I Want You Back (Want You #1)(43)

My mouth dropped open. “He did that without asking me first?”

“Mimi asked him to keep it from you because she knew you wouldn’t like it. So I’m not pushing her into a damn thing. But neither will I ignore her interest in it.”

“Yes, you will.”

“No, I won’t.”

“She’s not playing hockey.”

“Not at first, no. She needs to take a basic skills class to see if she’s suited for it. If she is . . .” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “I’ll get her enrolled in a club. I’ll take her to practices and games. I’ll deal with her equipment until she’s old enough to do it herself.”

I threw my hands up. “Dammit, Lund, you’ve already made your mind up that Mimi will be playing hockey! And you’ll just skate over any objections that I might have about my daughter involved in such a dangerous sport.”

He flashed me a nasty smile. “She’s my daughter too. You don’t get the final say in everything she does.”

Wanna bet? “She’s doing this to manipulate you.”

“Bullshit. You’re saying no to manipulate her and me. You put your foot down and that’s the end of discussion and I’m just supposed to accept that. Not this time.”

I glared at him.

He glared back.

“We’re done talking about this.”

“We haven’t even started talking about this, baby, so settle in.”

“Don’t call me baby, asshole.”

“Ah. So we’re to the name-calling stage. Didn’t take you long to revert to your old habits, Lucille.”

God I hated his pseudo calm tone of voice. “Don’t talk down to me, Jaxson Lund.”

“Fine. Let’s dig in and get to the real problem. What is your biggest fear about Mimi playing? That she’ll naturally be good at it? That she’ll end up spending more time with me than with you?”

“No, you idiot, I worry that she’ll get hurt! How many concussions have you had? How many teeth were knocked out? How many scars from stitches crisscross your body? How many times have you had your nose broken? Or your fingers? Or your arm? Or your kneecap? How many muscles have you torn? How many black eyes? How many bruises from getting whacked repeatedly with a stick? Or taking a puck to the shin or the chin? Or getting the crap beat out of you when you’re repeatedly crashed into the boards during every single game!” My voice had escalated as I’d posed each injury question, and when I finished I realized I was on my feet, my hands fisted, my entire body shaking.

“I had very few injuries when I started playing at age eight, so let’s focus on that, not what might happen years down the road. Now calm down and sit down.”

“No, no and no.”

Jaxson gave me a warning growl . . . which I ignored.

“Mimi will not be a broken and scarred girl because she’s trying to ensure that you really love her and that you’ll stick around this time by getting involved in the one thing you’ve always loved above everything else! Hockey!”

Jaxson jumped to his feet. “Goddammit, Lucy, that’s enough. Enough bullshit, enough playing the blame game. This is about what Mimi wants. But you’re too blinded by resentment for me to see that you’re projecting your fears onto her.”

“And you’re projecting some twisted need to stay relevant through her by putting a freakin’ hockey stick in her hand!” I retorted.

“Relevant? Christ, woman, the only thing that is relevant in this conversation is your continual state of denial when it comes to me asserting my rights as Mimi’s father.”

“You have no right to put her in life-threatening situations.”

“For the love of god, Lucy, what is wrong with you? You are being completely unreasonable!”

“Unreasonable?” I repeated. “No, being unreasonable would be me denying you access to your daughter.”

He snorted. “That’s gonna be hard to do, since in the next month or so I’ll be living in this building and she can come up and see me any goddamned time she wants!”

Utter silence.

“What did you say?”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “What is it about you that gets me so riled up I just blurt shit out without thinking?” He lowered his hands. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”

“Find out what?”

“Find out that I bought the top floor of this building and over the past few months it’s been modified into one apartment, which I will move into as soon as it’s done.”

I was so stunned by this turn of events that I couldn’t speak. I just stared at him. With my jaw nearly hitting the coffee table.

“Come on, Luce. You had to know that I wouldn’t live at Snow Village permanently.”

“A, I didn’t know that. B, who does this kind of shit? Buys a goddamned penthouse apartment in the same building that your baby mama and kid live in?”

“You are far more to me than just an ex-girlfriend, and I’ve never called you my baby mama. Ever.”

Then why didn’t you tell me? Why are you still full of so many secrets, Jaxson Lund? How am I ever supposed to trust you fully?

I swallowed yet another ball of anger. “How long have you hidden this from me?”