Fucking Jayden.

“I thought he wasn’t coming.” He looked back and forth between Angie and Lucy as the annoyance started to bubble inside her chest.

Damn it.

“What?” Lucy breathed. “He told me he was meeting me.” Pulling out her phone, she dialed his number, but it went straight to voice mail.

“Momma, I thought Jayden would be here.”

“Hold on, baby,” she said, a little panicky as she redialed his number.

Again, voice mail.

Instead of hanging up, though, she waited until the beep and muttered very quietly so Angie wouldn’t hear her, “You shall die, Jayden Mitchell Sinclair. I don’t know where you are. I don’t care where you are. But when I find you, I will kill you.”

Shea heard her though and smiled nervously at her. Kind of funny since he wasn’t supposed to be scared of anything. “From what Elli said, something happened with Moore’s doctor, so they are seeing a different one. But no worries, we’ve got Angie. A lot of guys came to help me today, so don’t stress. It’s cool.”

“So Jayden isn’t coming?” Angie asked, her eyes wide, which felt like daggers in Lucy’s heart. Looking back at Shea, probably so she wouldn’t scream, Lucy could see he was only trying to help. She got that, but of course, she stressed. Angie had enough disappointment in her life from her fucked-up dad; she didn’t need this from her family. Lucy also didn’t like asking for help from people who weren’t her family. Shea had a team full of girls to worry about, Angie wasn’t his…unfortunately—she was only half kidding—and it was her responsibility to get her daughter ready.

Damn it.

Jayden was going to die.

“No, I’m good. I’ve got her. You’ve got a whole team. I got this,” she said, flashing an overly fake grin. She was sure he didn’t believe her by the way he eyed her, but thankfully, he smiled and nodded.

“Okay, if you need anything, let me know. Make sure you’re on the ice by five, Angie.”

She was nervous, Lucy could tell, but she smiled brightly as she looked up at him. “Yes, sir!” Angie said with a salute to him as she bounced on her heels. When he turned away, her grin was gone, and worry was back in her eyes. “Uncle Jayden really isn’t coming?”

Typing very violently on her phone to Jayden that he was an asshole and that she hoped Baylor was okay because she was going to have to learn to live without her husband, she hit send and then tried to smile at Angie. “We got this.”

“Mom! You do not.”

“I do! I used to get your uncles ready for games.”

She eyed her. “You did not.”

“Okay, I didn’t, but how hard can it be?” Lucy said with a shrug and Angie glared.

“Momma…” she whined and Lucy was going to kill Jayden. Or at least, make it to where he couldn’t have kids. Opening the browser on her phone, she typed: how do you put gear on a seven-year-old for a hockey game?

Before the results could generate, damn faulty Internet in the rink, obviously, someone said, “Um, excuse me?”

She ignored it at first because who the hell would be talking to her as she waited for her phone to spit out the answer.

“Come on, Google. Don’t fail me now,” she muttered as she tapped her phone, Angie looking up at her, all kinds of nervous. Damn it, Jayden.

“Excuse me? Miss?”

Miss? What in the ever-loving fuck? Turning toward the very deep and very male voice, Lucy had to look up to meet a pair of gray eyes. Lucy was a tall woman, almost six feet, and still this guy towered over her. He was huge, big shoulders, and for a second, she was a little taken aback. He must have noticed that because he held his palms up, his eyes boring into hers.

Taking a step back, she eyed him. But then, he tried to smile and, God, it was so awkward, she found herself fighting her own smile. What the hell? Who was this guy? But soon, she was lost in his eyes. They were soft, his lips puffy, his face chiseled in all the right spots. His hair was shaved up the side but thicker at the top, while dark hair dusted his jaw and upper lip. He looked like a damn underwear model, yet something about his face didn’t stun her the way, say, Shea’s did. He was good-looking, hot even, but he was kind of awkward and she found that…adorable?

Hm.

As she eyed him, he did the same to her, his eyes drinking her in as silence stretched between them. She wasn’t sure why she felt all girlie under his gaze, but she sure as hell didn’t like it one bit. So finally, she asked, “Are you talking to me?”

Clearing his throat, he nodded. “Yeah, um, are you Lucy? Sinclair’s sister?”

Tilting her head, she took in the familiar purple and black Assassins warm-ups and the hockey stick in his hands, along with a pair of skates. “Who’s asking?” she asked, her eyes narrowing.

He smiled, his lips curving and his eyes lighting up a bit. “Okay. Hi, I’m Benji Paxton. I play with Jayden on the Assassins, and he asked me to come and help you with your daughter…Angie?”

Her gaze deepened into a scowl. So Jayden knew he wasn’t going to be here and sent someone as a replacement. “That asshole sent you and didn’t even tell me?”

He shrugged. “Um, I think so.”

“And you think I’m gonna trust you with my kid?”

He looked unsure about it himself, yet the grin remained on his lips. He was really cute. “Yes?”