Rival Darling: A Young Adult Hockey Romance (The Darling Devils Series)

I SERIOUSLY STRUGGLED NOT SEEING Violet that week. It was a little surprising how much I missed her, but it was probably because dinner on Sunday had gone so well, and I was feeling cautiously optimistic.

Violet seemed to really enjoy spending time with me and my family, and for the first time, I’d noticed signs that maybe she could see me as more than just her fake boyfriend. She’d called herself my girlfriend, albeit by accident, but there had also been that moment in my room. I’d been sure we were going to kiss until Parker interrupted us.

Still, I wasn’t getting my hopes up. At the end of the night, Violet was very quick to remind me of our arrangement and practically fled the car when I dropped her home. I definitely still had work to do. And there was still a chance I’d lose her completely if I came on too strong.

I couldn’t wait until Saturday for our next fake date, so I racked my brains for a way to see Violet before then. I kept drafting messages to her with various reasons why we needed to meet up, but I deleted them all before I had the balls to send them. She’d made it clear she was too busy this week to see me, and I didn’t want to be the nagging fake boyfriend—nobody liked that guy.

However, by Thursday, I was getting desperate, and, after school finished, I found myself standing outside Hug in a Mug. Apparently, Parker had been right about me being a stalker.

When I walked inside, I saw Violet’s cousin, Mia, working behind the counter. She was busy serving another customer, and as the lady picked up her coffee and left, Mia turned her focus to me with a warm smile. The expression quickly vanished though when her eyes met mine and she realized who I was.

“What are you doing here?” Mia’s voice contained a mixture of disbelief and disapproval. It was the first time we’d spoken, and while I’d thought she might be somewhat surprised to see me here, I wasn’t expecting such an adverse reaction. She obviously didn’t like me. Or, at least, she didn’t trust me.

“Hey, Mia.”

“You know my name?” The look she was giving me was filled with suspicion. Like most people, Mia had probably already formed a poor opinion of me, but as Violet’s cousin and best friend, she was most definitely someone I wanted on team Reed. I just had to hope she could see past the Darling Devil rumors and give me a chance.

“Of course, I know your name. You’re Violet’s cousin.” I cleared my throat and lowered my voice as I continued. “Also, it’s on your name badge.”

“Oh yeah, right.” She flushed as she glanced down at her badge.

“You having a good day?” I asked in a vain attempt at sounding friendly.

“Sure, now what can I get you?” Mia’s answer came quickly as though she wanted to wrap up our interaction as fast as possible.

“Uh…” I looked up at the menu on the wall behind her. I had no idea what to get. I never drank coffee, and I couldn’t remember the name of the multicolored concoction Violet had made me last time I was here.

“You did come here for a coffee, right?” Mia said after I’d been staring blankly at the wall for too long.

“Of course.” I lied. “What’s Violet’s favorite drink?”

“You want an iced white chocolate mocha with a dash of cinnamon?” she said, letting out a soft laugh.

“Sounds great.” At least this one didn’t sound like it was pink.

Mia smirked in response but nodded before she went to make the drink. She kept glancing over her shoulder at me as she worked. Her eyes were sharp and inquisitive, almost as if she were trying to figure me out. While it was clear she didn’t think much of me, I was hopeful that coming here wouldn’t make her opinion any worse.

“Here you go,” she said, placing my coffee on the counter in front of me. “But this isn’t what you actually came for, is it?”

Yep, Mia was onto me. I took a long sip of my drink as I tried to come up with a reply and was pleased to find it tasted just as good as Violet’s unicorn coffee.

“A guy can’t swing past his favorite coffee shop for an iced white chocolate mocha with a dash of cinnamon?”

She raised an eyebrow at me, but the corner of her mouth also lifted a fraction. It was the first hint I’d gotten that Mia hadn’t completely written me off.

“A guy can,” she said. “But if the guy in question never usually comes here and happens to be pretending to date my cousin, it feels like a bit of a coincidence.”

“Will you keep it down?” I hissed, giving a quick glance around the café. Thankfully, there was just an elderly couple in a booth on the far side of the room, and they were deep in conversation.

Mia smirked. “You’re a lot jumpier than I expected…”

“I’m not jumpy,” I growled.

That only seemed to make the sly smile on Mia’s lips grow bigger, and my reaction appeared to have relaxed her a little. “Violet’s not working today,” she said.

Damn. I hadn’t seen her yet, so I wasn’t surprised, but it was hard not to be visibly disappointed. I did my best to hide it. “I told you I’m just here for coffee. Sweet, sweet cinnamon coffee.”

Mia folded her arms across her chest and looked at me like I’d just insulted her intelligence.

“Okay, maybe I’m here for Violet.”

“Obviously.” She laughed. “You know, you could have just messaged her in advance and saved yourself the trouble, right?”

