Anton

by Brenda Rothert

  Luca sighs softly. “Thanks. I do the best I can. They’re great kids. I just feel spread really thin sometimes. I don’t think I’m enough to make up for their mom or their dad, let alone both.”

  “Don’t think of it that way,” Mia says. “No one can replace their parents. Just take the challenges one at a time and celebrate the small wins.”

  “Yeah, I will.”

  “Hey Luca,” Vic says, tipping his head toward Bree. “You gonna get with her?”

  Luca lowers his brows in disbelief. “Are you fucking kidding me? The only thing I want to get tonight is a decent night of sleep.”

  “Just asking.” Vic puts his hands up innocently. “I didn’t want to beat you to it if you wanted her.”

  Luca laughs. “Yeah, if I wanted her, she’d drop your ass in a hot second anyway.”

  “Bullshit.” Vic turns to Mia. “Which one of us would you rather get with?”

  “Neither.” She rolls her eyes.

  “But if you had to pick—” Vic prods.

  “Nope.” She shakes her head firmly. “Not going there.”

  We finish our drinks and Vic picks up the check, probably so he can leave Bree a note with his number. Mia gives me a quick kiss as we’re leaving the table and I feel like the luckiest man in the place. Hell, in all of Chicago.

  The night I came into Lucky Seven with Alexei turned out to be lucky indeed. I stumbled across Mia by chance, but I’ll be deliberate about making her so happy she’s mine forever.

  Epilogue

  Mia

  * * *

  Four months later

  * * *

  The Chicago Blaze home crowd is more fired up than I remembered. Everyone is wearing red and quite a few people have hand-lettered signs ready to wave in the air. It’s the home opener, and these fans are ready for some hockey.

  I am, too. Anton’s been working his ass off training to get ready for the season. He indulged in all our favorite foods with me for the first few weeks of his break, but then he went back to his usual diet.

  We eat so much grilled chicken that I swear I’m going to start clucking soon. And I eat more vegetables in a day now than I used to eat in a week. I feel like Dix as I scowl at my plate sometimes. At least now that I’m in school again, I can snag doughnuts on my way to class.

  “Hey, Mia,” Lily West says when she spots me. “I’m so glad you came! I saved you a seat.”

  She moves her bag from the seat next to her in the Blaze’s friends and family section. I smile at her gratefully as I sit down.

  “How was your summer?” she asks me.

  “It was great.”

  “I hear you moved in with Anton, that’s fantastic.”

  “I did.”

  I was spending most of my time at his place, so I let Anton persuade me to move in. Anita found a new roommate who’s a close friend in her law school class. I still stop over and see her and Dre at least once a week. As he grows and changes, I feel pangs for kids of my own.

  After a long discussion, I agreed to live with Anton without paying him. He was adamant that I keep my money for my grandpa’s care. Since I only need to make spending money now, I’m down to working two nights a week at Lucky Seven.

  With some of my extra time, I’ve started volunteering at a local homeless shelter. I discovered a passion there I never knew I had. There are so many single moms whose stories are just like my own. They feel ashamed and powerless because of abusive relationships.

  I mentor women at the shelter, and I’ve found that empowering them empowers me. When I hear their stories of being controlled and put down, it’s eye opening. Many people don’t want to admit they’re being abused because it feels like they knew and made a choice to stay, at least for a while. As I sit in group sessions with the women I’m mentoring, though, I see the truth lighting in their eyes when they’re told how abusers work.

  They manipulate. They lie. They offer hollow apologies and promises to do better.

  I thought I wanted to work in event planning when I finished my degree, but I’ve found my true calling. I want to work at a homeless shelter for women and children, helping them find a way forward after abuse and other hard situations.

  The arena darkens as the Blaze’s pre-game video show starts. The crowd roars as they watch this season’s presentation for the first time. When a picture of Anton comes up on the Jumbotron, I feel a swell of pride. He’s got an intense expression that definitely turns me on.

