Chapter 1
Luca Moretti
My phone was ringing at fucking eight in the morning.
I groaned and rolled over.
Avery was already up.
Of course the Boss Lady was up.
I sat up and glanced at the screen.
My GM.
I rubbed my eyes before grabbing the phone and answering it.
“Morning, Alan.”
“Morning, Luca.”
“What do I owe the bright-and-early call?”
He chuckled.
“I need you to come to my office.”
My stomach dropped.
Getting called into your GM’s office was never a good fucking sign.
And suddenly, I was having déjà vu.
“Did I do something?”
Alan laughed.
That didn’t make me feel any better.
“Not this time.”
Not this time.
“Then why do I need to come in?”
“There’s something we need to discuss.”
I glanced toward the bedroom door.
Avery was somewhere downstairs, probably drinking coffee and already accomplishing more before eight in the morning than I would all damn day.
“What kind of something?”
“The kind I’m not discussing over the phone.”
Fuck.
“Alan—”
“Ten o’clock, Luca.”
Then the asshole hung up.
I stared at my phone.
What the fuck?
“Boss Lady!”
Avery appeared in the doorway a few seconds later with a coffee mug in her hand.
“What?”
“Alan wants me in his office at ten.”
Her eyebrows lifted.
“Did you do something?”
“Why does everyone immediately assume I did something?”
She just stared at me.
I sighed.
“Fair.”
“What did he say?”
“That there’s something we need to discuss, and he won’t tell me over the phone.”
Avery took a sip of her coffee.
“Maybe it’s good.”
“It’s a meeting with my GM in August. Nothing good has ever started that way.”
“Your last meeting with him ended with you meeting me.”
I looked at her.
She smiled over the rim of her mug.
Well.
Fuck.
She had me there.
"Got me there." I mumbled.
I set my phone down and got up out of bed.
“You got me there,” I mumbled.
I set my phone down and climbed out of bed.
“I need to shower.”
She walked over and kissed my cheek.
We’d been married for two years, and apparently romance was still alive because she immediately wrinkled her nose.
“You stink.”
I grabbed her around the waist before she could escape.
“Want to come help me fix that, Boss Lady?”
She laughed and shoved at my chest.
“You have a meeting at ten.”
“That’s two hours away.”
“And somehow, you’ll still manage to be late.”
“I’m never late.”
She stared at me.
“Not anymore,” I corrected.
“You’re welcome.”
I kissed her.
“Bossy.”
“And yet, you married me.”
“Best fucking decision I ever made.”
I shook my head as I made my way to the shower.
Ten minutes later, I was showered.
It was 9:20, so I probably needed to get my ass in gear and go to the arena.
I walked into the living room.
Avery was one her phone.
She looked up at me.
"I hope it's good news."
I sighed.
"Me too."
I bent down and kissed her.
"Love you." I mumbled against her lips.
She grinned against mine.
"Love you too."
I kissed her once more before pulling away.
“I’ll call you when I know what the fuck is going on.”
“You better.”
I grabbed my keys from the table.
“Yes, Boss Lady.”
“And don’t piss off your GM.”
I opened the front door.
“No promises.”
“Luca.”
I looked back at her.
She had one eyebrow raised.
Fuck.
“Fine. I’ll behave.”
“Thank you.”
I made it to the arena with eleven minutes to spare.
Avery would’ve been proud.
Alan’s assistant waved me toward his office when I walked into the executive hallway.
His door was already open.
Alan sat behind his desk.
Brian was in one of the chairs across from him.
I stopped in the doorway.
My GM and my head coach.
Fucking fantastic.
“Am I being traded?”
Alan leaned back in his chair.
Alan leaned back in his chair.
“That depends on you.”
Fucking fantastic.
I groaned.
“Alan, don’t fuck with me.”
He chuckled.
“You know your contract expires at the end of June.”
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded.
Because I knew.
Fuck, I’d even told my agent that if the Aurora Blades came calling, I was willing to listen.
Just so I could be closer to my brother.
“Several teams have contacted us about acquiring your rights before free agency.”
“But I’d be signing a new contract with whichever team gets me.”
“Exactly. Which means we aren’t sending you anywhere unless you agree to their offer.”
“That isn’t usually how this works.”
Alan chuckled. “It is today.”
Then he slid a folder across the desk.
I hesitated before reaching for it.
I looked down at the folder.
Then back at Alan.
Then Brian.
Neither of them gave anything away.
“What the fuck is in here?”
“Your options.”
I opened it.
Three team logos stared back at me.
But I only saw one.
The Aurora Blades.
Holy shit.
I didn’t need to read the other offers.
I didn’t need time to think.
I knew which one I wanted.
I looked up.
Alan was smiling.
My gaze shifted to Brian.
He gave me a small nod.
