by Skye Jordan
She opened the door, and he turned from staring at the street. The look on his face broke her heart. His eyes were dull and pained. His handsome features etched with fatigue and misery. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt under a hooded sweat jacket, and his shoulders were hunched against the cold.
“Oh, Beckett…” She stepped out and gripped handfuls of his jacket. “Are you okay?”
He wrapped her in his arms and pressed his face to her hair. “What a fucking mess.”
His voice was heavy and rough and turned Eden inside out. He smelled clean and male and familiar, and the thought of losing him tore her apart.
“Where’s Lily?” Eden asked.
“My parents’.” He loosened his arms and looked down at her. “The media is everywhere, even at her school. I couldn’t send her even if she wanted to go, which she doesn’t because she’s scared Kim’s going to take her away.”
Eden’s gut twisted, and she pressed a hand to the pain. “Do you want to come in?”
He shook his head. “I need to get back to Lily. I just wanted to see you. You didn’t call me back. You must have had a busy night.”
Eden nodded, and Beckett pulled her close again, holding her as if drawing energy from her. God, her heart ached. And her mind warred, one side trying to convince her she could love him even if Kim’s story was true, because he really was a different man now. But another side told her she was being stupid and weak and opening herself up to being a victim again.
“Is it true?” The forces battling inside her pushed the words from her mouth.
He pulled back, his eyes clouded with confusion. “What?”
“Any of what Kim is saying?”
A flash of disbelief traveled through his eyes a split second before an indefinable sharpness hardened his expression. His hands tightened on her arms. “Are you asking me if I tried to buy Lily from her? Or are you asking me if I hit her?” He paused only a second. “Or are you asking both?”
The anger in his eyes unnerved her. “It was a long time ago. You were a different man, you said so yourself. People have different ways of seeing things. Maybe you don’t even remember it happening that way—”
He dropped his hands from her arms. “Because it didn’t happen that way.”
His bark made her flinch, and he took one big, deliberate step away.
Panic flared in Eden’s gut. “Beckett—”
“You know me,” he said, pained, serious, and angry. “You know who I am, Eden. I opened my entire life up to you. You met my family. You’ve seen me with my daughter.”
Shame leaked into the mess of emotions eddying inside her. “I can’t just ignore—” She let the rest of her words evaporate on her exhale, knowing he’d take them wrong while he was so upset. “Can you come in just for a few minutes? Can we talk about this? I really want to talk about this.”
“What’s the point? There’s nothing I could show you that you haven’t already seen. Nothing I could say to you that you haven’t already heard. You already know me. You of all people— How could you possibly think—” He shook his head and lifted a hand toward her. “Never mind. I don’t even want to know.”
So much hurt and disappointment filled his voice, his expression, it tore at Eden’s gut. “Beckett, please—”
He turned toward the street. “Good-bye, Eden.”
He took the stairs to the sidewalk in two big steps. Before Eden had recovered from the blow of good-bye, Beckett was in his car, pulling away from the curb.
And gone from her life as quickly as he’d entered.
22
Beckett stared at his fingers tapping on the arm of the chair. He wondered if Eden was working tonight. Wondered how she’d done on that big physiology test she’d had yesterday. Wondered if she missed him, or if she still believed the worst of him and thanked her lucky stars he’d bailed.
“Beck.”
Thoughts of Eden snapped off, and Beckett refocused on Fred across his wide desk. “Yeah.”
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
Beckett rubbed his face with both hands and sighed. “Sorry. Haven’t gotten much sleep.”
Between Lily’s restless nights and Beckett’s regrets over Eden, he was seriously sleep-deprived.
“Well, it’s not hurting your game any.”
No, his games were his opportunity to take out his frustrations. His opportunity to push all his troubles aside and focus on something he could control. And he played harder than ever. But the last week without Eden in his life was long enough for him to realize he’d fucked up big-time. That expecting her to rally behind him the day after Kim’s news had broken was unreasonable and insensitive.
