Exhausted, sore as fuck, and barely able to walk up the stairs in front of me, I take a second to collect myself.

Adalyn chose a time to move out here when I was out of town. I begged her to reconsider another time when I had a home stretch, but she insisted upon getting started at her job as soon as her two weeks’ notice was up at the hospital. She didn’t want to skip a beat in paychecks. She made that quite known. And when I offered to help cover some of her costs, she nearly bit my head off. I blamed it on the hormones not because she wanted nothing to do with me.

This is the first night I will actually get to visit her, check up on her, and make sure she’s doing okay, that she’s fitting in at her job. Which honestly, I already know she is because I’ve been checking up on her through Chris. Would it have been better if I went straight to the source? Of course, but she barely texts me back when I text her and forget about phone calls, those go unanswered. I’m desperate, and Chris was my only source of information, and according to him, the staff adores her and she’s quickly become friends with everyone. That doesn’t surprise me. She’s passionate and dedicated in everything she does. It’s hard not to like Adalyn. I’m just wondering why she’s so adamant about keeping me at an arm’s length.

Gripping the bouquet of flowers tightly in my hand, I hold the handrail that leads up to her second floor apartment and take one step at a time, my muscles screaming at me with every step. Goddamn, I don’t think I’ve been this sore in a long time, but when I’m not on the ice or in the training room, I’m practicing with the boys, putting in extra time, learning the plays, and driving puck after puck into Chris.

At first, the extra time put a target on my back, like I was trying to show up everyone, but they get it now. They’re observing what level of commitment it takes to be on a team like the Brawlers.

If only my muscles would get the idea.

When I reach the top of the stairs, I take a left and head to the end of the outside hallway and the corner apartment. Adalyn thinks she got a steal when it came to this apartment when in reality, I pay half her rent without her knowledge, making it an irresistible place to live. It’s two blocks from my apartment, in a good area, and has two bedrooms, one for the baby, one for her. Hopefully though, she won’t have to use the second bedroom because I’m bound and determined to win her back. Despite the circumstances of when and how I saw her in Binghamton again, and how she barely spoke to me while I was there and since, I knew why I’d struggled so much in California. She had become my best friend. She’d become someone I thought of first to talk about my day. And when I was so suddenly cut off from that, my heart ached. It was why nothing could have happened with Noely. My heart has an Adalyn-sized hole, and only she can heal that.

There is no denying she still has feelings for me. I saw it in her bedroom when we talked about the baby. She’s holding back though, and I need to work out why and correct it. We’re having a child together. There is no other option.

I have time. I have plenty of time because I’ll be damned if Adalyn isn’t mine.

I fucking love her. I loved her before I knew about the baby, and I love her more now that she’s carrying my child.

I knew the minute she caught me snooping in Racer’s house she would change my life, and she did. There is no turning back because life without Adalyn is a life I don’t want to live.

Standing outside her apartment, I take a deep breath and give the door a knock. I quickly adjust the baseball cap on my head and make sure my shirt is righted just in time for the door to open.

With a big smile, I look up to a very familiar set of eyes.

Just as quickly as I plastered the smile on my face, it is quickly washed away.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Gripping the edge of the door, a shit-eating grin on his face, Logan chuckles to himself. “Good to see you too, Hayden. Glad to see you have your anger under control.”

Stepping in closer, I ask again, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, did Adalyn not tell you?” He shakes his head. “Must have slipped her mind. Pregnancy brain and all.” Thumbing to the apartment behind him, he says, “I live here with Adalyn. I moved here as well, wanting to make sure she had someone to rely on, someone to take care of her.”

Never have I felt such boiling rage take over every vein, muscle, and bone in my body. Searing white-hot anger rips through me and the urge to swiftly punch Logan in the face is so goddamn real I have to take a step back in fear of what I might do.

“Who is it?” Adalyn asks, coming up behind Logan. When she sees me, her eyes widen and her mouth parts open. “Oh, Hayden. You’re back from your road trip.”

Grinding my teeth together, I speak through my anger. “Adalyn, a moment. Alone.”

Stepping past Logan, she nods and directs me toward the courtyard. Staring Logan down for longer than I should, I follow Adalyn down the back steps and into the courtyard. Behind my tumultuous rage, I can appreciate the bags under Adalyn’s eyes have become softer and she’s looking like she has some color in her face.

