Power Play - Brittney Mulliner Page 0,26

her eyes. “It just feels like it.”

Sydney pulled back and shrugged. “She’s the most connected person I’ve ever met. She always knows someone that can help.”

“Thanks for trying to help, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.” I tried to kill the idea before it grew out of control.

“Why not?” Colby asked.

“I don’t want Jason––”

“Forget about Jason.” Colby waved off my concern before I could finish. “Salt Lake is big enough for the both of you.”

“I don't want him thinking I’m following him,” I blurt before either of them can interject.

Sydney gave me an understanding nod. “I can see how you would worry about that, but I don’t think it should prevent you from trying.”

I disagreed. In all my job searching, I purposely skipped over anything in the state of Utah. It was bad enough running into him here, and that was one hundred percent by chance. Moving to where he lived would make me seem like a stalker.

Colby glanced over my shoulder. “It looks like our bus is here, so we’ve got to run. We’ll be back in two days.” She sighed and shook her head. “Think about it and then you can come back with us when the series is over. You can stay at my place.”

Sydney nodded. “Or we have a pool house you can stay in. It’s really nice, and it will give you a chance to get a feel for the city without pressure.”

Those were both incredibly sweet offers and quite tempting.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Great.” Colby gave me a hug, then Sydney before they both rushed to the front doors. I watched as the team disappeared into a sleek, black bus before heading outside for a walk.

How insane was it to actually consider what they suggested? I’d never even been to Utah before. I couldn’t just move there, into the homes of people I just met this week. That wasn't normal.

Nothing about my experience in Raleigh was normal, though.

What would Jason think? Would he even care? Probably not. Just because his teammates’ wives and girlfriends took me under their wing and became my friends doesn’t mean I’d have to see him. Our lives could continue to move forward separately. No overlapping.

They did seem pretty confident about me finding something there. This Chloe sounded impressive. They believed in her, so maybe I should too. It wasn’t like I had any other options. This was a plan. Something I didn’t have before.

I still didn’t believe in fate, but maybe this was a chance I should take.

10

Jason

I unlocked the door and stepped into my apartment, once again hearing voices. How many times did I have to tell Frank not to let people into my home when I wasn’t there?

“There’s my boy!” Mom came barreling out of the living room, giving me exactly one second to drop my bags so I could catch her as she flung her arms around me. She barely came to my shoulders. I got my height from my dad, but the rest of my looks came from her. Brown hair, brown eyes, and the ability to tan if I ever saw the sun.

“Hi, Mom.” I looked past her and smiled at my dad and younger brother, Joey. They were almost twins with sandy blonde hair and hazel eyes, and skin that only ever freckled or burned.

She leaned back and took my face in her hands, studying every inch of me. “Honey, you look so tired and too thin. He looks too thin right, Howey?”

Dad shook his head and smiled at me as he stepped up for a one-arm hug. Mom wouldn’t move out of the way since she was still examining me. “It’s just awful what that team has been doing. Two and three-game suspensions? Those players deserve much worse than that. They should be out for as long as the guys on your team are. If they cause an injury that takes six months to heal, they’re out for six months.”

I didn’t totally disagree, especially when the hits were blatantly illegal and intentional, but that wasn’t always the case.

“We’ll be okay, Mom.”

“Give him some space.” Joey pulled her away, and we went to the living room.

“When did you guys get in? I thought I was picking you up at eight.” I fell onto the armchair in the corner. I just wanted to sleep until morning skate tomorrow, but that didn’t look like a possibility at this point.

“Oh, we wanted to surprise you.” Mom beamed. “We got an earlier flight so