Since I was a kid, making it into the World Hockey League was the ultimate goal. No relationship could match my first love, and after my rough childhood, I wasn't putting my heart on the line.
When Bellerive makes a successful bid to move the Califo...
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The palace is heavily decorated in Bellerive Blue and silver, the colors of the Bellerive Bullets, the World Hockey League's newest franchise team. As with anything the palace does, it's tasteful, but it still makes me laugh a little on the inside.
Bellerive has an ice hockey team. Bananas. What the hell does anyone on this island know about ice hockey? Most people have never even set foot on an icy surface, let alone a rink. The yearly winter festival near Christmas with temporary, artificial ice hardly counts. It's not even at the level of recreational skating—it's the equivalent of tourist ice skating.
The good news for the team and the island is that anyone with cash to, quite literally, burn, has shown up tonight. Tickets for the arena are supposed to be extremely expensive in the premium seats to make the ones higher up more affordable for the general population of the country.
I haven't decided yet how I feel about that tiered system, but like anything tied to money and status in Bellerive, it's generated discussion, a bit of buzz. Those who have the money have already bought season tickets in the most expensive sections as a flex.
"When do the hot hockey players arrive?" Ava asks, staring mournfully at the door, a blue drink already in her hand. Her pale blue dress is low cut and clings to every inch of her curvy frame.
"They're not going to invest in one of your businesses," I say, eyeing her.
"There's only one thing I want them sinking into, and it's not any of my business plans." She gives me a sly smile and tips back her drink. "I need another one."
She weaves through the crowd, and I sincerely wonder if it's possible for anyone in the world to tame her.
"Ava told me she plans to see how many of the hockey bros she can sample in the first year," Hollyn says, appearing at my other side to pass me a drink.
"As long as she stays away from the married ones," I mutter.
"I thought her and Stephen Foster were a thing," Hollyn says, her gaze appearing to follow Ava as she breezes around the room, mingling, laughing, moving on.
"The police officer? I try really hard not to think about that or ask about it," I admit. "Ava is very blasé about whatever has or hasn't happened, and I'm not sure he is."
"She doesn't like him?"
"More like she likes money, and Stephen will never have enough of it. She'd kill me for saying it, but she's status obsessed like our mother."
"That's a shame," Hollyn says, her voice quiet. "Ava's also the only one who's still talking to your mother, right?"
"Yep," I say, taking a long drink. "None of us want anything to do with her after what she did to you and Nathaniel. The whole Ember thing was a bit sketchy too, but it felt forgivable at the time, since everything worked out. She's been walking a fine line with us for most of our lives. Claiming to be protective of us while really just protecting her reputation." The words coming out of my mouth are bitter. I know all that about my mother, and yet I was incapable of recognizing the same behavior elsewhere.
