The Heart Chaser by Gina Azzi
Luca
Igrin up at the stands, seeing Abbi sandwiched in between Justine and Nikki, Valentina on her lap.
“Man, your family is a trip,” Austin says to me, shaking his head as my nieces and nephews begin to dance.
“They’re a social liability,” I respond, but the warmth in my tone takes the sting out of my words.
Noah laughs. “They can give the Merricks a run for their money.”
Austin chuckles. “That’s the truth.” He clasps me on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you, Panda.”
My gaze latches onto Abbi, her eyes finding mine even through the thousands of people here tonight. She blows me a kiss and my smile widens. “Me too,” I tell Cap.
“Austin, we’ve got a problem.” Sims rushes up to us.
“What’s wrong?” Austin asks.
The team huddles around Sims.
“It’s Yaeger. He’s gone,” Sims explains.
“Gone? What the hell do you mean, gone?” Easton snaps.
Sims shrugs. “He was in the locker room, suiting up, when his phone rang.”
“He took the call outside,” Evans supplies.
“And never came back in,” Sims says.
“His car is gone but his watch, his bag, everything is still in his locker,” Evans adds.
Austin swears, scraping a hand over his face.
“It must have been some kind of emergency,” I say, doing damage control. It’s Yaeger’s first season starting with the Hawks, and he’s a solid player, an all-around good guy. “The only way he would up and leave is—”
“If something devastating happened,” Noah agrees.
“He’s not answering his phone,” Sims confirms.
“Okay, we’ve gotta focus on the game,” Austin says, his gaze swinging to Coach Phillips.
By the tightness in his expression, he’s already been informed of the situation. “Keller! You’re up!” Coach shouts at one of the newer guys on the team who looks truly petrified about being tossed into his first NHL game.
The guys and I exchange a look, all of us recalling our first games, the fear and the nerves and the uncertainty of it all. Then we rally around Keller, hyping him up for the first game of his career.
True terror flickers in his expression as he looks at me, his eyes blown with panic.
“Look, you’re going to go out there and mess up,” I tell him.
“Jesus, Panda.” Noah smacks the back of my head.
“And after the first mistake, you’re gonna settle in,” I coach Keller. “We’ve all been where you are, dude, and we’ve all made mistakes. But after you get that out of your system, you’ll be fine. You’ve been training your entire life for this moment—”
Keller’s face pales.
East swears.
I grin. “Keller”—I grip his shoulder and give it a little shake, switching tactics—“you’re gonna be a goddamn rock star. Now go out there and let’s win this game!” I release him and he stumbles toward the ice.
“Don’t ever go into motivational speaking,” Noah advises me as he pushes off behind Keller.
“He’ll be fine,” I say, watching Keller.
“After he makes his first fuckup,” East agrees and we share a laugh.
“I hope Yaeger’s all right,” I say.
East nods. “It must have been some emergency…”
“Must have been a woman,” I surmise, my gaze finding Abbi again.
“Yep,” East agrees, his attention snagged by Claire.
“You guys are fucking whipped,” Sims says, his voice laced with disgust.
“You’ll see,” I tell Sims over my shoulder as I skate onto the ice. “One day, it’ll happen to you.”
“No way,” he swears.
Easton chuckles.
But once I’m on the ice, I block everything out and zone in on the game. Hockey has been the one constant in my life, the only thing besides my family that I had before my mom passed and afterwards. But now my family includes Abbi Walsh, and I know that everything is different. For the better.
I fell in love for the first time in my life with the most incredible woman I’ve ever known. For the first time ever, I allow myself to hope. And it feels even better than saving a buzzer-beater goal and winning a game in my hometown with my family cheering in the stands.
* * *
“That was one hell of a save,”Abbi murmurs as I kiss her hard after the game.
“Great game, bro!” Nikki hits me on the back.
“You were amazing!” Justine gushes, squeezing me in a hug.
“That was awesome!” Jack hollers as Gino rushes my legs, nearly toppling me over.
I shoot Abbi an apologetic look as I’m pulled away from her by my rowdy nephews.
But her face is shining, her eyes are warm, and she looks truly happy.
Pop pulls her into a conversation, and I watch in awe as the man known for being the strong, but silent, type chatters away like a schoolgirl.
Abbi has that effect on people. She’s impossible not to fall in love with.
I would know; she had me from that first night. And I haven’t looked back once.