“I heard you through the part about Kim’s press conference.”
“Then you missed my comment about your brilliant move to call Henderson. His corroboration of the information we had from others put the last nail in Kim’s coffin.”
Beckett shook his head. “I’m so glad this didn’t go to court.”
“Agreed,” Fred said. “I’ll have all the legal documents finished up by the end of the week. Once Kim’s press conference airs, this mess will be behind you. You and Lily can move forward without worrying about Kim popping up in the future. The Rough Riders can sign you again without worrying about your image.”
Beckett sighed and pushed to his feet. “I can’t thank you enough, Fred.” He reached across the desk and shook his attorney’s hand. “I don’t know what I would have done without Lily.”
Fred grinned. “I’m glad you’ll never have to find out.”
Beckett walked out of Fred’s office wishing he’d never have to find out what he was going to do without Eden too.
Eden paced the concrete path beyond the mouth of the tunnel the players used to exit the Verizon arena, waiting for Beckett. Twenty-three players had already passed her, half of whom she knew now and said hello to. But with every passing moment, her nerves coiled a little tighter. Not only was she starting to think coming here was a really stupid idea, but coming on one of the coldest freaking nights this winter had been beyond stupid.
She repositioned her scarf to cover more of her face and continued pacing. Five more minutes. She’d give him five more—
The doors scraped open again and Eden’s stomach flipped. This was it. And after the initial burst of nerves died, she relaxed into the anticipation of getting rid of this horrible guilt. Two sets of footsteps echoed through the tunnel along with the low hum of male voices.
Eden wandered toward the tunnel as they grew closer and met Beckett and Tate at the entrance. Both men stopped. She couldn’t read Beckett’s expression.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, Eden.” Tate stepped up to her and gave her a hug. “Good to see you.”
Gratitude warmed her chest. “You too.”
“Later,” Tate told Beckett, who lifted his chin in answer.
Tate wandered toward the parking lot, and Eden and Beckett were left alone, staring at each other.
Finally, a soft smile lifted his lips. “Hi.”
Nervous laughter escaped on a whispery huff of air. “Hi.” Another moment of silence while they held each other’s gaze. “You don’t look surprised to see me.”
“The guys texted me that you were here.”
“Ah.” She laughed. “Right.”
“Eden—”
“I just—”
They spoke at the same time. But Eden pushed on. “I know you probably don’t want to hear what I have to say, and I realize it may not matter to you now, but I think it’s important for you to know because it might be something you can find value in when you look back.” She stopped only long enough to draw breath. “I’m here to apologize for doubting you.”
He stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.
Eden held up a hand. “I don’t expect you to forgive me. It was wrong and so hurtful. It wasn’t meant that way, but that doesn’t matter either, because I know that’s how it felt. An
d you were right, I do know you. My heart knows you. But I was letting my head lead because I was afraid to trust my gut. But I know my gut was right. And I’m so very sorry for judging you and judging you wrongly. So, yeah, I wanted you to know that I don’t doubt you, no matter what Kim says.”
She needed to turn. Needed to walk away. Needed to let him move on.
Turn. Walk away. Move on.
Biting the inside of her lip, Eden dropped her gaze to the concrete and the exterior light pooling on the ground blurred in the tears gathering in her eyes.
She started to turn, but Beckett’s hand closed on her arm.
“My turn,” he said.
He dropped his duffel and wrapped her in his arms so tight, he pulled her off her feet. A half laugh ebbed from her throat, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
He pressed his face to her hair and murmured an emotional “I’ve missed you so fucking bad.”
That did it. Her tears spilled over her lashes, and the sobs she’d been holding back all week rolled out. And nothing in the world felt better than having Beckett’s arms around her when she needed him.
He set her on her feet but continued to hold her tight and stroke her hair as her emotions quieted.
