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Ginny pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed. “We can’t go the next six months without dealing with this topic.” She looked at her hands and I grabbed them in mine.
“Baby, I never stopped wanting you. When you’re ready, if you’re ever ready, I will be here.” Leaning up, I kissed her again.
When I pulled away, I saw a slight smile on her face. “I want you to, Boone, and as soon as I’m ready, I will tell you.” I nodded and smiled back. “It looks like you’re ready now, so I will leave you alone. Sorry I interrupted.” She stood and walked back to the door.
“I’m not sorry you came flying in here, I’m just sorry I have to watch you leave instead of watching you come for me.” Ginny shook her head but grinned at me.
“Soon.”
CHAPTER11
GINNY
Sittingin the skybox was uncomfortable, and I wished I was sitting in the stands away from people’s judgement and unasked questions. “Hi, Sarah Grover.” The woman next to me said. She was gorgeous. Her jet black hair was long and her porcelain skin almost glowed. Her smile was inviting, and she held her hand out to me.
Shaking it, I couldn’t help but smile, “so you drew the short straw.” She looked at me, confused, and shook her head. “One of you has to meet the new guy’s wife, so either it was just your turn or you drew the short straw.” Sarah looked over her shoulder at the group of women standing behind us.
“No, it’s nothing like that here. They are just shy, and I’ve always been outgoing. Give ‘em a game and they will be your best friends whether you like it or not you like it.” She laughed, and the butterflies settled somewhat in my stomach. “Phil Grover, number nineteen, that’s my husband. We’ve been here for five seasons. So, how long have you and Garrison been married?”
Phil Grover, the captain of the Rangers. That explained why she was the one to come up and talk to me. There was no point in hiding our past. Boone had brought it out into the open yesterday. “Twelve years.” I shrugged. Sarah arched her brow and cocked her head to stare at me.
“Twelve years? Where were you all this time? Phil and Garrison played together in San Jose and I never saw you. Ever.” She crossed her arms and waited for me to talk. Telling a perfect stranger about my marriage wasn’t really my idea of fun.
“I stayed here when he was traded there. I was in college and then it just got too easy to be apart.” As the words came out of my mouth, I knew they sounded stupid. I didn’t even have to look at her to know that’s exactly what she was thinking. “I was young, headstrong and ornery.” There was nothing else to say.
“If you’ve been married for twelve years, you would have been.” Her voice trailed off as she was doing the math in her head. Of course, she knew how old Boone was if he and her husband had played together before.
“Eighteen. The hour I turned eighteen we got married, ran off to a town that had a justice of the peace open at midnight.” I thought back to that night. We were so scared we would be caught by my father. Boone drove like he was in a NASCAR race, and we didn’t breathe until we walked out of the man’s house with the piece of paper that said legally we were bound to one another. It had been years since I thought of that night. Any time I did, the ache in my chest was almost crippling.
“A woman who looks like you are right now when they think of their wedding doesn’t walk away from her husband for eight years.” Sarah leaned over and interrupted my thoughts before I could get to the wedding night.
“Well, a woman who is a little too stubborn for her own good did. He was drafted here, and we moved at nineteen. I applied for college and when he was traded the year before I graduated, we made the decision that I would stay and finish school, then I would go to where he was. The best laid plans, right?” A crowd had gathered around while I talked. I was sure they wanted to know the ins and outs. The lights in the area went down before they started spinning the spotlights on the ice.
“Here are your Harpsburg Rangers.” The crowd went wild and our box was no exception. The announcer introduced the line up when I saw him stride out onto the ice. His form hadn’t changed. He still looked strong, and a tingle shot through me, seeing him in his uniform. It didn’t matter what colours he wore, he was still the sexiest man in the building. “Number seven, Garrison Boone. Let’s give him a big welcome to the organization.” The crowd cheered and shouted his name. Goose bumps rose under my sweater and it suddenly drew me back into the thrill of watching him skate out onto the ice.
“Girl, you’ve got it bad for that man.” One of the other wives who had taken a seat beside me said with a ridiculous grin on her face. I heard Sarah agree with her from the other side of me. “Missy Henderson, my husband is Wes, number twenty-eight. I’m looking forward to getting to know you. You helped Wes out last year after an injury. All he could talk about was how knowledgeable you were. I guess I see why now.” She smiled at me. I never usually saw the other side of my patients, but this is why I do what I do. Wes had a potential career ending injury, and he had a young family at home. He was focused and gritty. It didn’t surprise me that he was back playing like he used to.
“I remember him talking about you and the girls.” Missy’s face lit up. “Umm, give me a second. Hattie and Grace? Twins right?”
“Yes, how do you remember that?” She beamed and pulled out her phone. “They just turned three.” I looked at her phone and couldn’t help but smile. Wes was so proud of his three girls, what Missy could handle while he was on the road and the games when the girls could come.
“You’re his world. I’m glad he’s doing well. I rarely keep up with the players when they leave my care, so it’s nice to see he’s back.” Turning back to watch the puck drop and the game began.
“Here girls.” Missy set beers down in front of Sarah and I. “Here’s to the new addition to the WAG crew.” I turned and saw most of the women had drinks of some kind and they were raising them. Grabbing mine, I tapped my glass with almost everyone in the room. “They are a team down there, and we’re a team up here. Few women know what life is like on this side of the bench. Welcome to the club,” Missy said as she sat back down and our attention was turned back onto the ice.
I watched Boone skate up and down the ice. He was flawless, passes crisp, and you could hardly tell he hadn’t played with this team until yesterday. He pored over play books, and game tape most of the evening and well into the night. I had kept my distance, but it felt like the early days of our marriage. The only difference was that we didn’t touch. We didn’t sit as close as we possibly could together. I didn’t try to get his attention away from the film. Just as I thought about those days, I watched Boone shoot and score. The crowd cheered, and I jumped out of my seat. Mostly, it was out of habit. I clapped before grabbing my drink and taking a sip. Boone skated up the bench, bumping every player on the team. He looked up at the jumbotron and watched the replay of the goal. It was perfectly executed and then I saw my face up on the screen. There goes my anonymity.
The buzzer to end the game and I looked at the ledge full of empty cups. “Did we drink all those?” I asked as I stood and clapped, glancing at the scoreboard. Harpsburg had won by three, and Boone had scored one goal.
“You bet we did. Good thing we all have husbands that are sober right now so we can get home,” Sarah said as we grabbed our things and head out to the player’s entrance.
I watched players find their wives and families and then Boone walked down the hallway. I felt like I was seventeen again, waiting for him after a game. He was bigger, stronger and right now his eyes were locked on me.
CHAPTER12
BOONE
She was leaningagainst the wall, and the only difference from when we were younger was she didn’t have her skate bag with her. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face as I caught her eye. It was ridiculous; she had cost us the last eight years together, but seeing her here made me forget for just a moment. “Good game,” she said as she smiled at me. Slipping my arm around her shoulders, I felt her tense a little, but she fell into step with me.