  Lily leans over to me, hand over her mouth as she confides, “If Jonah keeps the other team from scoring any goals tonight, I have a looong night ahead of me in the bedroom.”

  I laugh as she offers me her popcorn and I take a handful.

  “He likes to make bets,” she says. “Does Anton do that?”

  “No, but he definitely has his rituals.”

  “Oh geez, tell me about it! Last season Jonah’s lucky socks got so rank I threatened to burn them when he was sleeping.”

  “But you didn’t do it?”

  She shakes her head. “I didn’t have the heart. I did make him start leaving them outside, though. He wouldn’t let me wash them because that was part of the luck.”

  When Anton’s name is announced and he skates onto the ice, I jump out of my seat and cheer for him. I still have memories of being here for Adam’s game, but this is different.

  Anton’s been at the arena for a while. The team does a pregame skate and other things to prepare for games. He asked me to come meet him outside the locker room as soon as I got here so he could give me a kiss and make sure I was doing okay.

  I was, and I still am. I’m here to watch the Blaze play, but only because Anton plays for them. Supporting him isn’t the same as supporting Adam was. Adam made it an obligation—he said his wife belonged in the stands at his games. Anton has never insisted. He just said he’d love it if I ever wanted to come to his games.

  He actually talks to me about his teammates. I feel like I’m starting to get to know them and their quirks, even the ones I don’t see regularly like Vic and Luca. And I talk to him about my volunteer work at the shelter.

  Anton looks up at the family and friends section, and I know he’s looking for me. I don’t know if he can see me, but I wave and blow him a kiss just in case.

  The Blaze come out fast and strong against the Phoenix team. Anton charges down the ice and slides the puck over to Vic, who fires it into the net in the first two minutes of the game.

  The crowd loves it. They cheer wildly for their team, and I’m right there with them. The guys gather into a group and celebrate the goal.

  Once the fanfare dies down, Lily leans over to me and says, “I loved your Hawaii pictures. It looked like an amazing trip.”

  “It was. I had never been anywhere tropical like that.”

  “We should plan a weekend trip for the four of us sometime, when the guys get a couple days off in a row.”

  “I’d love that.”

  “I could use your help putting together the fundraiser I’m working on, too.”

  “Oh!” I turn toward her. “For the group for kids who’ve lost parents in combat? Luca’s thing?”

  “Yep.” Lily gives me puppy dog eyes. “You’re really good at these things, I remember the casino night you did that one time. I want this event to be great.”

  “Of course I’ll help. Anything you need.”

  “You’re the best.” She puts her arm around me and gives me a squeeze.

  I happen to think she’s the best, because many of the Blaze wives and girlfriends still haven’t warmed up to me being with Anton. It’s ridiculous, and I don’t care if they ever like me. But it’s nice to have one friend I can sit with at games.

  “Block that net, baby!” Lily yells, her hands cupped around her mouth.

  Jonah uses his body to stop the puck mid-flight, keeping the other team from scoring. Lily cheers, pumping her fists in the air.

  As the game plays out, Jonah only allows one goal and the
Blaze score four. Lily assures me with a wink that Jonah will still have an excellent night later.

  I wait with her near the locker room until the players are all showered, dressed in suits and finished with post-game interviews. I got up early this morning to help serve breakfast at the shelter, and I’m stifling a yawn when Anton walks out of the locker room.

  There’s no way I can feel tired when I see him in a black suit with a white shirt and red tie, his hair damp from a shower. He smiles at me and I run to him, throwing my arms around his neck.

  “Great game,” I say in his ear.

  “Thanks.” He pulls back to look in my eyes. “Your voice sounds different, you feeling okay?”

  I put a hand on my throat. “I think I’m just a little hoarse from cheering.”

  Anton’s eyes soften. “That’s…it means more to me than you know. I’m so glad you’re here tonight.”

