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“Can’t say I’m sorry. What do you think of Urqhardt? That’s something, right?”
“I introduced Calista to him.” Ronan expected his own words to sound bitter, but they didn’t. With Dodo, they would have. Dodo would have used Ronan for the connection in a heartbeat. Not Calista, not on purpose, but she hadn’t shared the fact that she’d hired his old GM, not with him.
“You want to play for your former GM?”
“Yes.” That soothed him a touch. He couldn’t put into words what having a GM like Olson Urqhardt meant to the big and little factors each player had to consider throughout the season. Urqhardt would have their backs, and they’d be free to focus their attention on the game.
“Your parents will still come down and see you play?”
“Yes.” Of course they would. Ronan’s chest loosened a touch more. Calista’s thoughtful idea of the hotel apartments for parents hadn’t even been brought up at the vote. The men would love that perk. Especially the guys on the lower end of the salary scale. This would be the literal game changer for the number of visits and home support they got. Calista had been sweet to think of that after meeting his parents. Many women wanted to make visits less convenient for the in-laws, not Calista. She was unique in the best ways.
Kiernan pulled up into the hotel lot. He put the car in park and pushed the button to shut down the rumbling engine. He turned to Ronan and lifted his sunglasses so Ronan would see his serious teal eyes. “You had a hot, rich blonde in your bed?”
“Hey,” Ronan said, tension ripping through him.
Kiernan’s eyes hardened. “Calista’s gorgeous, hot, and sweet. Most importantly, you’re in love with her. Stop throwing away the win.” He opened his palms. “Why am I always the sensible one?”
Holy shit.
Yep. Crystal clarity erased his lingering bitterness and confusion. Ronan knew what he had to do. He checked his watch. Calista would be in class now. “Can you drop me off at campus instead?”
Kiernan shoved the gear into reverse. “You got it, bro.”
* * *
Calista drew a square over and over until the pen tip tore the paper. Class had dragged today, even though Professor Terrence would be by to hear what they’d been working on and how they’d done the steps together without burning anything down. They’d fixed a locker room, created a maple syrup slide, bought the Snowers…Her friends could do the talking. She was rubbish with words that mattered. She stared down at the wood grain of her tabletop and traced her name.
“I’m not sure I understand,” Olivia said from her window seat. She undid the button on her Peter Pan collar and squeezed the back of her neck. “Why are you upset? You got your dream come true—you own the Snowers. You got your ice hockey team.”
“Seventy percent of them,” Vivien corrected without looking up from her computer. “We can still spin it to sound great for hot Prof.”
Calista rubbed her temple. She had hockey, yes, but no Ronan at her side. He’d left town, hadn’t shown up for practice, and he hadn’t called her. She’d sat in her old room, on her own comfy bed staring at their selfie, unable to think about school, or even relax into a game of hockey on TV, heart aching, mind spinning. Why? She’d gotten her way, all that she’d wanted. Ronan played for the Snowers. She could watch them whenever she wanted from her favorite seat and go home to her family. Alone.
The answer popped to the front of her mind. Ronan meant more than hockey. But she hadn’t shown that to him. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her lungs. That realization should have been clearer sooner. Calista shoved her papers and tablet into her backpack. She needed to get out of here. An almost giddy sensation settled inside her at having a direction to take, screw the final presentation, she needed to find Ronan.
“Where are you going?” Olivia asked, alarm in her normally measured voice.
“To find Ronan.”
“You can’t.” Vivien looked up from her laptop. “We all have to be here to present.”
Artie nodded, making his beef jerky strip bob.
A whirring sound emerged from the closet along with a mechanical burning smell. Someone should check that out. Not her problem. The mechanical puzzle didn’t lure her like it normally would. She had human issues to contend with. Calista moved to the wall and raised the window to let in fresh air. There, she’d done her part for the class today, now she was out of here.
The whirring grew louder, and the closet door flew open.
A full-bodied, human-shaped robot rolled forward. The robot was Calista’s exact double.
