I shrug. “I don’t see it as a risk since she is the best I’ve seen.”

His head cocks to the side. “Is that right?”

“Yes, sir,” I say confidently. “Her game is flawless, she’s always ten steps ahead of the competition, and she can take a hit like a full-grown man.”

He nods his head, looking out at the party. “Maybe I should go find her.”

“You should,” I say, turning to point her out. “She’s over there with Miller Raymond and Yuri Anderson.”

“Thanks, son,” he says, cupping my shoulder. “Good luck this year.”

“Thank you,” we both say as he walks away and I want to follow him, but then my dad is talking.

“Jayden, what are you doing? You’re supposed to talk to him not send him off,” he scolds me, but I look at him stone-faced.

“I explained my game, I sold it and Jace’s. There was nothing else I could say.”

“There is plenty. I just hope he doesn’t choose her over you.”

This is just like him, selfish, only caring about himself. He has tried to make me like that my whole life, and it drives me fucking insane. Remembering that he can’t control me, I shrug and say, “If that’s how the cards fall, then so be it.” He brings his gaze back to mine and glares as I ask, “Now what did you need to talk to me and Jace about Mom for?”

“Oh,” he says, taking a pull of his beer. “Where is she?”

Looking at Jace, since I’m pretty sure we were just played, I say, “She’s at home.”

“Didn’t want to come out?”

I shake my head. “Nope.”

“Hmm. Her loss,” he mutters with a shake of her head. “Probably knitting or something.”

“Or taking care of your granddaughter while your daughter works.”

He doesn’t say anything to that, almost ignores it as he says, “Well, anyway, I wanted to let you both know I donated twenty thousand to the team. I’m sure it can help out a lot.”

As he holds my gaze, a fire starts to burn in the pit of my belly. How dare he?

“Why?” I ask, and his brows go up.

“To help out.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, Jayden Marshall, I want to help you guys succeed.”

Sucking in a breath through my nose, I shake my head. “It’s Mitchell.”

“Huh?”

“Jayden Mitchell is my name, and I’m sorry, but we don’t want anything from you,” I say as Jace’s eyes go wide, and I feel his gaze burning a hole in the side of my face.

“And why is that?”

“Because we don’t need it. And my thing is, if you have an extra twenty grand lying around, why don’t you give it to Mom so she doesn’t struggle?”

“She threw me out; she gets nothing,” he says simply, causing my nails to bite into my palms.

“Because you are a cheating bastard,” I say, my voice laced with anger. Jace starts to shake his head, his hand coming to rest against my arm, but I refuse to stop. “Why are you even here? Neither one of us wants you here.”

“Because you are my boys and I love you,” he says, his eyes staring into mine, but I shake my head.

“You’re a liar. We don’t matter to you. There is something more. Maybe you are trying to buy our love or sway us away from Mom, but I, for one, want nothing from you.”

“You’re overreacting. I’m just trying to do something nice for you,” he sneers, his eyes darkening to an almost black color. “And you’re throwing it in my face.”

“Because I don’t want it. I don’t want you. Anywhere near me. You are dead to me,” I yell then, letting my anger get the best of me.

“Jayden,” Jace says, squeezing my shoulder. “Calm down, buddy.”

“No, you’ve left all of us to clean up your mess. Claire paid the house off, all of us have been giving Mom money because she’s so in debt, and you just stand by and do nothing. But yet you have money to give to our hockey team! So fucking classic!”

He takes a step toward me, but Jace stands between us, his hand coming to Dad’s chest. “I am your father, you little shit, give me some respect.”

“No! You are nothing to me,” I sneer back. “So stay the hell away from me and mine.”

Turning on my heel, I fix my jacket before walking away, ignoring the unwanted stares. I feel like I’m about to come out of my skin, and my chest hurts from the anxiety of having to talk to him. But as I reach the side door and push it open, I know I did right.

So why do I feel like utter shit?

“So do you think you could survive in the NHL?”

Grinning, I meet his gaze with my determined one. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to talk to Bryan Fisher, but I’m going to take advantage of my chance. “Don’t let the dress and heels fool you, I can hang with the best of them. You should come out and watch me play.”

Returning my grin, he nods. “Already planned on it. I was actually talking to the Sinclair brothers when Jayden suggested I talk to you. I’ve seen him play; he’s a dynamic player.”

“Best I’ve seen. His two-way game is on point, and his playmaking ability, no matter the situation, is awe-inspiring. I’ve been very lucky to play with him. He’s made me better.”

His grin grows. “He thinks very highly of you too. I’m very excited to see y’all play.”

The fact that Jayden was talking about me pleases me a little too much as I look up at Mr. Fisher. It makes me feel extraordinary, and while it’s weird to feel like that, I am glad Jayden thinks highly of me, because Lord knows I think the same of him. The past month has been amazing. When we aren’t dominating on the ice, we are together, and he is honestly my favorite part of my day. He makes me laugh all the time, and when he looks at me, I swear, I can’t even form a thought. He has been spectacular, and I know I’m falling for him.

Yeah, I know, scary shit. But the more time I spend with him, the more I know I’m reaching my nirvana. Of course, our unknown future scares me to the core. But for now, I’ll take what he is giving me, and I’ll hoard it in case later he’s gone. Just the memories we are making, I know I can’t live without. Like remembering how he likes to lick the tip of my nose when we are facing each other in bed seriously gives me chills. Or the way I love tucking my hands in his pockets. I don’t know what it is, but I just love touching him. It’s the little things that I seriously never want to let go of.