Page 157 of Chasing Hope

Cindy hoots before peering down at my phone and nudging my shoulder. “Celebrate, but be careful. Most first-timers walk out of here like they’re on a boat.”

Bella cackles. “She’s talking about herself.”

“That’s frightening, Cindy can hold her liquor.”

“Precisely.” Grimacing, Cindy places her cocktail down before sighing at it longingly. “They’re just so tasty.”

Layla waves her hands in the air. “I’m sorry, but there’s more important things than cocktails, Cin.” Her innocent eyes bore into mine. “Is he still mad?”

I hit order on my phone before placing it face down and sighing. “Yeah, he hasn’t answered any of my texts or calls.”

“Caleb?” Bella asks. After nodding in answer, she gives me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure he will come around.”

“I don’t know,” I whisper. “I’ve never seen him that mad before. It certainly changed the dynamic of our relationship.”

“He’s being a baby if you ask me.”

“I understand his anger,” I tell Cindy. “He feels betrayed. He thinks it was going on a lot longer than it was but…”

“But?” she probes.

Blowing out a raspberry, I confess, “He said things to me that I don’t think I can forgive him for.”

Layla reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “I’m sorry, Evie.”

Genuine warmth floods my heart at how much these girls care about me already. “Thanks,” I whisper. Shaking off the heaviness that has overcome the table, I brush my hair behind my shoulder and take off my coat, the attention on mestifling.

Cindy’s brow arches. “The jersey…does this mean it’s official?”

Heat crawls its way across my cheeks. “According to him, he’s always been mine.”

The girls burst with excitement as they scream in unison, “Awww!”

“But yes, we’re official now.” As soon as I see Cindy get a twinkle in her eyes, I quickly change the subject. “Enough about me.” Wagging my brows in Bella’s direction, I ask, “How’s engagement life?”

It was the right thing to bring up. Her eyes widen, her skin suddenly glowing. “Beyond my wildest imagination. Grayson is just so…”

“Sweet?”

“Attentive?”

“Golden retriever coded?”

Bella snorts at the last one Cindy threw out before smiling to herself and declaring, “Perfect for me. Nothing has ever felt so right. As if everything between us slotted together like pieces to a puzzle.”

Her words make Matteo’s face, with his charming smile, flash across my mind.Matteo is my puzzle piece, the other half of my soul.

Taking our seats by the home bench, I can’t believe I forgot how euphoric the arena feels during games. The air is energetic, the fans’ screams and cheers full of so much passion that it makes me smile.

I’ve always been proud of Caleb—both him and Matteo, actually. I remember the day Caleb told me that he and Matteo were both being traded to IceHawks.

My two favorite people were coming home.

Now sitting in the stands, watching as they skate out, bothwearing the IceHawks jerseys, the fans going insane for the team, a sense of pride fills my heart again at the sight.

Matteo spots me first, his eyes never leaving mine as they skate around their side of the rink, moving into their warm-up stretches.

Cindy sits back, popping a kernel of popcorn in her mouth. “I always love the stretches.”