Page 163 of With the Assist

She takes a step closer, stopping at the side of my bed. Her hands hold onto the bed railing so tightly that her knuckles turn white.

“Hi,” she says, face going soft when she sees me sitting upright. “You’re okay.”

I nod once, because if I open my mouth, I’m not sure what will come out. Her gaze flicks to the room around me, and her eyes widen when she notices my family standing in the corner.

“Oh,” she says, straightening immediately, professionalism snapping into place even as her eyes stay warm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize… I’m Wesley. Wesley Miller.”

My mom lights up as if she’s meeting a celebrity. I add it to the list of things that annoy me when it comes to my parents.

“His girlfriend.” My mom smiles widely. “We’ve been hoping to meet you.”

I drop my head, jaw ticking at her seemingly innocent words. I haven’t talked to my parents since Christmas, which means I never told them we broke up. Or weren’t real. Or whatever the hell happened.

I brace myself for Wesley’s correction. The one where she explains that I’m nothing to her. It doesn’t come.

Instead, Wesley’s smile is polite. “Nice to meet you.” She sticks out her hand, shaking both of my parents’ hands in turn.

“You too.” My dad claps his hands together once. “He’s lucky he’s okay. Which is what we were just saying. Sometimes these things are signs.”

Here we fucking go again.

I groan. “Dad, stop.”

My mom waves me off and turns fully toward Wesley. “We were telling him that maybe this is the universe saying it’s time to step away.” She trails off meaningfully. “Maybe you can help him see that.”

Wesley blinks once, then her expression turns to stone.

“I’m sorry.” Her tone is calm but sharpened underneath. “You want me to help him see what, exactly?”

My mom hesitates. “That it might be time to move on and think about the future. Grow up.”

“With respect,” Wesley says, standing taller, “Nathan is a grown man and a hell of a hockey player. He has one of the most impressive hockey careers ever, and it’ll be solely his choice when that career ends.”

My heart stutters, and I swallow. I almost reach for her hand on the rail, my fingers twitching at how close she is, but I stop myself. I don’t know why she’s here, but she’s not mine to hold, even if she’s defending me in a way no one ever has.

“We want him to consider our perspective on this.” My dad says, still holding firm on the topic.

Wesley’s eyes flare, and for the briefest of seconds, I find myself feeling sorry for my dad. It passes quickly, excitement taking its place the way it always does when watching Wesley put a grown man in his place.

“No one,” she says with authority, “gets to decide when someone else’s dream is over. Especially not people who, as far as I can tell, haven’t supported that dream or their own son for way too damn long.”

Wesley’s eyes glance toward me briefly before locking back in on my parents.

My mom opens her mouth to speak. Wesley doesn’t let her.

“You have an amazing son. He’s a good person, and you get credit for some of that because you raised him. But who he is on the ice, he is, despite you. If anything, you’ve been another obstacle in his way, making his success that much more impressive. Asking him to give itup proves how little you know him. Because if you knew him at all, you would stop trying to take away something that makes him who he is.”

“That’s not what we’re trying to do.” My mom’s voice comes out small.

“Well, it’s what you’re doing. And I will not be contributing to it,” Wesley adds firmly. “Loving him doesn’t give me the right to do anything other than be here for him.”

My breath catches as I process her words.Loving him. My heart skips a beat as the words settle into me, comforting and terrifying all at once. Is it true? I almost blurt out the question, but stop myself before embarrassing both of us in front of my family.

My dad exhales slowly, the fight draining from his posture. My mom presses her lips together, embarrassment etched into her expression.

Delaney clears her throat. “Well, I think that’s our cue to give them a minute.”

She steers our parents toward the door before they can argue. Before shutting the door, she shoots Wesley a look that’s equal parts impressed and grateful, then winks at me.