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He gets that belligerent look in his eyes I think is so hot on his sister and I want to sock him in the teeth for ruining something I fucking love.
“No, but I’m married.”
I don’t have time for this shit. Grabbing my stick and helmet, I start for the ice.
“Fine,” he grunts from behind me. “I fucked up.”
“Don’t tell me, dickhead. Tell Natalie. Make it up to her.”
I’m halfway through the door when he calls after me. “How?”
I could keep going. Pretend I don’t hear him. But what’s that going to do for any of us? Nothing I want. So I turn around, ready to let some of that ego go. “Actually, I’ve got an idea. And you’rereallynot going to like it… but your sister will.”
Chapter 26
Natalie
We made it to conference finals, but lost game seven in double overtime. Greg blamed me for jinxing the team by wearing Vaughn’s jersey instead of his. No one took him seriously because I’d worn it to all the other playoff games we won, but he didn’t drop it until I mentioned how very luckyIgotwearing those numbers.
Mean? Maybe. But Big Brother had it coming.
Fortunately, the team and management took the news about Vaughn and my relationship pretty well. It helped that Julia broke the story during an interview with Vaughn after a round-one playoff win when, in addition to two assists, my man scored the winning goal. Greg obviously knew about the interview ahead of time and was a good sport about the whole thing, even making a scowly cameo appearance so funny, the clip went viral.
The two guys have been flooded with interview requests ever since, but neither seems too keen on accepting. There’ll be plenty of interviews when Vaughn’s new contract goes through. Oregon wants him bad and their offer shows it.
Nothing’s official yet, but at this point, it could be any minute.
“Hey, babe, you ready to head over to my place?” Vaughn asks, coming up behind me to kiss my neck.
Setting my empty mug in the sink, I snuggle into his hold. “You bet.”
I thought I’d hold on to some doubts or reservations about what our relationship would mean for my life, but every time I think about our future together, all I feel is this joyful sense of relief. Like suddenly this kind of critical thing I didn’t even realize I was missing is right where it’s supposed to be.
Yeah, there are still a lot of unknowns ahead, but the one thing I do know is that I love this man and my life is infinitely better with him than it could ever be without.
“Got a bag?” he asks, taking my hand as we walk through my place.
“Front hall.” We don’t spend as many nights here these days. Security is better at his place, but last night he got sentimental and wanted to stay here. Or more specifically he wanted to do me against the door and then stay here.
Honestly, he has some really good ideas.
And since we were here, I figured I’d grab a few more things. We basically live together, but since we’ll be moving at the start of next season, it didn’t really make sense to pack more than once. And this works fine for now.
Vaughn swings my bag over his shoulder and, fingers caught in a loose hold, we head out.
It’s after noon on a sunny warm Saturday and it still tickles me a little that we can leave my place without worrying who’s going to see us these days. There’s usually someone. A reporter parked down the block or sometimes just a Slayers fan out for a walk. What’s weird though is that so many of them recognize me too, calling out our names like we’re friends when I’ve never laid eyes on them before.
ThatI haven’t gotten used to.
The trip from my place to Vaughn’s isn’t far. We drive through familiar neighborhoods, passing favorite stores and hangouts. I’m going to miss this town. I’ll be back for visits, but it won’t be the same.
And I’m okay with that.
All those months ago, I told Vaughn I was afraid of not having a choice about what my life looked like. And every day I thank my stars that I do. That I got to choose what mattered to me most.That I got to choose him.
The rest will come. A job. Coaching. Friends. Community. It’s going to be different than it was when I was a kid. Vaughn asked me to trust that he’d make sure it was, and I do. Completely.
He pulls down the alley and punches in the security code for the garage to park.
