The Aurora Blades - Book #4 - Breaking the Quiet

Carson Hayes

Sadie Knight, my best friend, was getting married today.

And somehow, despite the fact that she already had the man, the baby, and the giant diamond ring to prove this wedding was actually happening, she was currently pacing the bridal suite like she was headed to her execution.

Finally.

She’d given Knox shit about it for months.

Meanwhile, I was trying not to lose my own mind.

I’d been fixing problems and handling everything I could so she didn’t have to. Her day needed to be perfect.

She deserved it.

“Carson,” Sadie said suddenly, turning toward the mirror again. “What if my dress doesn’t look right on me?”

I blinked at her.

This woman had carried an entire child, somehow lost every ounce of baby weight, and looked like she’d stepped straight out of a bridal magazine.

And she was worried about the dress.

I sighed dramatically.

Her eyes snapped toward me instantly, panic already filling them.

Oh no.

“Sadie,” I said carefully.

Her face crumpled.

And then she started crying.

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered under my breath before quickly crossing the room.

I wrapped my arms around her, holding her against me as she buried her face in my shoulder.

“You are not doing this today,” I told her firmly. “You’re marrying Knox Callahan, not being sacrificed to the hockey gods.”

That earned a watery laugh out of her.

Good.

Crisis temporarily avoided.

I vowed right then that this day was going to be perfect for her. I would not watch her crumble again.

Any problem?

Handled immediately.

And if somebody decided to ruin Sadie Knight’s wedding day?

I’d happily kick their ass myself in my fucking stilettos.

“I love you,” she whispered, pulling back enough to look at me.

“Love you too.”

I finally released her, watching as she carefully wiped beneath her eyes.

“Thank you.”

I laughed softly. “Of course, babes.”

A knock sounded at the door.

“Come in,” Sadie called.

The door opened seconds later, and Lennox and Melody walked inside.

Mel practically glowed these days. Honestly, ever since things with Cole became official, she looked lighter.

Happier.

The situation had been messy in the beginning, but Cole had finally woken up and realized what he’d been blind to.

Then there was Lennox.

Very newly married Lennox.

The woman was basically radiating smug newlywed energy after secretly marrying Declan in Vegas.

Us girls were still annoyed about that one.

Mostly because she’d disappeared during a road trip, gotten married, then casually come home with a husband like it was completely normal behavior.

But honestly?

That fit their personalities way too well.

They’d both wanted it so badly that none of us could really stay mad.

And seeing her this happy made it impossible not to love it for them anyway.

Mel and Lennox exchanged looks before noticing Sadie’s face.

“Have you been crying?” Lennox asked.

Sadie let out a nervous laugh. “Maybe.”

“Uh, she has,” I admitted.

“Why?” Mel asked.

“Because I’m worried about my dress fitting.”

Lennox groaned. “Oh, shut up, woman.”

Mel laughed while Sadie glared at her.

“What?” Lennox challenged with a smirk.

“You are going to look gorgeous,” Mel assured her.

“Fucking right,” Lennox added.

I smiled at the girls.

I loved this group.

Sadie finally nodded, accepting our compliments and hopefully starting to believe them.

For the next forty minutes, we played music and got ready.

Once I was fully dressed, my phone buzzed.

A text from the florist.

I groaned as I read it.

Flowers are delayed. We will get you an estimated time when they will arrive shortly.

You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I let out a frustrated grunt, which drew the attention of every woman in the room.

“What is it?” Sadie asked.

The look on her face told me she was about three seconds away from another full breakdown.

“What?”

I sighed.

“Flowers are delayed. I’m working on it now.”

“Carson—”

“Nope.” I pointed at her immediately. “Absolutely not. You are not spiraling again.”

“But—”

“I’ve got it.”

“You sure?”

“Sadie, if I have to personally drive to that florist and threaten people myself, these flowers will be here.”

She relaxed slightly as Lennox rubbed her back.

“It’s okay, Sadie,” Lennox assured her. “Carson has it.”

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“I’ll handle it,” I promised.

“What if they don’t come in time?” she whined.

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“DO NOT STRESS.”

She blinked at me.

Then, in a much quieter and calmer voice, I added, “I have this, Sadie. So stop.”

She laughed.

I gave her no time to say anything else before rushing into the hallway.

We were two hours away from the wedding, and she needed that bouquet. Not to mention the arrangements for the tables.

I was not letting a delayed florist ruin this.

Not today.

When I stepped downstairs, I found Knox near the entrance holding Emery against his chest while chaos moved around him.

And somehow?

He still looked calm.

Mostly.

Emery was asleep against his shoulder in a tiny little dress that probably cost more than my car payment.

She had dark blonde hair and Knox’s eyes, but she favored Sadie so much.

