I pull her into my arms. She takes a shuddering breath and lets me hold her for a second—not nearly long enough—and then pulls back and swipes at the mascara leaking beneath her eyes.
“Sorry. I’m fine.” She squares her shoulders and interlocks her fingers with mine. “Everything’s going to be fine. I’m going to make some calls to figure out my flights and try to avoid attention while traveling, and I’ve got to let my family know I’m coming.”
“You can use my office if you want some privacy.” Poe motions for Lucy to follow him, and I watch her trail him down the hallway.
When Poe returns, the entire room turns and looks at me. They’re quiet for a second, and then everyone starts talking at once.
“What are you going to do?”
“What do you need?”
“Can you go with her?”
“How’s this going to work?”
I hold up my hands. “I don’t know, guys. I can’t go with her … you know that. I have to be at practice tomorrow morning, and we have an away game this weekend.”
I don’t add that Tess’s benefit is the following Monday night.
My chest tightens. Lucy was never going to be my plus one. An event like that is more public-facing and attention-garnering than she wants to be right now, not to mention that it’s for my former girlfriend. Tess’s family has said over and over again that they’d want to meet anyone I date in the future, but still. Lucy isn’t ready, and I’m not going to push her. Iwaslooking forward to her being here, in the Green Bay area, when I got back, but I will not feel sorry for myself. Lucy has bigger things to contend with than being the open arms I was hoping to come home to after an emotional night.
I blink, focusing on my friends. Anton and Poe’s mouths are set in hard lines. Rose looks thoughtful. Del looks emotional.
“I’m going to fight for her and for us,” I tell them. “I’m not sure what that looks like right now, but she’s too important to me to let her go. This is a hiccup. A roadblock. It’s temporary.”
I don’t know if I’m trying to convince them, or myself. The thought of Lucy not coming back to Green Bay makes me feel like my lungs are going through a paper shredder.
“How did they find her, anyway?” Del asks, his voice wobbly.
Rose raises her hand. “I can answer that.” She pulls out her phone. “There was an article published after your game last night, and it had photos of me in the box. Lucy was in the background. One commenter suggested that the bundled-up woman reminded her of Lucy Dupree. The idea caught on like wildfire, and when I was mingling with the paps this morning—”
“Youwhat?” Anton raises his voice.
“Don’t worry.” Rose rolls her eyes. “I was incognito.” She turns to me. “One of them said a guest at the Inn confirmed a Lucy and TJ sighting yesterday morning.”
“I didn’t think the family whose autographs I signed yesterday noticed Lu.” I scrub a hand over my face. “This is my fault.”
“Stop, Teej. It is not.” Poe’s dry tone is sincere.
The door to Poe’s office opens, and we all turn as Lucy rejoins us. She immediately comes to my side, tucking herself under my arm, and my heart squeezes.
“All set?” I ask her. “What do you need?”
“A ride to the airport would be good.” She offers me a brief smile before turning to my friends. “I truly can’t thank you enough. I hope I can repay you someday. None of you owe me anything, and I’m sure you’ve all seen my comments. I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you what I told TJ. I shouldn’t have told anyone they didn’t matter, and I’m deeply sorry if any of you watched my outburst and took it personally.”
“We didn’t,” Rose assures her. “Right, guys?”
“Absolutely.”
“Right.”
“I thought you were great. I like a woman who speaks her mind,” Del says with a good-natured smile, and I could kiss his bearded face for making Lucy chuckle.
“Thank you all. I hope to see you again.”
“You will,” Rose says with a smile.
My phone starts ringing, and it’s the special sound I have set for both my grandparents. “It’s Gram. Gimme one sec.”