“I was coming to see you after the game, because I was wrong too.” He eased back and cupped her cheek, wiping at her tears with his thumb. “Given who you are, what you’ve been through, you weren’t wrong to wonder. And I want you to know that however long it takes for you to feel comfortable, for you to believe in me, I’ll wait. I don’t care if it takes a week or a month or a year, I’ll give you the time you need to find the truth, because I love you, Eden. I love you, and I don’t want to live without you any more than I want to live without Lily.”
Another sob bubbled from her throat, this one from an abundance of love. She slid her arms around his waist and held him tight, unable to get words out of her thickened throat.
“I have the entire legal file in the car,” Beckett continued. “Kim’s holding a press conference Monday, recanting her allegations. She’s signing custody of Lily over to me permanently in lieu of criminal charges. And she’s not getting a dime. You can read her statement—”
“I don’t need to read it. I have no doubt.” She lifted her gaze to his and framed his face with her hands. “My heart knows.” She pulled his lips to hers for a kiss and murmured, “And my heart knows I love you. So very much.”
23
Three months later.
If Eden slid forward another inch, her butt would fall off the seat. She had one hand curled into a fist, the other arm curved around Lily’s waist where the girl sat on her lap.
“Come on, come on, come on…” she murmured, watching Beckett toggle the puck between the front and back side of his stick blade as he sped down the ice.
He hit some resistance in the form of the Indians center and passed to Rafe. A left wing stole the puck from Rafe, but Beckett was already swinging behind the net and slammed him into the glass, freeing up the puck for Rafe again.
All the players closed in, the tension ratcheted up, and people in the forward rows stood.
“Eden,” Lily whined, leaning right and left. “I can’t see.”
Eden stood, lifted Lily into her arms, then hoisted her onto her shoulders. No doubt she wouldn’t be a favorite of the people behind them, but with everyone standing, a girl had to do what a girl had to do to see her man. And let his daughter see her dad in action.
“Eden,” Tina said beside her. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
“I’m okay,” she told Tina without taking her eyes off the action. “She’s nothing compared to the patients I lift at work. Can you see your daddy now, Lily?”
“Yeah, I see him. I see him,” she cried with excitement. “He’s got the puck.”
“Two minutes,” Sarah said on Eden’s other side, voice tight.
“He’s got this,” Jake said from the other side of Tina.
With thirty seconds left, an Indians defenseman took Beckett down hard. Eden sucked a breath and grimaced. But as he went down, Beckett reached with his stick, shoving the puck toward Tate, who scooped it up, skipped it toward the net. And scored.
The whole stadium surged to their feet. Bells and sirens and lights and smoke filled the space. On the ice, the guys skated into a circle. Around Eden, Lily, Rachel, and Amy covered their ears.
With the second period over, fans started toward the stairs and refreshments and restrooms. The teams skated off the ice. And Eden sat back down, surrounded by Beckett’s family with his daughter still on her lap.
Eden wrapped Lily in a bear hug and rocked her side to side. “Your daddy’s killin’ it on the ice tonight, baby.”
She giggled and looked over her shoulder. “You know what that means.”
Eden leaned back and grinned, and she and Lily responded together. “Ice cream.”
Then high-fived each other.
But Eden also knew that meant something extra special for her tonight too. After games—win or lose—Beckett always brought more energy to the bedroom. And Eden’s whole body tingled in anticipation.
“If you’re headed out to the refreshment stands,” the announcer’s voice came over the stadium speakers, “you may want to wait, because we have something very special planned for tonight’s second-period break.”
“Oooh,” Eden said, pulling Lily close. “What do you think it is?”
“Excuse me, Ms. Kennedy?” Eden turned toward the aisle where one of the Rough Rider cheerleaders stood, a big smile on her perfect young face. “Can you and Lily come with me?”
“Um…” She looked at Sarah, then at Tina and Jake, searching for guidance. When she got none, she turned back to the girl. “No, I don’t think so. Thanks.”
