My hand rested on her abdomen, and I dropped a kiss on her forehead, making her hum in satisfaction. “Yeah, I'll take the backroads. I'll come get you in the morning?”
“Yeah.” She gave a small smile. “That sounds good.”
“Goodnight, Ali.”
She bit her lip to hide her grin. “G’night, JP.”
I waited in the stairwell until she closed the door behind her. I sat there staring for a beat, feeling insanely grateful for how this night went, but wishing more than anything that we were ending the night together. I never wanted to spend another night without her ever again.
Woah, wait…
I blew out a breath. I needed to get a grip on myself. There would be nights coming up real soon that we’d be apart because I’d be on the road with my team. But honestly, if she had a problem with it, I’d quit in a heartbeat. I was done putting hockey first. Our family was now my number one priority. There was more to life than the rink. And for the first time since July, I had hope. I had hope that we’d figure it out together.
“I love you,” I whispered at the door.
The floor creaked behind me. I whipped my neck around to see Lucy and Colt, both wearing identical sheepish smiles on their faces.
“Did you guys hear that?” I demanded.
They both nodded.
I dropped my head.
“No, no, it’s okay, don’t worry,” Colt whispered. He made a zipped lip motion and threw the “key” over his shoulder. Lucy quickly copied his motions with a giggle.
I raked a hand over my hair and sighed. “At least you two are better than Kappy,” I muttered to myself while walking down their stairs.
27. JP - HEARTBEATS
The next morning, I picked up some breakfast and decaf coffee before heading to Colt and Mer’s house. I felt like a schmuck as I stood on their porch and knocked on the door. I hated that I had to drive to Ali and that she wasn’t in my bed with me this morning, but we’d be fixing that today.
My breath hung in the cold air in front of me as I waited, but no one was coming to the door. After checking my watch to make sure I got the time right, I knocked on their door again, but there was still no answer.
My brow furrowed as I pulled out my phone and tried to call Ali, but it went straight to voicemail. I spun around to their driveway. Both Mer and Colt’s cars were gone. Mer was probably still dropping off Lucy at her school across town, and I knew Colt had an early meeting with Coach at the rink.
Thinking quickly, I rounded the back of their house and dug through a snow-covered planter in the backyard, which I knew had an extra key in it.
As soon as I started digging through the snow and dirt, my phone went off. Seeing Colt’s name, I rolled my eyes and held my phone up to my ear with my shoulder.
“I can see you on my security cam. Why are you creepingaround my house?” he asked.
I shook my freezing cold hand out with a curse, making him laugh. “Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want,” I muttered. “Ali’s not answering the door. We’re gonna be late for the appointment if I don’t get her up.”
“Roger that,” he said. “But ya might wanna dig in the other planter,” he said with a laugh.
“Coulda lead with that,” I deadpanned before hanging up.
As soon as I let myself in their house, I called out her name, but she still didn’t answer. Now I was getting a little worried. I quickly climbed the stairs and knocked on the guest room door. “Ali?” I didn’t want to enter her room and scare her, but I knew she’d be pissed if she missed the appointment. Biting in the inside of my cheek, I pushed the door open.
She was peacefully sleeping on her side.
“Ali, baby,” I said a little louder.
Her brow furrowed, but she stayed asleep.
“Hey, it’s me, JP,” I said gently, really hoping she wouldn’t wake up in a panic. I rubbed her arm. “We have that appointment. Ali.”
Her brown eyes flashed open. “Oh my God, I forgot.” She popped up on her elbows. Her short hair was sticking up all crazy and there was makeup smudged under her eye from last night. “Oh my God. What time is it?” She searched her bed for her phone. “My alarm didn’t go off. Shit. My phone’s dead.”