  He rests his forehead on mine and I say, “Me too. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

  “Thanks for the gift,” he says in a low tone. “I can’t believe you did that. It totally made my night.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  I asked Luca to sneak something into Anton’s locker for me—a glass jar full of only red peanut M&Ms, which he always eats before games. Beneath the lid, there was a folded up note that said, All my love, Mia.

  “Some of the guys want to go out, but I don’t know,” he says. “I’m kinda beat. And I’m traveling tomorrow.”

  “We can just go home if you want.”

  He takes my hand, grinning. “I’m never gonna get tired of hearing you say that.”

  “What?” I pinch my brows together, confused.

  “Home. Our home. Where we live together.”

  He so damn cute. I still don’t know how I got so lucky.

  “I think going home sounds great,” I say. “Maybe we can watch an episode of our show.”

  “Perfect. I’ll order in some food.”

  I give him a pleading look. “Babe, please. Not chicken.”

  He kisses me, looking amused. “We can have anything you want tonight.”

  “Nachos. For sure nachos. And ice cold beer. None of that cheap shit, either.”

  Anton smiles. “Uncle Dix would approve.”

  Author’s Note

  Thank you for reading Anton. Some people think that as a self-employed author, I work for myself. That’s not really true. I work for YOU. Readers decide whether I get to keep writing books by buying and reviewing them. There are so many options out there, and it means everything that you choose to support me.

  If you enjoyed Anton, I’d greatly appreciate a review on the site you bought it from.

  Up next in the Chicago Blaze series is Luca. I’ll also be writing a book in the Austin Comets world called….OMG I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!!!....Alexei! Yep, you get to spend a lot more time with Anton’s twin brother soon.

  Acknowledgments

  It takes a village to write a book. And for me, that village is made up of some incredibly supportive peers, friends and professionals.

  My beta reading and production teams deserve massive hugs and truckloads of chocolate for their support. I’m the kind of writer who will send them two chapters to read, then nothing for three weeks, then five chapters in one day. And I inevitably melt down around 40,000 words into every book and question every word I’ve written.

  Janett Gomez, Chantal Gemperle, Lisa Kuhne, Chelle Northcutt and Michelle Eriksen – thank you!!

  My Inkslinger publicist, Jessica Estep, is awesome. She knows me well and does an outstanding job of supporting me.

  Editor Taylor Bellitto deals with my crazy very well, and she did outstanding work on this book. Same for my proofreader, Rosa Sharon with iScream Proofreading.

  My author friend Nova Carlyle was my accountability partner on this book, pushing me and encouraging me to get in those words. If you want to read some kickass PNR, check her out.

  Big thanks as well to my three boys and my boyfriend, Dan Hopkins. Living love is the best way to inspire writing it.

  * * *

  ***Read on for Chapter One of Toni Aleo’s brand-new hockey romance Juicy Rebound!

  Juicy Rebound

  Chapter One/Chandler

  The puck stays at the end of my stick as I move it through my legs, back and forth. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. It’s almost how I move, in a way. When I was younger, my mom would be scolding me for something—laundry, my room was dirty, hockey shit everywhere—and while she talked, I was moving the puck across the hardwood. There wasn’t a moment when I didn’t have a stick in my hand and a puck at the end of my blade. Dad had to replace the floor four times while I was growing up. I always felt bad for that, so when I was signed to the South Carolina IceCats, I made sure not only to give them new floors, but I also bought them each a new Lexus since my hockey gear had stunk up their cars too.

  I pass the puck up and against my goalie’s pads. My eyes aren’t on my buddy, Nico Merryweather, as he speaks, but he knows I’m listening. He doesn’t even seem to mind that I am using his pads as a bounce board.

  “So she’s going to town on me. My cock is so far down her throat, and I’m almost gone.” I quirk my lip at the side as I lift my eyes to meet his gaze. He’s got this euphoric look on his face, but then it turns to disgust as quickly as my puck comes off his pad. “Then she farts.”