“Eden.” Sarah laughed, surprised by her refusal. “Go.”
“Mmm, nope.” She shook her head. “I didn’t even want to go out on the ice to throw your brother’s injured butt on a gurney. I sure don’t want to go now.”
The cheerleader continued to cajole Eden.
The announcer’s voice boomed over the sound system. “It looks like our participant needs a little encouragement, folks.”
On the Jumbotron, Eden’s name flashed in sparkling lights, and the crowd chanted along with the appearance of her name.
“E-den. E-den. E-den…”
Eden’s mouth dropped open, and she looked at Beckett’s parents again.
Tina’s eyes sparkled with her grin. “Go, Eden. Don’t keep the fans waiting.”
“Oh, jeez.” She covered her eyes. “I’m going to kill Beckett.”
“Come on, Eden.” Lily slipped off her lap and pulled on Eden’s other hand.
With a groan, she relented, passing Sarah with “Your brother is so dead.”
As soon as Eden appeared rinkside, the fans applauded, and she wondered if they knew what was going to happen even when Eden didn’t. Though she couldn’t imagine how.
She and Lily stood at a door leading into the rink from the center of the longest side while more cheerleaders rolled out a thin red carpet, ending at center ice.
“Just walk to the end of the carpet, Ms. Kennedy,” one of the cheerleaders said, all bounce and smiles.
Eden set her eyes on that spot in the carpet, told herself Beckett was going to become her sexual slave for a month to pay her back for this stunt, and took a deep breath. Lily’s hand tightened in Eden’s and her other arm circled Eden’s thigh. “Eden?”
When she looked down, Eden saw Lily’s nerves had risen too. “Come here, baby.”
Eden picked her up and carefully remained on the red carpet as she walked out onto the ice.
When she reached the end, Lily said, “I can get down now.”
Eden set Lily on her feet but held tight to her hand as the announcer welcomed Eden and Lily as Beckett’s girlfriend and daughter. The fans cheered—for what, Eden had no idea.
“Now, please welcome back to the ice,” the announ
cer said with drama and flair, “our own Beckett Croft.”
Beckett skated onto the ice from the opposite side of the rink—sans gloves, stick, and helmet—and the crowd went wild. He made a graceful loop around the arena, waving to fans, his grin wide and carefree. He easily jumped the carpet and completed the loop as the announcer quoted Beckett’s stats and claimed this as the best year of Beckett’s career with league record-breaking possibilities well within reach.
“This is Croft’s seventh year with the Rough Riders,” the announcer said, “and seven is definitely his lucky number. Just days ago, he received news he was chosen for the men’s US Olympic team.”
The audience cheered, and this time, Eden released Lily’s hand to applaud as well. She still felt so blessed to have been with him the day he’d gotten that thrilling news.
“And tonight,” the announcer continued, “Croft has chosen to complete his trifecta of awesomeness with those he loves most, Eden and Lily.”
The lights dimmed, and spotlights focused on Eden, Lily, and Beckett.
Eden’s nerves rose to the surface of her skin and jittered. Her stomach knotted. From twenty feet away, Beckett took another smooth curve and headed back toward them. At ten feet away, he dropped to one knee and slid the remaining distance, coming to a stop at their feet.
Lily covered her mouth, giggling. “Hi, Daddy.”
Her voice came over the speakers, and light laughter rippled through the audience.
“Hi, princess. Ready to do this?”
She nodded.
He opened his arms, and she climbed into his lap.
Now Eden had nothing to do with her hands. She was burning up, which had to be impossible when she was standing on a huge slab of ice. And her stomach was jumping like she’d swallowed a gaggle of frogs. But knowing anything she said would be heard over the speakers, she didn’t utter a word.
Beckett reached out and took her hands in his, then Lily added hers on top, and the sight of her small hands with theirs pulled hard at Eden’s heart. She’d come to love Lily madly within weeks of committing to Beckett.
