“So we’ll be seeing more of each other,” Bauer said, raising an eyebrow.
Niklas shrugged. Both the other woman and I watched this exchange like a tennis match, our heads turning back and forth between the two men. I couldn’t begin to guess the end game of the conversation.
“We have a table waiting,” grunted Niklas.
Bauer’s smile dropped for an instant. He wasn’t getting any more information out of Niklas. Bauer must be fishing for an answer about Niklas’s position on the team, and Niklas wasn’t biting.
“You’ll have to excuse Almquist’s manners,” Bauer said, smile back in place as he looked back and forth between the women and me. “He’s a little rough around the edges.”
Niklas wasn’t the only person Bauer provoked with that comment. I met the eyes of the other woman.
“I’m not sure what you think of Bauer’s manners,” I said. “But those are the least of his problems. I’d get as far away from him as you can.”
The woman’s eyes widened, and no one moved. Before anyone had time to respond, I tugged at Niklas’s hand, and we walked away.
The hostess was waiting for them in the next room, and she set our menus on a narrow table for two in the corner. A candle glowed in the middle of the white tablecloth, inviting us. Niklas waited until the woman walked away before he spoke.
“If you still had any worries about being a push-over, that last comment to Bauer should ease them,” said Niklas, the corners of his mouth turning up.
I smiled a little. He was right. I had come a long way since I left Detroit at the beginning of the summer. I would definitely stand up for myself—and Niklas, in this case. I hadn’t waited for Niklas’s response. When I had sensed Bauer attacking Niklas’s defenses, I simply acted.
Still, the whole interaction had left me with another, more pressing question.
“You got an offer today, Niklas?” I whispered.
Niklas nodded. “But I’m not taking it.”
His heavy chest rose and fell with a long breath. His face flickered in the light of the candle.
“I tried, Caroline, but I can’t stay here,” he said. “I wanted this to work, but playing for the Red Wings isn’t going to make either of us happy.”
“Why didn’t you tell Bauer you’re not taking the Red Wings contract?” I asked softly.
Niklas frowned.
“Part of it was pride, I guess,” he said. “I didn’t want to give him anything that could feel like a victory in that conversation. But the biggest reason is that I hadn’t told you yet.”
I blinked. “Does that mean you’re going back to Sweden?”
“Yes,” he said quietly.
He didn’t ask me to come this time or reassure me that everything would turn out fine. Instead, he was telling me goodbye. The last of the excitement about the New Hampshire job left me. Niklas wouldn’t eat or hike or sleep with me there. And he wouldn’t be in Detroit when I returned. I’d do this on my own, just like I had told myself I wanted.
“I’m so, so sorry I’m not quite ready to drop everything and leave, Niklas,” I said, my eyes filling with tears. I wanted to beg him to stay for just a while longer while I figured things out. I wanted to ask him to wait for me, but I couldn’t. Instead, I simply looked down and let my tears fall.
“Don’t do that,” he hissed through clenched teeth. “Don’t make me feel worse about my decision. I need to get out of here and start a new life. You’re the one who’s leaving for New Hampshire.”
My gaze snapped back up to his face. His cheeks flushed red. I had seen Niklas angry before, but never at me.
I swallowed and glared back at him. “You want me to hide how torn up about this I am? Would it make it easier to go to Sweden if you thought I just don’t care enough about you?”
Niklas’s fist came down hard on his thigh. “What the hell else am I supposed to believe? I drop everything to follow you around the world. I was about to take a position that I knew would tear me up for the next year. And none of that was enough to keep you in the state.”
I frowned. “Why is my traveling for jobs different than the traveling you’d do for hockey?”
Niklas didn’t say anything at first. He looked at the ground, slowly shaking his head. Finally, he muttered, “It’s different.”
“Because you’re a big pro hockey player and I’m just starting out?” I said, not bothering to hide my irritation.