I was well aware of that, but the many, many messages I’d drafted and then deleted proved it wasn’t that simple. I couldn’t just ask Violet to meet up without having a good reason. Coming to the coffee shop was supposed to be subtle, but clearly that was not my forte.

“How’s she doing this week?” I asked, ignoring Mia’s question.

“She’s okay.” Mia frowned though, and I immediately started to worry.

“What’s wrong?”

“She just seems a bit out of sorts,” she said. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“Is it Hoffman?”

“Maybe,” she said before shaking her head. “But I don’t think it’s that. Jeremy’s just being Jeremy. He keeps trying to pull her aside to talk, but I’ve been helping her dodge him.”

I tightened my grasp on my coffee cup, and I tried to think of a response that didn’t make me sound like a psycho. I was supposed to be helping her convince Jeremy to back off, but for some reason, she was going it alone this week.

“You like her, don’t you?” Mia said, taking me by surprise.

“Uh, of course, I do. She’s my girlfriend.”

“Fake girlfriend,” Mia corrected.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Not you too.”

“See! You totally like her.” She gasped. “And not just as a fake girlfriend.”

“Will you please not squeal that so loud?” I glanced around the room again as I tried to quiet her. There was still barely anyone in here, but you could never be too careful.

“Sorry.” She lowered her voice. “So…?”

After Violet, her cousin was just about the worst person I could admit my feelings to. But, for some reason, I let them spill out without a fight. Denying them would probably only convince her more anyway.

“Okay, I like her,” I said. “Hell, I more than like her, but she’s not interested in dating another hockey player.”

“No, she’s not interested in dating someone who will break her heart,” Mia clarified. “If you’re the kind of guy she can count on, the hockey stuff won’t matter.”

I swallowed, desperately hoping she was right. Would Violet really consider me if I could prove I’d never hurt her? If I could prove she was the most important thing to me?

“You’re pretty much the last guy I’d tell her to go for,” Mia continued.

“Gee, thanks.”

“But she seems to disagree.”

“She does?” I couldn’t keep the excitement from my voice. “Has she said something to you?” I sounded like a teenage girl, gushing over their first crush. I wondered if Mia thought the same thing because she was smirking at me.

“She says I should give you a chance. She doesn’t think you’re the guy everyone portrays you as.” She cocked her head as though she was still trying to work out whether Violet was right about that. “Well? Are you?”

“I would never hurt Violet, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I think I might actually believe you.” She was still studying me closely, but I must have said something she approved of because she gave a slight nod and started to smile. “You should tell her how you feel.”

“I should?” I struggled not to sound shocked. Mia didn’t appear to be my biggest fan, so I was surprised she wasn’t telling me to leave her cousin alone. “But she doesn’t feel the same way, does she?” I dared to ask.

“Well, I don’t know…” Mia paused as she took a moment to consider it. Every second of silence stretched for an eternity as I anxiously waited for her to continue. “Vi’s like a steel trap about that sort of stuff. There’s no way she’d actually tell me how she’s feeling. But⁠—”

“But…”

“I’ve caught her looking at that photo you posted of the two of you at dinner several times this week. She’s definitely feeling something.”

I didn’t want to put too much weight on Mia’s words. My head told me that Violet would never let herself break her own golden rule. But my heart didn’t seem to care. It was like it had been given the puck with an opportunity for a breakaway. There was no defense in its way, and it was off and racing toward the goal.

I opened and closed my mouth several times, unsure what to say next. My gut instinct was to tell Mia she was wrong. But what if she was right? What if I really did have a chance to be with Violet?

“Just think about it,” Mia said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

I frowned because the worst thing that could happen was I’d lose Violet, and that was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I didn’t want to risk scaring her off by telling her how I felt, especially when she’d already been so clear she wasn’t interested in a real relationship, especially not with a hockey player.

I’d always been fearless about most things in my life, both on and off the ice, but I’d learned the hard way that it was better and safer to guard your heart. The thought of opening up to Violet only to have her reject me was terrifying. And despite what Mia said, I knew I had to be sure about Violet’s feelings before I told her mine.

The problem was our fake relationship had an expiration date, and I was running out of time. I had one week to figure out if Violet shared my feelings; one more week to prove to her that not all hockey players were bad and that if she was going to make an exception it should be for me.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, but then I tilted my head as I looked at Mia. “I know you don’t trust me. Why are you encouraging me to pursue your friend?”

“Because I think there’s a chance Vi might be right about you,” she said. “And if the worst thing about you is that you broke Jeremy’s nose, well, that might just make you my hero.”

“I’m no hero.”

“Well, I’m not so sure you’re the villain either.”

Her comment left me stunned. I couldn’t remember the last time someone other than Violet was willing to give me a chance or even considered I might not be the terrible person everyone made me out to be.

