All Chapters of The Hockey Star Wants Me Back: His Secret twins: Chapter 1 - Chapter 7

My chest felt tight, my breath hitching every time my eyes drifted back to the bolded name at the top of the roster.Aaron Carter.My hands were clammy as I gripped the edge of the kitchen table. Panic clawed its way up my throat."Auntie Estie!" Ryan’s ecstatic shriek shattered the heavy silence of the apartment, followed immediately by the thud of his sneakers sprinting toward the front door.The lock turned, and Esther walked in, balancing a greasy paper bag from the diner downstairs and her massive designer purse. Before she could even set the food down, Ryan was practically climbing up her leg."Auntie Estie! Look!" Ryan yelled, thrusting his arm out to show off a small, slightly crumpled piece of paper. "I drew the Chicago Blizzard logo! And today at school, Leo said Aaron Carter's slap shot was weak, so I checked him into the cubbies! It was a clean hit!"Esther let out a loud, booming laugh, tossing her keys onto the counter. "A clean hit in kindergarten? That’s my boy. Did yo

{AARON POV}Everything stopped for a second; I could hear my own heartbeat.She stood next to Marcus Vance.Wearing a sharp, charcoal-gray corporate suit that didn’t fit her right it was slightly too big, masking the curves I used to know by touch. Her dark hair was pinned back in a neat, professional twist, exposing the elegant line of her neck. But it was her eyes those deep, familiar brown eyes that slammed into my chest, knocking every single ounce of oxygen from my lungs.Lauretta.My left hand went entirely numb. The extra leather glove I was holding slipped from my fingers and hit the rubber floor mat with a heavy thud. I didn't care. I couldn't move. My skates felt frozen directly into the ice.For five years, I had looked for her. hallucinating her face in crowded bars, on city streets, and in the quiet, agonizing hours after a game when the adrenaline wore off and left me entirely alone. I thought I was losing my mind. I thought my brain had finally snapped from the pressur

[LAURETTA POV]The ride to the arena was supposed to be twenty minutes, but I spent thirty sitting in car, staring at the brake lights ahead of me and trying to force my brain into compliance.“What photos? What receipts?”Aaron’s voice had played on a loop in my head all night, a heavy, rough echo that wouldn't leave me alone. The way he looked at me, the raw fury it hadn't looked like the arrogance of a man who had simply traded up for a wealthier socialite. It looked like the rage of someone who genuinely believed he had been wronged. For five long years, I had built my entire survival on the fact that he had abandoned me for fame and Vanessa Whitmore. But yesterdaymare me doupt myself. Was it possible that my impression on him all this time were wrong?I slammed my palms against the steering wheel, cutting off the thought. It didn't matter. The past was a luxury I couldn't afford to unpack. I had rent to pay, twins to feed, and a professional reputation to protect. Work came fi