“Fantastic,” I say, deadpan. “When I visit cool cities, mingling with rich assholes is always on my itinerary.”
Lachlan laughs. It’s a real laugh, a carefree one. I feel my lips twitch, dying to break out in a smile, but I smother it and keep looking outside.
“Will we get married in a courthouse here?” I ask after a moment.
“We. . .” He clears his throat. “Weweresupposed to get married at the courthouse in Fairview.”
My head whips to face him. “I’m sorry,what?”
“It’s where we met,” he says, studying my face.
Oh. My. God. This motherfucker.A heat wave rolls through me and suddenly, I feel like one of those cartoons with smoke coming out of their ears. I won’t react, though. I won’t react. This man, who claims he wants my forgiveness, is trying to fake marry me at the place he knows I loathe, and he’s trying to make it sound romantic. I should slap some sense into him. I don’t. I don’t react at all. It’s the best thing I can do right now. It’s hard as hell to do with him, but I’m so livid that I manage.
“I saidwere, Lyla. Past tense,” he says quickly before I can get a word in.
“The fact that you’d even think of doing that.” I look outside.
The worst part is that I feel more betrayed than I do angry. A part of me wanted this to somehow work out. I thought I’d do this and somehow, we’d find our way to how we used to be together, but that seems impossible. My Lachlan, if he’s even in there, is buried too deep. The only reason I’m even entertaining that being a possibility is that he was somehow able to reach me when I thought it was impossible. Still, I never would have purposely hurt him. I may have been a bitch now and then, but I would never purposely humiliate him. I would never take him somewhere I knew he hated and forced him to marry me there. I cross my arms and keep my eyes outside until the car stops in front of a hotel across from The Bean. At least, I was able to see that.
He gets out of the car and waits for me to get my small purse out of my backpack and put some things in it, including my phone. When I slide over to his side, since it’s against the sidewalk, he holds his hand out for me. My treacherous heart skips, the moment my fingers meet his. I take my hand back quickly and rub my palm against the side of my jeans, as if it’ll erase the feel of him on it. I glance up to look down the street and notice his jaw clenching, as if wiping him off my hand somehow pissed him off. After speaking to the man up front, we take his advice and follow the signs that will lead us to the banquet room.
“What’s the charity?” I ask.
“Breast cancer,” he says. “One of the players’ wives was diagnosed last year. This was what she wanted to do for her birthday.”
“Oh.”
I guess I’ll find out soon enough how she’s doing, but as I walk, I silently hope she’s doing well. One of the girls I went to med school with was diagnosed while we were there. She went through surgeries and chemo and never quit school. Thankfully, she’s doing well now. Last time I asked, she said her margins were clear and she’s working with cancer patients.
We check in at the door, Lachlan gives the woman an envelope he had folded in his pocket, and we’re let inside. It’s a buffet and the room is set up beautifully with pink flowers on each table. A man who must be one of the hockey players walks toward us with a huge smile on his face.
“Lach,” he says, stretching his hands and hugging him with a loud pat on the back. “Thanks for being here, man. Morgan will appreciate it.”
“Of course.” Lach smiles. “How’s she doing?”
“Amazing,” the guy says, grinning as he delivers the news, “She just got clear scans. She’s. . .healthy.”
“Fuck, that’s amazing.” Lach gives him a side hug and a pat on the back.
The guy finally looks at me and smiles, extending his hand to me. “Gunner.”
“Lyla,” I say with a smile. His eyes widen, as he looks from me to Lach and back to me. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m so happy to hear your wife is doing well. I can’t even imagine what you guys went through.”
“Thank you.” He keeps the smile on his face and my hand in his, as he looks at Lach again for some kind of confirmation. When he looks at me again, he smiles wider as he drops my hand. “Welcome to the Lightning Family.”
“Uh. . .thanks.”I guess. I don’t add that part because this is awkward enough.
He tells us about the breakfast and to help ourselves; we thank him and start walking away. Obviously, Lachlan’s told them about me. God knows what he said. Probably that I’m a huge bitch who abandoned him. We speak to Gunner’s wife, Morgan, who’s the biggest sweetheart. The rest of the time, Lach does most of the talking. He introduces me as his girlfriend, which is a little far-fetched. Then again, I’m technically his fiancée. He’s talking to some of his teammates when my stomach starts growling and I excuse myself. I’m about to grab a plate when a very familiar voice says my name, and I turn around to face Mason. My jaw drops and I get out of the line as he walks over.
“Today must be Fairview reunion day,” he says as he envelopes me in a hug and lifts me in his arms. I smile as he sets me down. “How the hell have you been?” he asks, giving me a once-over. “You look. . .well, incredible, like always.”
“Thanks.” I smile. “How are you doing? Do you still play?”
He shoots me a faux-dirty look. “I’m wounded that you don’t know the answer to that.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I haven’t watched a hockey game in three years,” I say. He grabs my hand and pulls me further away from the line so we have some privacy to speak.
“Last I heard, you disappeared,” he says, his eyes searching mine. “Are you okay?”
