“My sister doesn’t have an actual place, and Hannah’s always wanted to live in Calgary. Plus, I owe her. The night before my 6 A.M. flight from Vancouver to Calgary, I called her and she talked me out of not showing up for my flight. She’s the reason I got on that plane. I needed someone to tell me I was being stupid, being too nervous about moving out here and starting my dream, and she did that for me,” Levi answers. “Besides, she’s like a second sister to me. It’s no different than Summer moving in.”
“Just got divorced right?”
“Yeah, it was finalized a couple months ago I think.”
“Assuming she’s in a rough spot, want me to send the girls over?” The girls being JJ’s sister Lacey and his girlfriend Ellie.
“That might be a good idea,” Levi agrees while laughing.
Chapter 3
A week after moving in with Levi, I’m woken up by someone pounding on the front door. Who the hell is at the door? It’s not like Levi is home; he left for a weekend with some of his teammates after I convinced him that I was capable of staying at home alone for a couple of nights. Groaning, I get off the couch and make my way to the door. This better be good, if it’s making me get out of my blanket cocoon at noon.
“Oh my fuck, I’m coming!” I say as the knocking continues.
“What?!” I demand as I open the door and see two strikingly beautiful women who look to be around Levi’s age standing on the front porch.Way to go Levi, I think to myself as I give them a quick once over. The one with her hand up as if to knock again is a tiny little redhead who can’t be more than five feet tall and is sporting a high ponytail and a light blue romper. The other one is easily over six feet tall, with two French braids in her long jet black hair.
“Hi,.” the tall one says.
“Levi isn’t here,” I say, closing the door. The last thing I want right now is two young, gorgeous girls impeding on another one of my pity parties.
Not getting the hint, they start knocking again.
“We’re not going to stop knocking until you open the door. Levi sent us.”
Opening the door with a sigh I say, “I know you’re here for Levi, but like I said, Levi isn’t here. So how about you leave before I call the cops?”
“Feisty! I like it. We’re not here for Levi, we’re here for you!” the tall one says with a big smile.
“Is that so? And why would that be?” I ask, squinting my eyes and crossing my arms as I lean against the door frame.
“I’m Lacey,” the tall one introduces herself. “I’m JJ’s younger sister. He plays hockey with Levi. This is Ellie, JJ’s girlfriend,” she says, pointing to the other one. “Levi told JJ that you just moved here and were going through a tough time, so we decided to drop by.”
“Levi told you to drop by?” I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent them to check up on me. I can’t say that I’ve been the loveliest version of myself since moving here two weeks ago. I’ve barely left my room to be honest. Preferring to hang out in bed reading sappy romance books instead of exploring the city I once dreamed of moving to. I thought this would be the start of my starting-over story, but if anything I’ve been wallowing, stuck grieving the life I thought I’d have by now. I thought I was past mourning the relationship I thought I had. The funny thing is if I’m being honest with myself, I am over the life I lost. I’ve mourned it. I’ve accepted it, and I have moved on from it. What I’m not over is how much of an idiot I was. How did I not see the signs? How can I move on—how can I start over when my first time around I got everything so wrong?
“Not necessarily. He told us he had a new roommate and gave us your number to set up lunch or something like that,” the tall one, Lacey, says. “But we decided to just drop by instead of calling.”
“JJ probably wouldn’t be impressed to know we just ambushed you,” admits Ellie, the redheaded girlfriend, who also has the sense to look a little embarrassed.
“Then why are you here?” I ask, still salty that they interrupted my newest book. At this point, books are the only thing that let me forget. It’s so easy to get lost in a make-believe world where everything ends in a happily-ever-after.
“Can we come in?” Ellie asks.
“Sure, I guess . . .” I say, leaving the door open and turning to make my way to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I hear the door close as they follow behind me.
“JJ said you just got divorced?” Lacey asks.
“Yes—not that it’s any of your business,” I answer as I see the other one give her a look that looks almost murderous.
“You’re right, that isn’t any of our business,” Ellie answers, elbowing the other one. “That’s not why we’re here. I know what it’s like moving to a new city. When we learned that you just moved and that the only person you know is Levi, we figured we’d come grab you on our way to the mall,” she says as she looks down at the counter she’s leaning against.
“You want me to go to the mall with you?” I ask.
“Listen, we both know what it’s like to be heartbroken. You can either wallow here alone until Levi comes home, or you can come hang out with us. Up to you,” Lacey says.
I like her. She reminds me of Summer. Says it how it is, takes no prisoners. Someone you want in your corner.
God, when did I become such a bitch? This is probably the sweetest thing anyone has done for me, at least since Levi bought me a plane ticket to come move in with him. When did Ibecome so closed off? I used to love meeting people and trying new things . . .
