With Your Heart.

"Hello?" I called through the large house.

I continued walking until I made it to my brother's office. I popped my head in and saw him busily working behind his desk.

I cleared my throat and questioned, "Where is Carter?"

David, my brother, looked up from his paper work and then looked at his watch. "Shit," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear him.

"What?"

"Gabs, I know that I promised you last time, but could you pick him up from hockey practice? It ends at 1. I promise this will be the last time." David spoke in a rush.

I nodded and set the bag of baked goods and cup of coffee I held in my hand on his desk. "Here, I brought you something to snack on. And I told you, I don't mind doing these things, but he is your son. Don't forget that he likes spending time with you, too."

David sighed and picked up the small white bag and opened it to see the fresh-baked pastries inside. "Thank you, for everything, Gabriella. I have been struggling these last few months without Sarah, and I-" he began, but paused as his voice began to crack and tears rimmed his eyes.

"I know, David, but we are all struggling. We all loved Sarah so much. I am gonna go get Carter now, and I say we have a big Italian dinner tonight, like the ones that grandma used to make. Sound good?" I said, rubbing my thumb over the jagged edge of my keys.

He nodded and then looked back down at his paper work. I slowly backed away from his desk and began to head out to my car. The drive to Carter's practice rink only took ten minutes, so I arrived a little early. I decided to go inside and watch my nephew practice for a little while.

The cold Chicago wind blew strong as I made my way into the rink, but once inside the warmth heated me back to a normal temperature. I walked through the halls of the small high school rink in which Carter's peewee hockey team practiced, and I finally made my way to the bench on the ice. The coach was sitting on the bench, so I decided to join him.

"Gabriella," he spoke softly as he noticed my presence, "how have you been my darling?"

I smiled at him and enveloped him in a hug before taking a seat next to him on the bench. I glanced out over the ice and saw Carter, in between the pipes. He waved over at me and I returned the gesture. Then, I turned back to Coach Pope and replied, "Tired. How have you been? It feels like I haven't seen you in a while."

Coach Pope was David's coach throughout high school and I grew to know the man very well. He was great friends with my father, too. "Oh, I can't complain. So, how is David holding up? I hardly see him out anymore."

I shrugged and replied, "He is hanging in there. I try to see him everyday. I can only imagine the pain he is going through. I mean, I am barely getting over the accident and I wasn't even married to Sarah. And Carter, poor little Carter, always tries to avoid the topic all together. But, hockey has been good for him, keeps his mind off of things."

"He has been so strong, definitely stronger than I was when I was five." Coach spoke and then stood and blew his whistle, ending practice.

I looked over at the ice again and saw a tall man skating toward the bench. He looked familiar, but I could not place him.

He skated over to Carter, who was always the last one off of the ice, and bent over to speak to him. "You had some great stops today, bud." he spoke in an encouraging tone.

Carter was standing next to the boards now, looking up at the tall man, and I did the same. He was very handsome and I could feel my stomach tumble as I looked at him.

"Thanks, Mr. Toews." Carter said.

"Mr. Toews? What am I 40 and balding? You can call me Jonathan or Jon." he stated with a wide smile on his face.

"CARTER!" I heard a few of the other boys call his name. They were still messing around on the ice and I knew that they wanted him to join in on their fun.

He glanced up at me and stuck his bottom lip out slightly. I sighed and gave him a defeated smile, "Only five minutes, Carter, we have to go to the store and get food for dinner tonight."

Carter smiled and nodded quickly before he skated back out on the ice.

"Your son is a great little hockey player." Jonathan stated, and that was when everything clicked. He was the captain of the Chicago Blackhawks. I knew his face, I just was not expecting him to be at Carter's peewee practice.

I giggled and replied, "Carter is a great hockey player, but he is not my son. He is my nephew. What am I 40 and balding?"

He chuckled at me mocking him. He them took his glove off and wiped his hand on his jersey before he stuck in out for me to shake. "I'm Jonathan." he said.

I placed my hand in his and shook it. "Gabriella." I spoke softly.

"Well, Gabriella, it is nice to meet you."

I could feel my cheeks turning a shade darker as I replied, "Likewise, Jonathan."

His smile widened as he let go of my hand and then looked over his shoulder at the boys piling on top of each other at center ice. He then turned back to me and asked, "Would you like to grab lunch tomorrow?"

I was stunned by this offer, and I could not find my words. I just nodded slowly and smiled up at the handsome man.

"Great. I will give you my number. Just give me a call sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, and we can figure something out."

I smiled and looked into his eyes. My knees began to slightly shake, as I took my phone out of my pocket and began typing in the number he spewed out of his gorgeous mouth. I found myself staring at his lips and I nervously bit my bottom lip, wanting to kiss him. He must have noticed what I was doing because he just smirked as he bid me farewell and slowly skated back onto the ice to round up the wrestling boys.

What have I gotten myself into?