone slipped.She caught the eye of one of her servers, Marcus, a wiry guy with quick hands and an even quicker smile and pointed at the spill. He nodded, already grabbing a rag.The night was busy.Brielle had been on her feet for hours, checking on tables, resolving disputes, making sure the kitchen was keeping up with the orders. Her feet ached, even her lower back throbbed. But she was smiling.She always smiled when the bar was full. It meant she

Brielle stared at him.For a moment, she was genuinely speechless. Then the words registered, and she laughed loudly. "You're joking," "I'm not.""You want to," She gestured between them. "You want an arrangement? With me?""Why not?""Why not?" She laughed again, but there was no humor in it. "Because I don't even like you. Because you're arrogant and entitled and you walked into my bar like you owned the place. Because,""Because I saw you," he cut in.She stopped. "Excuse me?""Earlier. In the bar." His voice was steady. "I saw you with that customer. The one in the corner booth."Brielle's eyes narrowed.She knew exactly what he was talking about. One of her regulars had been flirting with her earlier. She'd let him buy her a drink. She'd smiled at him, laughed at his jokes, let him lean in close, they had also made out. But Jeffrey had seen it."So?" she said. "It's my bar. I can talk to whoever I want.""I'm not saying you can't." He was still holding out the card. "I'm just s

"I said you look fine." Jeffrey's smirk widened. "Fine. That's exactly what you look like. Completely fine.""Jeffrey," the coach warned again.But Mason was already stepping closer. His hands were clenched at his sides, his jaw tight, his entire body vibrating with barely contained rage."You have something to say," Mason said. "Say it to my face. Stop hiding behind bullshit.""Bullshit?" Jeffrey laughed. "That's rich. You're the one who's been dragging this team down. You're the one who's distracted. You're the one who can't seem to get his head in the game.""Dragging the team down?" Mason's voice rose. "I've carried this team on my back for years. Where were you?""Where was I?" Jeffrey stepped closer, his voice rising to match Mason's. "I was on the ice, actually working. Not hiding in the locker room. Not pretending to be injured.""Don't talk about something you know nothing about.""I know everything about you." Jeffrey's eyes were cold. "I know you think you're better than ev

"I'm not lying.""Then why are you pushing me away?"Because I'm scared. Because I still haven't forgiven you for walking away, and I don't know if I ever will.But I didn't say any of that."I'm not pushing you away," I said instead. "I'm being realistic. We're not the same people we were five years ago. We can't just... fall back into something because it feels familiar.""I'm not asking you to fall back into anything." His voice was rough. "I'm asking you to give me a chance. That's all.""A chance for what?""For something." “Just let it go.” I insisted."You haven't moved on." He groaned."Stop." "You haven't," he insisted. "If you had, you wouldn't have kissed me back. You wouldn't be sitting here right now, looking at me like you're trying to convince yourself to leave.""You don't know what you're talking about.""I know you, Aria." He leaned closer, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. "I know you better than anyone. And I know that you still feel this. Whatever this is