Chapter 1
Reese Dalton
A few months ago, my life imploded.
I found out my boyfriend was cheating on me.
Not just any boyfriend.
Luca Moretti. Hurricanes forward. Fan favorite. Media darling.
The man I’d spent years loving.
The breakup was public. Messy. Humiliating.
It was everywhere. Sports sites. Social media. News outlets that suddenly thought they knew everything about my relationship.
Some people felt sorry for me.
Plenty blamed me.
I stopped reading the comments after the first week.
Which was difficult considering I worked in media for the Hurricanes.
Every day felt like a reminder.
Luca kept calling. Kept texting. Kept showing up with apologies I never asked for.
But honestly?
I was too exhausted to care anymore.
Luca kept calling.
Different numbers. Different excuses.
The answer was always stayed the same.
No.
I tossed my phone onto the couch and looked around my apartment.
It was amazing how many pieces of someone could be left behind after they were gone.
Pictures.
Hoodies.
A framed photo from our first season together.
Gifts I used to love looking at.
Now all I saw were reminders.
My gaze landed on the expensive glass sculpture sitting on the bookshelf.
Luca had given it to me after making the All-Star team two years ago.
At the time I thought it was romantic.
Now it just made me angry.
Really, really angry.
Maybe I was finally reaching the anger stage of grief.
If that was even a thing for breakups?
Because if it was, I was at that stage.
I looked at this glass statue that Luca got me.
It was a gift for me being by his side. Now the gift just pisses me off.
I plucked it off the shelf. Scowling at it.
Apparently I scowled too hard because it dropped.
The sound of the shattering glass, broke something in me.
I felt relieved.
Seeing those hundreds of shards on the floor did something for my soul.
There may have been tons of pieces on the floor, but a piece of myself felt like it came back.
I looked around the apartment again.
At the beginning, I couldn’t bring myself to touch any of it.
The pictures.
The jerseys.
The gifts.
The memories.
Removing them had felt too permanent.
Now?
Now I was wondering why I hadn’t done it sooner.
I grabbed the framed picture from the shelf.
The one from Luca’s first NHL game.
I didn’t even hesitate.
Straight into a box.
A hoodie followed.
Then another.
Then every single piece of Hurricanes gear with his name on it.
By the time I was finished, my living room looked like a tornado had touched down.
The apartment felt emptier.
Smaller.
Lonelier.
But somehow lighter too.
I slowly turned in a circle.
For the first time since the breakup, I could actually see my apartment.
Not ours.
Mine.
Just mine.
The relief I felt was refreshing.
For once I felt lighter.
I sat down on the couch looking at what all I had accomplished.
There were three boxes full of crap that used to be his or ours together that was now finally out of my way.
My phone buzzed on the table.
I looked at it groaning. Because if that is Luca Moretti I am going to scream.
Sighing as I leaned forward. I plucked my phone off the table.
More relief when I noticed Carson Hayes name on my phone and not Luca.
Thank God.
I pulled open her text.
Carson: Hey babes!! :)
I smiled as I read it. God I love Carson to death. She's been about the only one checked on me during all of this with Luca too.
When I saw her at the playoff game, I was happy for once.
That was until Luca looked at me.
Even from across the arena, I could feel it.
The guilt.
The regret.
The hope that I’d somehow change my mind.
Carson noticed immediately.
She always did.
But that wasn’t what I remembered most about that night.
It was Rhett.
I haven’t seen Rhett Lawson in years.
Not really.
Sure, I’d seen pictures. Highlights. Interviews.
But seeing him standing there in person had been different.
Unexpected.
Dangerous.
Because Rhett had always been my weakness.
Even when I was twelve years old.
I shook my head. Okay, I cannot go there. I need to reply to Carson
Me: Hey what's up?
I rolled my eyes when the dots popped up.
Of course she was waiting on me to reply.
Carson: I have a proposition for you.
Oh good lord. This woman.
Was it about the job again?
Me: What? I don't trust you.
Carson: Okay, hear me out before you say no.
Me: That’s never a good start.
Carson: Reese.
Carson: I’m serious.
Carson: Come stay in Aurora for the summer.
I stared at the message.
Me: What?
Carson: You need a break.
Carson: I need someone who understands hockey, media, and my current pregnancy hormones.
Carson: It’s a win for both of us.
I laughed.
Me: Carson.
Carson: I’m serious.
Carson: You can stay in my old apartment.
Carson: It’s just sitting empty.
Carson: Come spend the summer with us.
Carson: If you hate it, you can go home.
Home.
The word hit harder than it should have.