Sitting on a bench, she curls her legs close to her body and wraps her long cardigan around her knees, bringing them close to her chest.

Not even bothering with the flowers anymore, I set them in front of her and take a seat, one of my arms spanning across the length of the bench, the other dragging my hand over my face. “What the fuck, Adalyn? You didn’t tell me douche nugget was moving out here.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Easy.” I give her my attention. “You pick up the damn phone when I call you and you tell me.”

“You already hate him, I didn’t—”

“You’re damn right I hate him. I mean . . . fuck,” I press my fingers into my brow, squeezing my eyes shut, “Are you seeing him?”

“Like as in dating?”

“Yeah, are you two dating?”

Fiddling with her cardigan, she doesn’t answer me right away, making my heart stammer in my chest and my skin prickle with pure hatred.

“No,” she finally answers.

“Why did it take you so long to answer?”

Turning her head toward the fountain in the middle of the courtyard, she says, “This is none of your business, Hayden. I moved out here for you. If I bring someone with me, that’s my choice, not yours.”

“This is my business when that douche is sharing an apartment with my girl.” The word slips past my lips before I stop it. Adalyn tilts her head in my direction, a slight shake to it.

“I’m not your girl.”

Well I’m fucking aware of that now.

“But you’re his?” She doesn’t answer, sending me into a heated frenzy. “So basically you’re going to give that shithead a second chance when he treated you with nothing but disrespect after he slept with you, but you’re not looking at me twice when I had no choice in our breaking up, when I wanted nothing more than to try to continue seeing you.” I stand now, pacing back and forth, my mind whirling. “Fuck, Adalyn, do you realize what this is doing to me? That kind of pain you’re putting me through? Why him? Why not me?”

“Because . . .” Her lips quiver, her inability to look me in the eye driving me insane. “You make me hurt too much.”

Halting my pacing, I drop my hand from the back of my neck. “What?”

“He’s easy, Hayden. He’s mindless. He doesn’t make me ache like you do. I’ve had a bad enough pregnancy, I don’t want to make it any harder on myself.”

“So you’re going to fuck a guy I hate with every bone in my body and play house with him, with my baby, because he’s easy? Are you hearing what you’re saying?”

“We’re not fucking as you so eloquently stated.”

“Does he kiss you?” I hold my breath, waiting for her answer. I want those lips for me and me alone. Luscious and plump, so addicting I could spend hours pressing my mouth against hers. I don’t think I can stand knowing Logan gets that privilege, gets to taste her, touch her . . .

“We’re friends, Hayden.”

“But he wants more.” It’s not a question; it’s a statement. I’m not an idiot, I know when a guy is infatuated, when he’s fucking lost over a girl because that dumb-as-shit look Logan gives Adalyn is the same damn look I have on my face.

“I have a feeling he does.” She presses her chin on her knees, staring down at the bench.

Scratching the heavy scruff on my jaw, I decide to try to calm myself, tamping down my anger because that’s not going to get me anywhere. Instead, I go for a more gentle approach. Sitting down next to her, I rub my thumb over her cheek, drawing her attention.

“Adalyn, do you hear what you’re saying? You are aware he has feelings for you. Why would you do this to him? Aren’t you playing him? Using him?”

“No, I’m not. He’s only a—”

“Not in his eyes. And I don’t believe that you, someone so kindhearted, so giving and selfless normally, would do that.”

She looks away, and I can see she’s trying to deny what I’m saying is true. If she wasn’t confused, weakened by the weeks of being sick, I’d run now, because I don’t want someone so thoughtless handling my heart either. I know it’s not the real her, though. Unless I have read her very badly, but I no longer think so. But I don’t want her focusing on him. I want her heart as it is completely interwoven with mine.

"What can I do to make this work between us?"

She searches my eyes, her brown to my brown. “Hayden,” she sighs, “It was a fling, let’s keep it—”

“Don’t you fucking lie to me about what we had. Respect me enough to never use that word again. It’s an insult, one I don’t deserve.”

Giving in, she says, “I’m sorry, but it still doesn’t change anything. I don’t think I’m cut out for the world you live in, Hayden.”

“How do you know? You haven’t been a part of my world for long enough, you haven’t given me a full chance to show how you and the baby can fit perfectly into it.”

