Page 23 of Hot Shot

I pull on my clothes, trying to ignore the voice in my head. There’s not a whole lot else I can do now. It’s all up to Madison. If she changes her mind, which I really hope she does, I’d happily spend time with her. I wasn’t lying when I told her that I’d be happy with being friends. I don’t have a lot of them. Being a professional hockey player makes it tough to make real friends.

Do I want to get to know her better and date her? Of course I do.

As I’m gathering my bag ready to head out to my truck, my phone dings, and my heart skips a beat. Maybe she changed her mind.

Elias:Hey. Can we talk? I feel like we need to clear the air.

I shake my head and lock my phone without responding. When is he going to get the hint? I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to have anything to do with him.

We may be half brothers but that doesn’t mean we need to have a relationship. We haven’t spoken in almost fifteen years, why start now?

Chapter ten

Madison

“What’sgoingon,dearie?”Judy breaks the silence that has encompassed most of our Sunday night dinner.

“Nothing. Tired,” I mumble, fiddling with my napkin.

“Bullshit, Madison. Try again. You’ve been quiet and mopey all week.”

“It’s been a long week,” I answer, dropping my hands into my lap, picking at the hem of my shirt.

“Madison.” Judy fixes me with a stare, crossing her arms.

“Fine.” I reach for my wineglass and taking a long sip before saying, “I went out with Hunter earlier this week.”

“Did it not go well? I thought you were excited to go out with him. Last Sunday you were walking on sunshine.” She gestures around the kitchen as if to remind me how excited I was.

I suck in a breath. I know I was. I was happy for the first time in a long time. I’d been excited to spend time with Hunter in person.

“He-he told me what he does for a living.”

“It’s a deal breaker? Is he a drug dealer? Work at a strip joint? Although that could make for good times in the bedroom.” Judy wiggles her eyebrows at me.

“No. He plays professional hockey. I don’t want to be a distraction.” I stare down at my half-eaten dinner.

“And?”

“He plays for the Storm. I can’t date him, Aunt Judy. You know that.”

“Have you spoken to your father?”

“No, why would I do that?” I grab my wineglass and take a healthy sip.

“I don’t think your hang-up with your young man is only about what happened with you and EJ.”

“It is.” I set my now-empty wineglass down.

“Madison Mae, seriously? I’m not an idiot. What team did you say he plays for?”

I swallow, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. “The Orlando Storm.”

“Who’s their head coach?”

“I-I,” I stutter. She’s got me there. My father, Jake Weaver, is their head coach.

“Are you really worried about that or is it that he’s one of your father’s players?”