HAVEN I was nervous about seeing Bailee again after so many years. I had hated her when I worked for Ben because she had always blown him off. Now that I knew it was because her abusive ex-husband had been isolating her, I felt guilty that I had hated her so much, but I didn’t know how to interac
BEN “How long will you be staying?” Bailee asked as she sat at the dining room table, her feet on the chair next to her. It was nice to see Ben fussing over her, refilling her water, and putting a pillow behind her back, but it also made me sad that I never got that with Ben. Max had been incred
BEN Seeing Siri and Haven sitting in my kitchen, eating the food I made for them, filled me with so much happiness that I would remember this exact moment forever. We then spent the next few hours building Siri’s furniture together. I hadn’t expected Siri to want to be involved, but she sat in my
BEN Coach Dawson’s unwavering glare made me uneasy as I sat across from him in his polished, oversized office. His desk was far larger than needed for a man who spends most of his time in a conference room with the other coaches discussing strategy, in the film room, the gym, or by the rink. He
HAVEN “That was years ago, and it wasn’t like I was being reckless and having a fling with some random employee!” Ben yelled, and my breathing became faster. “I loved her! I was planning on marrying her as soon as she agreed! People wouldn’t care about us sleeping together if we had gotten married
HAVEN “I worked for Ben for years, but in reality, I worked for your entire team,” I said, and Coach Dawson’s face tightened. “I did everything ever asked of me, regardless of who asked from your team, the cost, or the time it would take. Your wife’s bake sale, when over half of the team wives and
HAVEN “Mommy,” Siri said, pulling her headphones off and letting them and her tablet fall to the floor as she looked around the room at all the strange faces. Her arms wrapped tighter around Ben, and I looked around the room, too, seeing how she could be scared. “This is not a conversation that
HAVEN I expected a celebration, a kiss even. Instead, we spent the next hour writing up my statement to the press about how Ben had been a complete gentleman and that what happened between us was not abuse or harassment. In turn, he also drafted a statement that stated the same. I had been refu
EPILOGUE “Go, go, go!” Sebastian screamed from next to me, standing and leaning over the person in front of him as if Ben could hear him over the crowd and the glass. Then again, with how loud the man was, he just might. I had only known Bash in passing from when I worked for Ben as his assista
HAVEN ONE MONTH LATER My eyes kept moving from the woman before me to the clock on the wall behind her. I wanted to be here, but I had more important places to be. She had run over with her last client, which made us run over and caused me to be late for an important game. Ben had been stressin
BEN Haven was empty for the next few weeks as she flew back and forth, cleaning out the house her ex-husband had left her. It had been Cynthia’s home, too, and Haven had been taking extra care and devotion to ensuring things were handled and gone through properly. I had gone with her a few times,
HAVEN Her hand was cold, and I adjusted her blanket to cover her arm. The lawyers had come in and refused to admit any fault of the hospital, even though Cynthia had her ID on her and even knew one of the paramedics who brought her in for them to have given the hospital her name. They should ha
HAVEN Sitting in the airport in the middle of the night with a toddler who got angry each time the loudspeaker called for another flight and disturbed her sleep was not what I had been prepared for. My mind was a foggy mess. All I could picture was Cynthia falling down the stairs. How long had sh
BEN Being excited about an ex getting involved in my life might not have been the best thing when things were already tense, but fuck did it feel good to know I did indeed have friends in high places and they were watching my back. Was I still expecting them to hold it over me and try to get me t
BEN It was odd pulling up to the house and finding there wasn’t a single paparazzi in sight. After today’s news, I expected them to be ready to break down my gate for a story, but no one was there. Instead, a blacked-out SUV sat across the street, and my stomach twisted when I realized it was pro
HAVEN I needed to get out of the house. Staying inside was driving me crazy, and I couldn’t take it anymore. My last job interview was a week ago, and while I keep applying, no one wants to hire the woman all over the tabloids with a sex tape. Our PR team managed to get it taken down, but it stil
BEN “Rangers player Benjamin Evans is today’s hot topic. Now fans were petitioning for him to be traded for his performance last season. Even I wanted him gone, and I’ve followed his career since he was being scouted.” The reporters around him laughed, and I gritted my jaw. “I know. I remember hi