“I…want to see you again.”
“You will. I’m coming to your game tomorrow, remember?”
“You mean it?”
“I mean it. I’ll be there.”
It’s not the three words I want to hear from her, but they’ll have to do for now.
“Good night, Clover.”
“Good night,” she echoes.
I finally move my arm, and just as the doors begin to close, she calls my name. I turn to her.
“I’m not ready to give up on us either.”
Then the doors slide shut, leaving me standing there trying to figure out where we go from here.
CHAPTER 11
CHLOE
I’ve attended many hockey games throughout my life, including important ones like playoff-clinching matches and conference finals. While each has been nerve-wracking for different reasons, none has ever felt like this.
I walk on unsteady legs down the stairs, paying attention to the letters on the rows as I go.
“L, K, I, H,” I murmur before turning into the row labeled G and shimmying down the aisle until I reach the tenth seat in. I stare out at the ice, taking it all in. This is my first time seeing Callum play in this rink, and I try to blink away tears as I think about all the games I’ve missed while gone.
I used to sit in the stands every night, cheering loudly, sometimes even yelling at the refs when they made a shit call. But I haven’t been there for him nearly as much as I’d have liked since I took that internship that changed everything.
Music pumps through the speakers, and I grin up at the Jumbotron as the cameras pan to a little kid dancing with a stuffed snake in their hands. Their toothless smile grows before they suddenly get shy and hide behind their parent. The camera pans to another person holding a sign that readsSEATTLESERPENTS FOREVER, and I grin.I missed seeing people come together like this for one common goal—to see their team win.
I remember the last game I was at, just before I left. I’ll be the first to admit it was an awful one. We were in our third year in Chicago, the guys were already on an eight-game skid, just past the short Christmas break. Things were not looking good, and their hopes of getting a playoff spot were slim. I have no doubt it played a huge factor in Callum being traded to Seattle.
Tonight, though…it already feels different than that. The team hasn’t even taken the ice for warmups, and the crowd is already electric. I’m sure it has to do with the franchise-record-breaking season they’re having.
Or maybe it’s because I’m still buzzing from our kiss last night. I still can’t believe it happened, so much so that I didn’t even bother telling Talia about it. What’s the point if I can’t be sure it wasn’t all a dream? I touch my lips for the thousandth time since Callum last touched me, and I swear I can still feel him pressed against them.
Okay, so it did happen. I know it did. But it still feels like an out-of-body experience, almost like our first kiss all those years ago now. Even though it’s shaken me to my core and left me even more confused than I already was, I think I needed it to happen. I needed to know if there was still something between us other than memories, and it’s safe to say that is absolutely the case.
Kissing Callum again…having his hands on me…it was euphoric. There’s no other way to describe it. Sitting up on his counter, his lips on mine, his fingers grazing the hem of my sweater…it was everything I’ve been missing for the last three years.
I maintain that time away was what I needed then, but I can no longer deny just how badly I needed my husband, too. It turns out Callum is just as integral a part of me as he was when we said “I do.” I meant what I said to him, that I’m not ready togive up on us. It’s the first time I’ve said the words out loud, but it doesn’t make them any less true. The job withSeattle Dailymight have been what brought me here, but I’m staying for him. I’m staying for me. Forus.
“I’m just saying, they’d be fools not to play him tonight. He’s a beast against Calgary, and they need the points to take first place in the Pacific.”
I look over just in time to see a beautiful dark-haired woman come to a stop two seats down. Behind her is another girl with dark hair who looks almost identical to her. They’re followed by two other women, each looking equally as shocked as the first one, who stares down at me with her mouth agape.
“I’m sorry. Am I in your seat?” I ask, even though I checked the number on my app at least four times before sitting.
She shakes her head. “Yes. I mean, no, not technically. You’re…”
“Is that her?” the lone blonde asks, poking her head around the others, trying to get a look at…well, me.
“Vanessa!” the one who looks like the girl directly in front of me chides. “That’s it—no more date nights. You’re starting to sound too much like my boyfriend.”
“I can’t believe you’re admitting he’s your boyfriend in public. I would never.” The girl dressed like she’s going to a cocktail party instead of a hockey game tosses her hair over her shoulder, earning a pinch from the lookalike who just yelled at the blonde.