“Is this real?”
“It’s real,” Alan said.
I looked back down at the Blades logo.
Rhett’s team.
My little brother’s team.
The same organization I’d spent years treating like the fucking enemy.
And now they wanted me.
“What did they offer?”
Alan’s smile widened.
“Enough to prove they’re serious.”
“How much?”
Alan’s eyebrows lifted.
“That’s your first question?”
“They want me to uproot my wife and move across the country. Yeah, Alan. I want to know how fucking serious they are.”
He nodded toward the folder.
“Second page.”
I turned it.
My eyes landed on the number.
Holy shit.
They weren’t taking a chance on me.
They were betting on me.
I set the folder down and leaned back in my chair.
Oh, fuck.
I looked up at Alan.
“How long do I have to decide?”
“They want an answer by Friday.”
Three days.
Three days to decide if I was leaving the only team I’d ever played for.
Three days to ask Avery to pack up our entire life and move to another state.
Three days to decide if I was finally going to play beside my brother.
“Your agent already has the full contract,” Alan continued. “He’ll go over everything with you. But the Blades made it clear they want this settled before the end of the week.”
I glanced back down at their logo.
“Do they know I’m interested?”
Alan chuckled.
“Luca, why the fuck do you think their offer is so good?”
My chest tightened.
They knew.
And they still wanted me.
I took a deep breath.
“Okay.”
Alan waited.
“Let me talk to my wife.”
He smiled.
“Maybe your brother too.”
Yeah.
Shit.
Probably.
But my wife came first.
I nodded.
“I’ll let you know soon.”
Alan stood, but before I could reach for the folder, he stopped me.
“Luca, we’re proud of the man you’ve become.”
Fuck.
I glanced at Brian.
He nodded.
“You earned this,” he said.
I swallowed.
“Thanks.”
Alan held out his hand.
“I’d hate to lose you. But I don’t think this would be a bad move for you.”
No.
It wouldn’t.
“And if you decide none of those offers are right,” he continued, “ours is still on the table. You’ll always have a place here.”
I shook his hand.
A few years ago, Alan had sat across from me and threatened to trade my ass if I didn’t get my shit together.
Now he was letting me choose where I went.
Funny how much could change when you finally stopped blaming everyone else for your own fucking problems.
I said my goodbyes and drove back home.
Avery’s car was still in the driveway.
That was strange.
She should’ve left for the foundation while I was in the shower.
But she was there when I left.
I carried the folder inside.
“Hey, baby.”
She was still on the couch, nursing a cup of tea now instead of coffee.
My excitement disappeared.
“You okay?”
She shrugged.
“My stomach’s been off since you left.”
I set the folder on the coffee table and sat beside her.
“Did you throw up?”
“No. I just feel nauseous.”
I pressed the back of my hand to her forehead.
“You don’t feel warm.”
She gave me a tired smile.
“Thank you, Dr. Moretti.”
“Don’t be an asshole. I’m worried.”
“I’m okay. I probably ate something that didn’t agree with me.”
“You want me to get you anything?”
“No.” Her eyes dropped to the folder. “I want you to tell me why you’re carrying that.”
Right.
The fucking folder that could change our entire lives.
I picked it up and held it out to her.
“The Blades want me.”
Avery’s eyes widened.
“You’re fucking serious?”
I nodded and handed her the folder.
She took it from me and scanned the three offers.
When she reached the Blades’ proposal, her lips parted.
Her gaze lifted to mine.
“You want to go.”
It wasn’t a question.
I nodded.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind.
I wanted to be there.
I wanted to play beside Rhett.
I wanted to watch Theo grow up instead of seeing him through a fucking phone.
I wanted Sunday dinners and random visits and all the shit my brother and I should’ve had years ago.
But this wasn’t only my life.
Avery had her dad here.
The foundation.
The kids.
Everything she’d spent years building.
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I do.”
She looked back at the offer.
“Then why do you look like you’re about to be sick?”
“Because I’m asking you to leave your entire fucking life behind.”
Her expression softened.
“Luca—”
“I’m not choosing without you, Boss Lady.”
I reached for her hand.
“I want to go. But if you don’t, then we stay. You come before any fucking team. Even his.”
Her eyes softened.
"Luca," she smiled. "I want you to go."
I met her eyes. "But do you want to go?"
She smiled softly. "Luca of course."
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” She squeezed my hand. “The foundation will survive without me standing in the building every day. We’ll figure out the rest.”
“Your dad—”
“Will understand.” Her smile grew. “You finally have your brother, Luca. I’m not asking you to love him from another state.”
Fuck.
I loved this woman.
She nodded toward my phone.
“Now call Rhett.”
I picked it up.
“What the fuck am I supposed to say?”
Avery smiled.
“Tell him you’re coming home.”
