Page 131 of Embrace

“You’ve got guts, Ishida. I’ll give you that.”

His gaze cuts over his shoulder, icy and sharp. “You think sneaking around with her for who knows how long makes you a man?”

The air stretches thin between us. But I won’t tell him I didn’t know, I won’t do that to Scarlett.

“I care about her,” I say. “I’m not here to disrespect you. Or the team. But our relationship has nothing to do with hockey. And I’m not proud of keeping it from you. I’m sorry for that.”

His eyes narrow, reading me, probably waiting for me to flinch or back down.

“I love your daughter, sir. And if I’m not wrong, I think she loves me too. But more than that, she’s my best friend, and there’s not a second I want to be without her.” I inhale an uneven breath. “You can put me on bag skates for eternity. You can strip me of the captain title. You can bench me for the rest of this season. I’ll take it,whatever you throw at me, but I can’t take you being mad at Scarlett.”

He stills, something quick and unguarded flickering across his face. “You came here to vouch for her?”

“She hasn’t smiled, hasn’t looked at me the way she usually does, she’s been saying things that aren’t true, we haven’t even kis—” I pause, clearing my throat. “I don’t want you to think she screwed up by being with me, or that she has bad judgement. She doesn’t deserve that.”

He sighs, loudly, before sitting on his desk chair. He gestures for me to follow suit. “Rosie is a smart girl, and I’ve never questioned her judgment. It’s that she chose to keep it from me, and that tells me she didn’t think I was a safe person to turn to.”

“I won’t speak for her, but you have to understand that neither of us planned for this.”

“Are you really here just to make her case?”

I nod.

It’s so quiet I can hear the heat moving through the vents.

He stands, suddenly. “How did you get my address?”

I shrug. “It wasn’t hard. I just distracted our admin secretary at the front desk, asked her to check on something for me in the archives. Snuck onto her computer and searched your profile. There were two addresses, so I went to both. The last family was not happy that I walked on their freshly sodded lawn and then proceeded to accuse them of lying that you weren’t home.”

Coach shakes his head, and his silence sits heavy over me. The wrinkles on his forehead don’t change, and I feel that pit form in my stomach. The one that had only slightly lifted when he made me captain. “I don’t intend to stop loving your daughter, sir. She’s made that pretty damn impossible. So, you can do whatever you need to, I’ll be ready either way.”

Kilner’s stare could kill a man, and maybe a few months ago itwould have killed me. But this isn’t for me, it’s for Scarlett, and I would stand through anything for her.

Then with the weight of a puck jammed between my ribs, I walk out—I think I may have blacked out for a moment. My legs feel weak, yet I’m debating whether I should sprint to my car. But not before I give Marielle a hug and leave with a huge container ofpancit.

Forty-seven

Scarlett

My dad thinkshe’s slick, but I know I’m feeling the wrath of Coach Kilner right now. Shane Kilner would have showed up to my dorm, found me after class and made me talk, but Coach Kilner isn’t like that. He lets you walk through your own disasters and waits for you to crawl back when you’re ready.

The guilt is heavy and acidic, sitting right under my ribs. But even that doesn’t compare to the hollow pit in my stomach that’s been gnawing at me since Kian and I talked. It’s the reason I find myself parked in my parents’ driveway, ready to shed my cowardice.

This time when I look at my phone, I’ve gotten two texts from my mom.

Mom:I see you in the driveway.

Mom:Come inside, anak.

The minute I step out of my car, Mom’s wrapping her arms around me. I try to tell her I’m fine, but she hears the way my voice cracks.

Inside, she slides over a hot chocolate, just like she used to whenI was a kid. One for her, after Victor had been especially angry, and one for me, for sitting through it.

“Never knew you were interested in hockey,” she says.

“Mom—”

“I’m kidding! Your father told me about Kian,” she says, her fingers circling her mug. “You know, I’ve known that kid since freshman year. He’s good, Scarlett. Drives your dad a little wild, but good.”