Tomorrow, we’d stand in front of our friends in a sham of a wedding and I was still waiting for the part where I’d be told, “you may kiss the bride.”

Would she hesitate? Would it be a quick peck? If, once I got my mouth on hers, would she lean in? Exhale a surprise little burst of warm air against my lips? Would she sink into it, become overcome by my touch, or would she be steel straight? Uncomfortable and my touch unwanted…

I shook my head, cleared it, and shoved my sweaty, thick hair off my forehead.

Next to me, Ryder was still stripping out of his gear, unfazed by my lack of excitement.

The rest of the guys were laughing, joking around.

I needed to get my head on straight, my focus where it needed to be.

My marriage to Emmersyn would only last a year… I had way more left in my career if I could keep my shit together.

Hockey was my priority.

Would always come first. Women might come and go from my life, but hockey was the end goal.

“Hey. You ready for tomorrow?”

I knocked Joey’s fist as he walked up to me and held out his fist. Knocking it, I nodded. “Yep. Definitely ready to get this season under way.”

His thick brows furrowed before he smirked. “Cute. Obviously you’re ready for the game. I was talking about your post-game performance.”

“It’ll be good.”

“Sure?”

Joey Taylor had been in my life when Ava and I were happily married. As one of the oldest, and longest playing players on the team, more than two dozen men saw my happy ever after turn to my demise. And they’d been there through all of it.

Been with me for all of it.

“You doing okay with all of this?”

I swiped my hair back and to the side, shoulders slumped. No. No I wasn’t. And for all the wrong reasons.

“I keep debating if I should tell Ava. Give her a heads up.”

“Ava?” His dark brows rose.

“She called me. When she got engaged to her new fiancé.”

“What the hell for?”

“Because she didn’t want me to hear it from my parents, and she wanted to make sure I was okay.”

Fuck. How pathetic. Three years after walking out on me and she was still checking in.

I should have changed my number. Ended all contact with her.

“What’d you tell her?”

“I told her I was glad she was happy. And I wished her well.”

“Shit, Andrews. Why didn’t you say anything then? I could have taken you out or something.”

“I didn’t need to get drunk, not like you did.”

He laughed and shook his head. He’d come home from a game one night to find his wife cheating on him. He’d met up with Max and Alix and I at the bar he now owned and gotten so shitfaced he’d spent the night on Alix’s couch.

I’d understood the need then. But drunkenness wasn’t what I thought of when Ava had called me.