The Heart Chaser by Gina Azzi
Abbi
My first event in my new role occurs two weeks after Chloe brings me into her circle of friends. Dinner with Indy, Claire, and Chloe is a turning point, a reminder that I’m now living life on my own terms.
Even Luca’s presence can’t overshadow the fun I have. By the end of the night, I eagerly agree to a date with Indy’s friend Aiden. My first date happens to land on the same day of my first professional event, which needs to be moved up at the last moment due to an impending snowstorm.
I shake out my coat and scarf once I’m inside the high school gym, where the Hawks are donating hockey gear and jerseys to the JV and Varsity teams. As events ago, it’s pretty straight forward, but since it’s my first one with the Hawks, a zing of nerves works down my spine.
“Where do you want us?” Noah smiles at me broadly as he and Luca enter the gym from the opposite side.
The tables, pamphlets, and projector highlighting Hawks players, their top performances, and their backstories, is already set to go.
“Hey, guys!” I wave, keeping my eyes trained on Noah. “Thanks so much for coming. The bell rings in another fifteen minutes or so and then we should be swarmed with current players as well as other athletes who are on the fence about giving hockey a go.”
“And the ones who just want to take a selfie,” Luca quips.
“Right,” I say. Modest, that one. I gesture toward a little table I set up with coffee and doughnuts for the coaching staff and people helping out to set everything up. “Help yourselves.”
“Thanks, Abs.” Noah moves toward the table. “Emmaline woke up three times last night. I need the extra caffeine.”
“Have at it,” I tell him. I restock a pile of pamphlets on a table, making sure they’re perfectly neat.
Noah’s phone rings and he moves toward the door to take the call, a coffee in hand.
The moment Noah clears the doorway, the atmosphere in the gym shifts. The air seems to tighten, heavy with tension, thick with awkwardness.
In my peripheral vision, I watch as Luca sits on a table, his feet still planted on the ground due to his height.
“Not even gonna say hi?” he asks.
“Hello,” I grunt.
He snorts. “Wow. Didn’t take you for spiteful.”
His words hurt just as much as they anger me. “You didn’t take me for much of anything,” I mutter under my breath. Turning toward him, I place my hand on my hip and glare.
Luca’s lips quirk upward but his eyes darken. “Just say what you mean, Abbi.”
I shake my head. “Nothing, Pandatelli.”
“What happened to Luca?” he asks mockingly.
“What happened to ‘I’ll call you’?” I shoot back, internally wincing at how much that makes me look like I care. But I don’t. Care, I mean. Tonight, I have a date with a kind, respectable entertainment lawyer. I shouldn’t take the bait and let Luca rile me up with bullshit from over six months ago.
He blows out a sigh and for a moment, a streak of regret blares over his face. His eyes soften, ringed in apology.
My hand slips off my hip and I hold my breath.
Is he going to apologize? Is he going to explain himself? Is he going to give me…something?
As quickly as it appeared, his regret is gone. His eyes shutter over and his expression hardens, like stone. “That’s what this is about? Abbi, it was one weekend. And yeah, it was fun. The sex was hot. But come on, babe? That was months ago and you said it yourself, we work together now.” The blasé veneer of his words, the dismissal in his tone, paired with my own logic, cuts. I hate that I still care; I hate that months later, his rejection still hurts.
I look back down at the pamphlets, my fingers playing with the edges of the papers. The back of my nose burns and I take a long moment to quiet the emotions flooding through me. I gain control of the tears that collect in the corners of my eyes.
I let the hurt from his brush-off morph into anger instead. Anger is safer. It’s a hell of a lot more effective too. Slowly, I harden myself to Luca Pandatelli. When I glance back up, it’s not even him sitting on the edge of the table, smirking at me.
It’s Phil. And my college boyfriend. It’s my father, the man who was supposed to love me unconditionally, but dropped me like a hot potato when a woman younger than my mother spread her legs for him.
“You’re right,” I say, my voice a hell of lot more even than I feel. For that, I’m thankful. “It didn’t mean anything. We’re here for an event,” I remind Luca and myself, clutching at my professionalism with two hands. “Let’s focus on that, on the kids. We’ll just leave the past in the past. There’s no need for us to mention it again. In fact, outside of professional functions, there’s no need for us to talk at all.”
