Dex gives her a bunch of long-stemmed roses when she finds us at the end of the play. Her sisters tell her how great she was, and her expression reminds me of how my students used to look when I’d tell them how well they did something. It’s like water and sun on a dried-out plant.
Harry is hosting a party for the play’s entire cast in a private room at his restaurant, and we all get to go, too. His restaurant is spectacular, and Charlotte beams like the star of the show through the entire party. There are even sparkling nonalcoholic drinks in champagne flutes.
I’m checking the score of the game when I can, and I do a little dance when I see that Lucien scored a goal on a power play. As a defenseman, being able to score makes him extra valuable to his team. I feel a pang of wishing I’d been there to see it.
It’s still a great night, though. I thought I’d have to force myself to rejoin the world again, but Lucien’s team friends are fun to be around, and now they’re my friends, too.
I want to keep this. It’s so hard to start over in a new place, and I hate the thought of not seeing Lucien and my new friends as much as I do now.
I’m torn between the job I love and the man I’ve fallen hard for. It’s an awful feeling.
“You okay?” Suki asks me, handing me a plate with a piece of chocolate cheesecake garnished with a strawberry slice.
I shake off my worries and smile at her. “I’m good. I’m having a great time.”
“I’m so glad you came tonight.”
In a perfect world, I could have it all—the job that fulfills me, right here in the place that feels like home now. But that feels impossible.
Chapter Twenty
Lucien
* * *
I take a picture of my plate and send it to Talia with a text.
Missing you. This is the hotel restaurant’s idea of over medium eggs. They’re still clucking.
It’s early, so I doubt she’s up yet. We landed in Tampa around five hours ago, got a little sleep, and now we’re having breakfast before we go to the Tampa arena to prepare for a game tonight.
I’m tired. I haven’t been sleeping well on this trip because I miss Talia, and I’m wondering what’s going to happen with us.
I got a taste of having her around all the time when she was working with the team. Working for free isn’t really working, I guess, and I can’t expect her to volunteer forever. Not even if the fringe benefits are worth it.
Deception isn’t part of good relationships, but if I didn’t care about that, I’d anonymously fund a position for her at a school in Cleveland with the stipulation that they have to hire her.
It’s a perfect solution, and probably even tax-deductible, which my accountant would love. But Talia would never trust me again if she found out. I can’t risk that.
Bash looks at my plate from the other side of the table and says, “You gonna eat that bacon?”
“Yep.”
“What about the eggs?” Isaac says from next to me.
“Help yourself.”
He reaches over to my plate and cuts a bite from the eggs. I glare at him.
“Move the fucking eggs to your plate, dipshit. We’re not sharing mine.”
“Is it that time of the month, you cranky bitch?”
Bash huffs a laugh. “Reasons why Isaac doesn’t have a girlfriend, exhibit eighty-seven.”
Isaac arches his brows. “Shit, man. I’d never say that to a woman.”
“You wouldn’t have to say a word to make a woman bolt,” I say. “Just take her to your shithole house. There’s piss on your bathroom floor and dirty socks everywhere. It smells like a high school boys’ locker room.”