  I miss the puck as I gawk at him. “No way.”

  “Dude, I shit you not. I guess she thought it was going to be silent, but it was loud. Her ass clapped, and I couldn’t help it, I started laughing.”

  I explode with laughter. “Shit, what did she say?”

  “She kept going until the smell hit us.”

  I almost fall on the ice. “You’re lying,” I somehow get out between my laughs.

  “Dude, she left. I don’t even think she wiped her mouth. She just walked out. Worst hookup ever.”

  I lean on my stick and shake my head as our laughter fills the Malcolm Peterson Arena. Yes, our owner named the place after himself. I guess if you throw a couple hundred million into an arena, you have that right. “That’s what you get for using Tinder. I’ve told you a million times, stop swiping right.”

  He chortles as I skate out to get the puck I’d let get by me. As I round it, the crunch of my skates on the ice is welcoming. We’re the only ones here. Practice is over, the guys have hit the showers, but I wanted some extra time on the ice. It’s better than going home and doing a whole lot of nothing. I do need to get Sadie from my parents’ house since I’ll be home for the next four days, but for the time being, I need to unload a bit.

  I go to the blue line, and thankfully, Merry knows to set up. He’s a huge goalie, 6’9” and built like an agile bull. Not sure those exist, but if they did, they’d look like Merry. I use my stick to dump out the bucket of pucks, and then I line them up to shoot. I square up, pull back, and use all my momentum to shoot the hell out of the puck. This is what I’m known for. My hard-as-hell shot that makes it through the defense and, more than once, through the goalie. This is why the scouts wanted me for the IceCats. I’ve been here for five years, and things are good. Real damn good. I love it here, and most of all, I love being a franchise player.

  The pucks come for Merry with no mercy whatsoever. Some go through; some come off his pads. He is like a wall, and I have to find the cracks and holes in it. Fifteen minutes and over fifty pucks later, I feel way better. I reach down for the bucket and start for Merry as he pulls up his mask.

  “So what did she do now?”

  Funny he asks. I try not to roll my eyes as I lean back on the boards, playing with a puck as I meet his concerned gaze. “She feels I should keep paying her rent until she is fully on her feet. She’s apparently between jobs.”

  Merry raises a brow. “What part of prenup doesn’t she get? The fact that you paid for the divorce and let her keep her car andall that sparkling shit you kept buying her, in
my opinion, is enough.”

  I shrug. I hate when he reminds me of that. I feel like an idiot. “It was her shit. I didn’t want it.”

  “Still. What did you say?”

  “I told her no. Told her I’m not paying shit, and that’s that. She left me, not the other way around.”

  Merry nods his head. His long blond hair falls from his mask into his face. He pushes it away, annoyed. “Exactly. Good for you. But then, why are you all brooding and butthurt?”

  “I’m not.”

  “You are.”

  “Okay, maybe a little bit.” I groan as I shake my head. “I don’t know. It pisses me off that it’s been over a year since she left me, and she’s still bothering me.”

  “Well, she’s a complete psycho, so what do you expect?” He says it so calmly and with no-holds-barred as he gauges my reaction. “And you know it’s true.”

  I do. Everyone warned me not to marry Lana, that we were too young and didn’t know each other well enough, but I didn’t care. I’m not one of those guys who runs from relationships. Many of those guys play for the IceCats, Merry being one of them, and I don’t hate on them for it. I went to college with a bunch of guys who did the same. But I actually want the wife, the dogs, and the kids. I want a life with someone who loves me and whom I love. I want what my parents gave me. I thought I had it with Lana… Come to find out, I did not.

  Lesson learned.

  “Mom thinks I should block her number.”

  “Mom is a genius,” he says genuinely. “You should listen to her more often.”

  I chuckle a bit as I throw my gloves into the bucket and begin to pick up all the pucks. Merry starts pushing the goal toward the boards so the Zamboni can come through. “You just want my mom to keep cooking for you.”

  “Always.”