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“Okay.” She reaches for my plate. “Are you done with your cake?”
“No, I’m going to finish it.”
I’ll probably eat every last crumb and then have another piece. I’m wallowing, and chocolate cake makes everything just a little bit better.
“Let’s watch that Downton Abbey,” Gram says as we get comfortable on the couch. “It’s my favorite show. Well, besides Wheel of Fortune, of course.”
“Of course.”
I smile and snuggle against Gram, covering us both up with an afghan. She’s a lot like chocolate cake—whenever I’m down, she makes everything just a little better.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Kit
* * *
“How’s Molly?” Jonah asks me as we run beside each other on treadmills in the team weight room.
“Wouldn’t know. She dumped my ass.”
He gives me a confused look. “You serious?”
I stare straight ahead, not in the mood. “Do I look like I’m joking, asshole?”
“Damn. I’m sorry, man. She looked like she was really into you that day at Luca’s.”
My silence is the only response Jonah’s getting. Molly told me after the party at Luca’s house that she really liked Rey, and I was already planning to ask Jonah if they wanted to double date sometime. No need to ask now.
It’s been eight days since that awful fucking conversation Molly and I had at my apartment. I haven’t smiled once since. Haven’t stopped thinking about it once, either. I talked to my sister about it, but it didn’t help because I didn’t want to be specific about Molly’s reason for breaking things off.
Vic bursts into the weight room, his eyes wide. “You guys aren’t gonna fucking believe what happened this morning.”
“You finally discovered your balls?” Knox calls out from the other side of the room.
Vic ignores him. “There was a big accident on the interstate outside the city, and a car caught on fire with a woman unconscious inside. Guess who ran over and pulled her out?”
He waits as we all look at him, enjoying the air of suspense he’s creating.
“Are you gonna tell us or not, dumbass?” Jonah says.
“Durand.”
We all stare at him in stunned silence.
“Our team owner, Durand?” Knox finally asks.
“Yeah. There were pictures posted by onlookers took and his suit jacket was burned from the car. It’s all over the news. He pulled her out of the car and revived her—gave her mouth-to-mouth.”
“Wow,” Jonah says. “That’s pretty wild. Good for him.”
“Badass, right?” Vic says.
He walks over to the treadmill next to mine and steps on.
“How’s Molly?” he asks, turning on his treadmill.
I push the button to crank down my speed and ride to the end of the treadmill belt, jumping off.
“He doesn’t want to talk about it,” Jonah says as I walk away.
I’m heading for the locker room when I see a TV crew beside the door, a reporter interviewing Anton. He’s got his Blaze T-shirt and hat on, which our PR people always ask us to wear for TV interviews. Anton’s a good team captain.
“No, I’m not surprised at all,” Anton says, a light shining right in his face. “Olivier Durand has always thought of all of us as people rather than just players. When someone’s wife is having a baby, he makes sure we have the opportunity to be there, even if we miss a game. He gave my brother Alexei a chance when he needed it, and he didn’t have to do that.”
“But to risk his life,” the reporter says, “to save a stranger from a burning car…is that something you would have imagined him doing?”
“Absolutely. He isn’t someone who stands by when someone needs help. I’ve seen how generous he is to those in need.”
“Anything else you want to add, Anton?” the reporter asks.
“Only that we’re proud he’s our team owner. And I’m glad to see you guys covering such a positive story. We need more of that in this world.”
I turn around and start walking away from Anton and the reporter. The last thing I need right now is to run into anyone else who wants to ask me questions. It’s been shitty having to come to the arena and travel with my team since Molly dumped me. All I want is to be alone.
Sara told me to beg for forgiveness, but I’m not sure it would even work. I was a total dick to Molly when we fought. And deep down, I know I can’t change—even for her.
I tried to change before, for my college girlfriend, and I regretted it. I was hoping that Molly would take me as I am. She wasn’t wrong about anything she said, and that’s why it made me so angry.
The problem is me.
Molly deserves nothing less than a man who will be everything she wants and deserves, and I wanted so damn badly for that to be me, but it’s not.
I’m finished with practice and lifting around lunchtime, and since we don’t have a game tonight, the rest of the day I’m free to do what I want. Problem is, I don’t want to do anything. Since Molly broke up with me, I’ve been going through the motions. Playing hockey, responding to people when they talk to me, eating and sleeping—but I’m just not feeling it.