She shakes her head. “You’re caught up in the pregnancy. If it weren’t for the baby, we would still be three thousand miles apart.”

“Not in my fucking heart.” Taking her hand, I press it against my chest, letting her feel how wildly it beats for her. “You have been buried inside here since the day I first met you. Why do you think I traveled around Binghamton going from hospital to hospital looking for you? Because I knew leaving Racer’s house without your number was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, second to letting you walk out of the cottage the day I was traded. This isn’t a fling for me, this isn’t because of us having a baby together, and this isn’t because you live out here now. This feeling I have for you, this powerful, all-consuming feeling, it’s fucking real and I’ll be damned if I don’t try to earn your heart every day for the rest of my life.”

“Hayden . . .” A tear falls from her eye that I quickly wipe away with my thumb.

“Don’t say anything, I don’t need an answer. I need a chance. Let me prove to you the hurt you harbor for me was a one-time thing. This between us is real, Adalyn, and if I have to spend every day of my damn life proving that to you, then I will. Let me prove it to you, will you do that? Will you give me a chance?”

Taking a deep breath, she looks up, her eyes watery and bloodshot. Peering into the distance, she says, “That day, the day you were traded, I remember waking up feeling different, thinking about our little getaway in New York City. I knew I was pregnant. I had a feeling I was, and when realization crashed all around me I’d never felt more alone before in my life. And then”—she buries her head in her hands—“I saw you were dating that morning show host—”

“Listen to me, Adalyn. She was nothing. I was so goddamn lonely out here, you weren’t talking to me, the guys on the team had their own lives, and I needed someone to talk to, someone to keep me from feeling so alone. I never even kissed her, because she was a friend. And when I realized her feelings were different than mine, that I didn’t think of her as anything other than a friend, we went our separate ways.”

Looking at me now, she says, “So then you know what it feels like to feel like you’re facing a new situation all by yourself.” She takes pause. “I know I have no right to be upset about Noely, but it still stung. It still bit me straight to the core, it still does. I never want to feel like that again. Logan might not be who I want, but at least I won’t be alone.” Standing from her crouched position she picks the bouquet up from the bench and tucks them against her arm. “Thank you for these, but I should get back inside, it’s getting late.”

Walking away, her long cardigan blowing in the light breeze, my soul cracks in half as once again she tries to put more distance between us.

Not this time.

Catching up, I stand in front of her, halting her retreat. Tipping her chin up, I step in close, feeling the strong pull between us. “You said Logan is not the man you want, but the man who is there. Who’s the man you want?”

She tries to look away, but I force her to keep her gaze set on mine.

“Tell me, Adalyn, who do you want?”

She bites her bottom lip, wet droplets rolling down her cheeks. “You, Hayden. You’re the man I want but can’t have. The man I need to stay as far away from as possible, because there is no doubt in my mind, you’re the man who can break me, and with a baby on the way, I can’t be broken. I need to be strong.”

Despite her confession at the end, hope blossoms in the pit of my stomach. She wants me. That’s all I needed to hear. There is a chance, and it’s up to me to show her, even though I have a busy schedule, I will always be there for her; I can make our relationship work. I won’t break her. If anything, I will make her stronger.

“No one said you can’t have me, Adalyn.” Stepping in closer, my grip still holding her chin in place, I lean forward, inches from her mouth. “I’m all yours for the keeping, and I don’t mind showing you exactly how much I fit into your world, how you fit into mine.”

“Hayden, I can’t—”

Pressing a chaste kiss across her lips, not lingering, I pull back, silencing her. “Promise me two things. Please, this is all I ask, just two things, after not telling me for so long, give me this chance.” Her heavy lids part open, revealing those whiskey-brown eyes, giving me an opening. So goddamn beautiful. “Answer my phone calls and texts.” Cautiously, she nods her head, swallowing hard. I press another chaste kiss against her lips and lift barely off her mouth when I say, “And don’t let that fuckhead touch you. You’re mine, and I’m going to prove it. Be patient with me, baby. I promise what we have will be night and day compared to any connection you’ve ever had with Logan.”

Placing another light kiss across her lips, I allow myself to linger for a moment longer than anticipated but pull away when she parts her lips.

She’s going to have to wait if she wants more, because we are nowhere near the end of the road for our relationship. No, we just started a brand new trip, and this one is headed for forever.

Game on. Adalyn will be mine.