She drew in a breath before she continued. “But, either way, I will do horrible things to you if you break my cousin’s heart. You know that, right?”

“You don’t need to worry. I would never do that.”

“Good.”

“Also, please don’t say anything to Violet about all this. I don’t want to freak her out, and I’d like to be the one to tell her when the time is right.”

“You think I’d go and ruin your dramatic outpouring of love? Please…” Mia pretended to zip her lips shut. “Don’t stress. Your secret is safe with me.”

I wasn’t completely certain if I could believe her, but I didn’t have much choice other than to nod in agreement.

I left the coffee shop, uncertain what I was going to do. I didn’t want to get hurt, but it was hard to ignore the small scrap of hope Mia had given me. And I just kept wondering if Violet felt the same way.

I turned to walk back to my truck, but I paused after I’d only taken a few steps. Jeremy Hoffman was walking toward me. He strode down the sidewalk like he owned the place. To be fair, his family name was plastered across numerous shops and businesses that lined the road. It was no wonder he always had such a smug look on his face.

When he caught sight of me, his arrogant grin twisted into a scowl. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Jeremy, but he didn’t break stride as he approached.

“Get back to your side of the river, Reed. You’re not welcome here.”

I folded my arms over my chest and gave him a hard look in return. “You might own half of Sunshine Hills, Hoffman, but I’m pretty sure the sidewalk is fair game.”

His expression only darkened, and several people gave us concerned looks as they walked past. With the tension radiating between us, they were probably concerned we were about to fight.

“I know you’re only messing with Violet to get to me,” he said. “Well, you’ve had your fun. Now give her back.”

“She’s not an object,” I replied. “And it’s not my fault you were stupid enough to lose her in the first place.”

“Yeah, well, at least I’m confident enough in my hockey skills not to use a girl to try and win a game.”

I coughed out a laugh. “You think I’m using Violet to help me beat you?”

“We’re playing each other next week. What more reason do you need? Unless…”

“Unless what?” I growled.

“Ah, I know what this is about.” Jeremy’s smug smile had returned.

“You don’t know shit, Hoffman.”

“I know you better than most people, Darling.” He smirked. “We used to be friends once, remember.”

Looking at Jeremy now, it was almost impossible to recall that time when girls and school rivalries didn’t matter; all we cared about was seeing our team win each weekend. We’d both played for the same youth club, and the fact we lived on different sides of the river never crossed our minds. That all changed once we were both in high school and started playing for our respective varsity teams. It hadn’t taken long for Jeremy to turn into the jerk who stood before me today. For our friendship to turn to bitter rivalry. Hockey wasn’t to blame for that though.

“And as your old friend,” he continued. “I can tell exactly why you’re screwing around with Violet. This is about Natalie, isn’t it?”

I instinctively took a step closer to him, and he edged backward, probably noticing how tightly my fists were clenched. “Don’t say another word, Hoffman.”

“Oh, come on, Reed.” He laughed, and the sound made my blood simmer. “That was freshman year. I really thought you’d be over it by now.”

Unfortunately for both of us, I wasn’t ever going to get over the fact my first girlfriend had cheated on me with my oldest friend. At the time, I’d thought she was the one. And Jeremy knew it. That didn’t stop Natalie and him from running around behind my back for almost our entire freshman year.

I knew he was just trying to get to me, but he was doing an excellent job. I was close to boiling point now, but I took a deep breath to calm myself. Things were going to get ugly if I didn’t.

“That’s ancient history,” I replied. “I don’t need anyone or anything to help me beat you on the ice, and I certainly don’t need to date your ex-girlfriend for revenge. I’m pretty sure I got that when I messed up your nose.”

Jeremy stood a little taller and pushed out his chest. “Try that again. I dare you.”

He was just acting tough. Jeremy knew I wouldn’t break his nose again because I’d gotten in so much shit the last time. It was seriously tempting though.

I eased the urge by reminding myself that his nose was no longer perfectly straight. It still gave me great satisfaction. And I liked to think of it as a sign that you could never fully trust anyone—sometimes, not even your friends.

“I’ll save it for our game,” I said. “And despite what you might think, you’re the last person Violet and I are concerned with. But I am so glad to hear how much it bothers you.”

“It’s not a bother.” He shrugged. “I’m just trying to save you a repeat of the heartache. She’ll come crawling back eventually. They always choose me in the end…”

“If I were you, I’d stop worrying about Violet and me and start worrying about the game. See you on the ice, Hoffman.”

I stalked away before he could get another word in. It was taking a lot of effort to control my anger right now, and he was only going to keep pushing me until I went over the edge. I didn’t like dredging up the past, but it was Jeremy’s continued interest in Violet that concerned me the most. He’d ruined my relationship with a girl once before, and I had no intention of letting that happen again.