Page 52 of Center Ice

“Go ahead.” She urged me.

I lowered my head and kissed her soft lips one more time before stepping back and grabbing my bag. When I got to the van door, I turned back and waved. She returned the gesture and laughed at everyone shouting goodbye to her. I noticed her eyes shining, but she ducked her head before any more tears fell.

“You’ll see her soon,” Emma said as if it was a simple fact.

“She doesn’t know what she’s going to do yet.”

She scoffed. “That girl knows exactly what she wants. She just needs to admit it to herself.”

The van pulled away, and I prayed Emma was right.

* * *

My apartment never felt so hollow. Even when my mom passed and I cleared out her room, it hadn’t felt this lonely.

It took me a few minutes of sitting in my living room, staring at the dark TV screen, to realize that I was missing the guys. In just a week, I grew used to having Lance and Mikey as nearly constant companions. When I wasn’t with them, I was with Dani.

Now I was back to my hiding place, alone. And I hated it.

For the first time in my life, I missed people. I wanted to be around them rather than basking in the silence.

I dropped my head back. What else had changed in Mexico without me noticing? I picked up my phone and sent Lance and Mikey a message, saying the quiet was too much.

Was that totally lame? If they did tease me, I deserved it. This was pathetic.

Mikey sent me a heart-eyes face, and Lance said he was free to hang out tomorrow. I might actually take him up on that. Two weeks ago, I never would have reached out in the first place, but now I knew I could. Not just with Mikey or Lance, or even the guys that had been in Mexico. My teammates were more than that now. They were my friends. They’d been there, waiting for me to realize that this whole time, and I wasn’t going to waste that anymore.

There were more changes I needed to make in my life. One of my first priorities was finding a new apartment. I needed to start over without the memories of my mom’s final years. I wanted to remember her when she was happy and vivacious, not when the cancer took over. That would be a whole lot easier somewhere else.

Plus, I chose this location based on its proximity to the hospital and cancer treatment center. Now I could move closer to the arena or somewhere completely different. I could buy a house in the hills near Reese and Olli. Not that I needed that much space, but it was an option now.

Maybe I’d find a place big enough to host dinners or game nights. The guys did things like that all the time, though I’d never gone. That was going to change too.

I refused to allow myself to fall back into my old habits. It would be easy to fade back and let life go on around me without being an active participant, but I didn’t want that anymore. I saw what was on the other side, and I was willing to put in the effort to get it.

Plus, if Dani did end up moving here, she wouldn’t tolerate that behavior. She would make sure I continued to push myself out of my comfort zone whether I liked it or not.

I couldn't think about that if. I left without knowing what she decided, but she needed space to decide for herself. She had to think about what was best for her, not what I or the rest of the team wanted. On the drive to the airport and during the flight home, they all praised her and told me how much they liked her. They were rooting for her, professionally and personally. In just a week, she managed to do what took me years. She became a part of the Fury family.

Whatever she decided, I would support. I promised her then and I meant it, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t praying she chose to move here. I wanted to show her the city that had become my home. I wanted her to be a part of the Pride and feel their support every day, in person. I knew she could establish a career here, but it wasn’t up to me. I didn’t think it was selfish to hope she moved here. It wasn’t like I’d told her that. I didn’t want to influence her one way or another. This had to be her decision. I never wanted her to second guess herself because of something I said or did. This was her life, and this choice would influence more than either of us could possibly imagine.

For now, I had to wait.

18

Dani

It took me hours to calm down after discovering Maggie’s betrayal. I couldn’t believe someone I’d considered my friend for three years would stab me in the back. If she wanted the job, she should have talked to me. We could have gone to Mr. Hernandez together to talk about creating another full-time planner position. So many things could have gone differently, but it was too late. They each made their decisions, and they would have to live with the consequences. I should probably feel bad for the brides and grooms with upcoming dates that I would no longer be working with, but it was no longer my responsibility.

It was time for me to focus on me and my dreams.

So. What did I want?

Jake made it clear he would support me no matter what I decided, and I wasn’t going to let some guy I barely knew influence me, but there was a tiny voice I couldn’t ignore telling me not to toss him away either.

He was special. I knew that, and I had no intention of hurting him. We could make whatever we decided work for us. I believed in that.

Once I got back to my room, I listened to Chloe’s advice and responded to all the interview requests. The more publicity I could get, the better. This was huge for me and would make all the difference in tying my name to a brand. I wanted to be the most in-demand wedding planner, and this was my launch pad. Being homeless and jobless was about as low as you could get, so things could only go up.