Surprise flares in Luca’s eyes as he realizes he miscalculated this exchange. His little performance, playing casual and flippant, backfired. I shake my head. As much as I hated it when he said it, Luca was also right. We work together now. He should only exist in my professional sphere. Besides, I’ve been burned too many times to go down this path again, to even entertain notions of tangling up with a professional athlete.
“Abbi,” Luca’s voice is low and this time, the apology is clear. Too little too late.
“Final bell just rang,” Noah announces, clapping his hands together as he reenters the gym.
“Great,” I say brightly, turning away from Luca. I walk toward Noah, explaining a few things and gesturing toward the end of the gym where the hockey gear is stored.
I feel Luca’s eyes on my back, prodding me, but I don’t give in again. Instead, I focus on the event. I engage with the students, the faculty, and coaching staff. I do my job with one-hundred percent of my focus.
As students trickle out and the day winds down, I grin at Noah’s enthusiasm over it.
“That was awesome. I love talking to kids about hockey. They’re gonna have a good team this year. Coach runs a tight program,” he says, looking around the gym.
“Yeah. Today was fun,” I agree. “Thank you so much for coming. Having you two here makes all the difference when it comes to getting kids, especially players, excited about the season and the future.”
“Anytime, Abbi.” Noah looks at me. “I mean it.”
“Thanks, Noah.” I move toward a few of the guys who are starting to repack extra equipment and break down tables. “I’m going to talk to them for a few.”
“No worries, I need to take off anyway. You good?” Noah asks me.
“Absolutely. Have a good night. Say hi to Indy and kiss those sweet baby cheeks for me.” I wave, walking away from Noah and Luca.
I have a few words with the guys and thank them for their help. When I turn back to collect my coat and purse, I’m surprised Luca is standing there, waiting for me.
“Abbi,” he starts again.
“Have a good night, Pandatelli.” I breeze past him, picking up my coat and slipping it on.
He sighs loudly but I don’t turn around.
“You need a ride?” he asks after a moment.
I wind my scarf around my throat, pulling out my hair and fixing it to fall around my shoulders. I paste on a smile and spin around. “No, I don’t.” I start to walk toward the gym doors that lead out to the parking lot where Aiden is meeting me.
“I didn’t see your car.” Luca narrows his eyes.
“I got a ride.” I pass him.
At the last moment, his hand darts out, giving me déjà vu of that day in The Meadows hallway. This time, he grips my upper arm.
I glance at his fingers around my arm before shooting him a dirty look. “Is there a problem?” I ask.
“Don’t be like this.”
“Like what? I thought you prefer drama-free?” I keep my voice light. Detached.
Luca growls. “We’re going to be working together. We should at least be able to…talk.”
“We’re talking right now,” I say through clenched teeth, once again dropping my gaze to his hold on me.
He drops his hand and I shake my arm, resuming my walk. “Have a good night, Pandatelli.”
He swears behind me but I don’t turn around. Because at that moment, the door to the gym opens and who I can only assume is Aiden Hardsin, Indy’s best friend, steps into the gym.
As soon as he sees me, he smiles and damn, he’s good-looking. Tall, with broad shoulders, and a trim waist. His blond hair is cut short on the sides and styled on top. Warm blue eyes meet mine and he smiles. “Abbi?”
“That’s me.” I grin back, extending a hand. “It’s good to meet you, Aiden.”
“You too. Indy was very clear when she told me you like steak and wine.”
I laugh before nodding. “I do, but we can keep it casual. You don’t have to go all out.”
Aiden’s eyes flare with amusement. “What if I want to? I hope you don’t mind I made reservations at a steakhouse.”
I grin. “That sounds good to me.” I fall in step beside him.
Right before we reach the door, Luca clears his throat loudly and Aiden and I both stop and turn around.
“Hey, man.” Aiden lifts a hand in greeting.
Luca flips his chin at Aiden in acknowledgment but his eyes are trained on me. Electric blue, they glare with an intensity that unnerves me.
Instead of reacting, I school my features, flip my chin back and step out into the cold February night with Aiden beside me.