Chapter 16

Chapter 16
Max

It was midway through the third period when Max happened to glance up and see Devon Scott on the jumbotron. Devon was with his wife and others in his box. Max’s gaze started to slide back to the ice when he saw—
Holy shit. Was that Angie?
Fuck. It was.
She was grinning and waving at the camera, a blonde that he thought was Devon’s sister at her side and doing the same.
His eyes drank her in, desperate for any glance of her.
They’d managed to text for a few minutes every night and then had actually talked for a few hours last night, expanding on their favorite movies and TV shows, talking about comics and Marvel characters, what it was like to be a single dad, the projects Angie was working on at RoboTech. Unfortunately, it had been a crazy week for both of them at work, and Max hadn’t found time to pop in to her work with a special delivery of confetti—cough real flowers this time—as he’d planned. Which meant he was ramped almost to fever pitch, he was so looking forward to their date tomorrow.
Max had it all planned out.
Anna was taking Brayden to see a movie and then they were having a sleepover at her house.
Not that he was expecting anything—though frankly, he wasn’t opposed—but he just didn’t want to put any limits on where their date would go.
Or risk Brayden and Angie crossing paths.
The last thing he wanted to do was trigger his son’s ideas about getting a new mom. That wasn’t happening.
As far as he was concerned, love was the dirtiest four-letter word around.
Except, if he truly believed that, then why initiate the date?
Angie wasn’t a one-night stand. She was worth so much more.
Blane jabbed an elbow into his ribs. “What the fuck are you looking at?”
Max blinked, saw the screen was showing his team lined up and ready for the face-off. “Nothing,” he muttered, knowing he needed to concentrate on the last ten minutes of the game, not whether or not he could catch Angie before she left.
Because he really wanted to catch her before she left.
The whistle blew, the puck dropped, and Max forced his brain to focus back on hockey.
But it was painful . . . his mind had drifted to the upper bowl.



He grabbed his cell the moment he reasonably could—after their coach, Bernard, had spoken to them and after Stefan had given the celebratory puck to the player he’d thought was the best of the game.
Blue, that night. He’d not only put them off to an early lead, he’d also gotten a hat trick—three goals in one game.
So, it was well-deserved.
Even though Max wished the festivities had taken less time.
Regardless, he dialed Angie’s number on his cell, slipped out into the hall, and hoped she would pick up.
She did. With a rush of noise and a harried, “He-llo?”
“Don’t leave yet,” he said.
“What?”
“Don’t leave,” he repeated.
“Hang on,” she said, and the noise muffled. He could barely make out her say, “Go on, I’ll see you tomorrow at work.” Then she was back on the line. “Max?” she asked.
“I’m here.”
“Dang. Sorry, it’s so loud I can barely make out what you’re saying. Hold tight.” The din of voices in the background slowly faded. “There,” she eventually said. “I managed to find a quiet corner. Are you okay? Is Brayden all right?”
The fact she asked after his son undid him.
She’d met Brayden one time.
“Brayden’s fine,” he said.
Her relieved breath slid right into his exposed heart, curled deep inside. “Good. But now’s not really a good time. I’m kind of tired and—”
“Don’t leave.” Repeated sentiment, but hopefully one she heard this time. “Don’t leave without letting me see you, at least for a few minutes.”
Her laughter was nervous. “Leave where?”
“Angel, I saw you on the jumbotron.”
“Oh.” Air rustled through his speaker. “It’s not what you think. My friend from work invited me. I wasn’t trying to check up on you or—”
“I like that you came,” he said. “I liked seeing you up there.”
Her breath caught, her only response another, “Oh.”
“Come down?” he asked.
“I—uh—I can’t.”
“You don’t want to see me?”
She coughed. “I—that’s not it. I mean, I want to see you, it’s just Mandy. She’ll be busy, and if I run into her, I’ll mess things up.”
“That’s not true,” he told her then softened his tone. “You’ve made it this far. Don’t you want to talk to her? To me? I can show you around, and maybe you’ll be able to get rid of some of those regrets that are weighing you down.”
Silence.
His gut twisted.
He’d blown it. Pushed too hard. It was one thing for her to see him, another to see Mandy. He didn’t have the full story yet; he knew that. And still he’d pushed.
Max opened his mouth to apologize.
“I wonder if I’d do anything at all if I hadn’t met Kelsey, or you, for that matter.” Her tone was soft, almost questioning, and he sensed her shake her head. “I don’t know why I let myself get peer pressured into these situations.” Humor crept into her voice. “But let’s hope this round yields as good of results as the first time.”
He leaned back against the wall. “What kind of results did round one produce?”
“You.”
A grin split his lips. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” she muttered and took a page out of his book. “Oh. Now, tell me how to get down there before I lose my nerve.”
He felt like whooping but managed to play it cool. Just barely. “Head to the elevators outside section 101, and I’ll have someone come up and meet you. I just need to shower, and I’ll be ready to go.”
“O-okay.”
His heart clenched at the wobble in her voice. “Stay strong for ten more minutes, okay?”
“Okay,” she said, a little stronger.
“That’s my girl.”
Her breath caught.
“I’ll see you in ten.”
He hung up and hurried back into the locker room, stripping down at record speed, all while shooting a text to Sara, Mike’s wife.
Yes, that was a surefire way to start the Gold’s gossip train, but he also knew Sara was really good at putting people at ease. And she was tough enough to not let Angie turn tail and run.
Max took the world’s shortest shower then sprinted to the Family Suite.
He opened the door, saw the scene inside, and knew it was a good thing he’d sprinted.