Such a sweet baby.

I loved my god-niece.

Knox looked up the second he noticed me.

“How is she?”

And there it was.

Not hello.

Not anything else.

Just Sadie.

Because that man had been gone for her long before any of us realized it.

“She’s okay,” I assured him. “Just nervous.”

His shoulders loosened slightly.

It was ridiculous, honestly.

Big, scary hockey captain completely taken out by one blonde woman upstairs.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“How are you?”

That caught me off guard enough that I blinked.

“I’m fantastic,” I lied automatically.

Knox snorted softly.

“You look like you’re about to fight somebody.”

“I might,” I muttered, glancing down at my phone as another florist text came through. “Depending on how this flower situation goes.”

“What’s wrong with the flowers?” he asked.

“Delayed. That’s all they told me.”

Knox sighed. “You need me to help?”

“Nope.” I shook my head confidently. “I’ve got this, Knoxie.”

He shook his head at the nickname.

“Okay. I’m here if you need me.”

“Thank you,” I called over my shoulder as I rushed off again.

I needed to get somewhere private before I called the florist. Preferably the patio.

Because if I had to yell at someone, Sadie did not need to hear it.

I hurried down the hallway barefoot, my heels dangling from one hand while I fired off another text to the florist with the other.

If these flowers weren’t here soon, somebody was about to experience my villain origin story.

Seriously.

Who screwed up flowers for a wedding?

Especially this wedding.

My attention stayed glued to my phone as I rounded the corner.

Which was exactly why I slammed straight into a solid chest.

A startled sound flew out of me as I stumbled backward.

Strong hands instantly caught my arms before I could completely lose my balance.

My phone slipped from my fingers.

Large hands caught that too.

Of course.

I looked up, already annoyed, and—

Roman Petrov.

Fantastic.

Just fucking fantastic.

My luck.

I let out a frustrated sigh as I stared at him.

The giant Russian goalie stood in front of me looking unfairly good in a black suit while I currently looked one mental breakdown away from prison time.

His hands slowly released my arms once he knew I was steady, but his eyes stayed on me.

Quiet.

Steady.

And for some reason, that always made me nervous.

“You trying to take me out before the ceremony?” I asked.

Roman glanced down at me.

“No.”

That was it.

Just no.

I swore this man survived on one-word answers.

It frustrated the ever-loving shit out of me. I’d known him for a year and could still barely get anything out of him.

But then there were moments that made absolutely no sense.

Like the night at the bar when some guy put his hands on me after I’d had a little too much to drink.

Roman had threatened him without hesitation.

So what the hell was his deal?

Half the time, I caught him watching me.

The other half, I could barely get the man to speak.

And I was getting really fucking tired of trying to figure him out.

Fuck him.

Ugh.

I reached for my phone, but Roman didn’t hand it over immediately.

His gaze dropped.

Not long enough for most people to notice.

But I caught it.

The dark blue bridesmaid dress.

My bare legs.

The fact that I was still holding my heels instead of wearing them.

Then his eyes came back to mine like nothing had happened.

“You’re distracted.”

His voice stayed low and calm.

Meanwhile, I currently had approximately seventeen tabs open in my brain.

“The flowers are late,” I rambled. “And Sadie’s trying not to panic, which means I’m trying not to panic because if she panics, then Knox panics, and if Knox panics, everyone panics—”

“Carson.”

I stopped talking immediately.

Which honestly annoyed me.

Roman barely said my name, and somehow it cut through every thought in my head.

Maybe that was the first time I’d ever heard him say it like that.

His dark eyes stayed on me for another second.

“You think too much.”

I let out an offended laugh. “Excuse me?”

“You carry everything.” He finally handed me my phone. “Even when you don’t need to.”

The words caught me off guard enough that I just stared at him.

Because Roman wasn’t exactly known for motivational speeches.

Or speeches at all.

Apparently, he could talk that much.

Who fucking knew?

I recovered quickly.

“Well, somebody around here has to keep this wedding running.”

One side of his mouth twitched.

Tiny.

Barely there.

But it completely threw me off anyway.

Then his gaze dipped toward the heels in my hand.

“You forgot those too.”

I blinked.

Shit.

I looked down at my bare feet.

“I hate you.”

Roman’s expression never changed.

“No, you don’t.”

And before I could even process that response, the man stepped around me and kept walking like he hadn’t just completely derailed my entire nervous system.

I stood there dazed in the hallway.

What the fuck just happened?

Did Roman Petrov just check me out?

And why the hell had his hands on me felt so damn good?

Fuck.

I was so getting plastered later.

My phone buzzed, snapping me out of it.

I looked down.

We are on our way. Sorry.

Oh, praise God.