Because lately Carolina didn’t feel much like home.
Not anymore.
I sighed.
Thinking it over.
It would be fun, but again it would put me facing Rhett again.
It's been seven years since we spoke.
Since the day he left.
The day he never answered my texts or calls.
Just vanished.
Not really vanished because in college he was a huge star player in hockey.
The talent was in his blood.
Before I could dive anymore into my mind about Rhett, a knock sounded.
I groaned.
I wasn’t expecting anyone, but I would bet money I knew exactly who it was.
The knock came again.
More impatient this time.
“Go away,” I muttered under my breath.
Another knock.
Of course.
Because Luca Moretti had never been good at hearing the word no.
I pushed myself off the couch and crossed the apartment. The closer I got to the door, the more annoyed I became.
When I yanked it open, there he was.
Luca looked exactly like the man plastered across Hurricanes billboards and magazine covers.
Tall.
Dark hair that was a little too long on top.
Sharp jawline.
Expensive clothes that somehow looked effortless on him.
The kind of smile that had made reporters love him and women forgive things they probably shouldn’t.
The smile wasn’t there now.
His green eyes found mine immediately, filled with something between guilt and determination.
A bouquet of flowers hung from one hand.
I nearly slammed the door in his face.
“Reese.”
“No.”
His shoulders dropped.
“Can you at least let me talk?”
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
“Luca, you’ve been talking for months.”
“Please.”
The word sounded genuine.
Too bad genuine wasn’t enough anymore.
I crossed my arms.
“What part of we’re over are you struggling with?”
His gaze flicked past me into the apartment.
To the boxes.
To the empty shelves.
To the shattered glass sculpture still scattered across part of the floor.
For the first time since I’d opened the door, he looked nervous.
“What happened in here?”
I smiled sweetly. “Spring cleaning.”
Luca looked absolutely irritated at that comment.
Too bad I didn’t care.
“Why are you doing this?” His tone was sharp.
I stared at him.
Was he serious?
“Because we’re over and I want your crap out of here.”
His jaw tightened.
“Reese.”
“No.”
“Can you stop acting like this for five minutes so we can talk?”
A laugh escaped me.
Not a happy one.
The kind that surprised even me.
“Talk?” I repeated. “You had plenty of opportunities to talk before you slept with someone else.”
His face immediately twisted.
Regret.
Guilt.
Whatever.
I was tired of looking at it.
“It was a mistake.”
“There it is.”
“Reese—”
“No, seriously. There it is.” I pointed at him. “Your favorite line.”
His eyes narrowed.
“It was a mistake.”
“And yet somehow it happened.”
His shoulders slumped.
For a second he looked exhausted.
Good.
Maybe now he understood how I felt.
“I love you.”
The words hit exactly the way they had the last hundred times he’d said them.
Meaningless.
My chest didn’t ache.
My heart didn’t race.
I didn’t want to cry.
I just felt tired.
“You should have thought about that before.”
His gaze dropped.
The silence stretched between us.
Then his eyes drifted past me again.
To the boxes stacked around the apartment.
To the empty shelves.
To the life I was finally packing away.
And for the first time since he arrived, something that looked suspiciously like panic crossed his face.
“You’re really getting rid of everything.”
I folded my arms.
“What exactly did you think was going to happen?”
His throat worked.
“I thought you just needed time.”
I almost felt sorry for him.
Almost.
“Luca.”
His eyes met mine.
“We are never getting back together.”
The color drained from his face.
Good.
Because maybe this time he’d finally hear me.
“Reese—”
“No.”
His mouth snapped shut.
I took a shaky breath.
“You know what’s funny?”
His brows pulled together.
“I actually believe that you loved me.”
Hope flashed across his face.
It disappeared just as quickly.
“Because if you loved me, Luca, you should have defended me.”
The silence was immediate.
Heavy.
Painful.
“You stood there while everyone talked about me.”
His jaw tightened.
“You let people blame me.”
“That’s not fair—”
“It is fair.”
My voice cracked.
“I was the one getting messages. I was the one reading comments. I was the one people felt sorry for while you gotta keep being Luca Moretti.”
His face fell.
“And the entire time, you stayed quiet.”
“Reese—”
“If you loved me, you should have protected me.”
His eyes closed briefly.
Like the words physically hurt.
Good.
Because I’d lived with that hurt for months.
“You didn’t lose me when you cheated.”
His eyes opened.
“You lost me when you let me face it alone.”
For the first time since he showed up, Luca didn’t have a response.
And honestly?
That told me everything I needed to know.
