Page 109 of Pucking Forbidden

It doesn’t matter. I’ll fucking figure it out.

Somewhere along the way, I fell in love with her.

I’ve spent my whole life running from the dark, waiting for the world to take everything away from me, but I’m not running anymore. I’ve chosen her, and any obstacles that are in our way don’t stand a fucking chance.

CHAPTER FORTY: SPACE

JULIAN

Once Hadley and I return to Denver, we both hit the ground running. Her with school, and me with practice. Coach doesn't care about holiday fatigue. He cares about keeping us sharp before the December stretch.

Two days after we get back, as I skate hard through a three-on-two rush drill, my eyes keep tracking up toward the glass-walled offices overlooking the rink. Hadley is up there. She’s sitting at the small round table in the corner of Coach’s office, a thick textbook open in front of her, her fingers typing furiously on her laptop. She’s wearing one of my old navy blue Night Hawks hoodies, the sleeves swallowed up around her wrists.

Looking at her, the exhaustion in my legs vanishes. I feel lighter than I have in months. Years, maybe.

Chicago is behind me. The secret meeting with Coach Williams, the allure of a massive four-year contract in my hometown, the guilt of leaving Mrs. Clay…it’s all done. I made my choice, and I chose Denver. I chose her. For a guy who has spent his entire life waiting for the ceiling to collapse, constantly drafting contingency plans for when people inevitably leave me, this feeling is foreign, but so good.

“Wilder! Stop daydreaming and get on the boards!” Coach bellows from the bench, his whistle screeching.

I let out a low chuckle, digging my blades into the ice and skating back to the line. I catch Jensen winking at me from across the blue line, but I just shake my head.

By the time practice wraps up, the ice is a chewed-up mess. The locker room empties out at record speed. The guys are desperate to get home to their families, the heavy doors slamming shut one by one. The facility falls into that deep, echoey silence that always follows a hard skate.

I shower, throw on a clean pair of grey sweatpants and a black long-sleeve tee, and head out into the back hallway. I find Hadley near the dark corridor just outside the physical therapy offices. She’s leaning against the cinderblock wall. Still buried in my massive hoodie, her ankles crossed as she scrolls through her phone. The second she hears my heavy footsteps, her head snaps up.

A bright, breathtaking smile transforms her face, her brown eyes softening with a warmth that knocks the wind right out of my lungs.

“Hey,” she whispers.

I don't even say it back. Before my rational brain can build up a wall and remind me that we’re in a public facility where her grandfather is the boss, I close the distance between us.

My hands come up, my palms cupping her soft cheeks, and I pull her into a heavy, deep kiss. Hadley lets out a small, breathless gasp against my mouth, but she doesn't pull away. Instead, her hands fly up, her fingers gripping the fabric of my shirt, anchoring herself to me as I press her back against the wall.

The heat of her mouth, the familiar, clean scent of her skin…it’s everything I’ve been craving while staring at hotel ceilings in Texas and New Mexico. I deepen the kiss, my thumb tracing her jawline, consumed by the feel of her body pressed tight to mine.

“What the hell is going on here?”

The voice hits us like a bucket of freezing water. I’ve only heard it over the phone, but it’s one I’d recognize anywhere.

Everything stops, and it feels like the air in the hallway turns to solid ice.

I pull back slowly, turning slightly so I’m shielding her body with my own.

Standing ten feet away, his arms crossed over his pristine designer trench coat, is Liam Sullivan. Hadley’s dad. His face is a dark, mottled crimson, his jaw clenched so tight the muscles in his neck are throbbing. His sharp eyes, burning with fury, slide from my hand on his daughter’s shoulder up to my face.

Hadley stiffens beneath my arm, her breath hitching in a sharp spike.

“Dad,” she breathes. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see my daughter,” Liam replies with a growl. “But instead, I find you pinned against a wall in a public hallway with a man I know is way too old for you. What the hell do you think you’re doing, Hadley?”

“Sir, I can explain,” I rumble, stepping in front of her.

Liam doesn't even flinch. He steps forward, his chest puffing out as he glares up at me. “I don’t want to talk to you, Wilder. I want to talk to Hadley. Move out of my way.”

“I’m not going anywhere unless Hadley says to,” I insist.

“Julian, it’s fine,” Hadley grumbles. She sidesteps me, marching right into the space between us. She raises her chin and gazes up at her dad. “Do not talk down to him, Dad, and please don’t try to lecture me about this. I’m doing my homework, I’m passing my classes, and I’m working a part-time job and living on my own. Who I’m with is none of your business.”