He tilts his head, agreeing. “Fair point. All in a vain attempt to hide their mistake with the ring in the first place.”
“How did the ring end up at Yesteryear? Carolynn would never sell something without permission.” Does it matter? No, but it’s been bothering me, and given the curious kitty at least died with answers, I’m asking questions.
Mr. Conniver cuts his eyes left and right as though someone might dare to eavesdrop on him, which is laughable. Even his table has a wider berth around it than the other tables. And no one is sitting at the four closest ones surrounding us. “Oddly enough, that’s related to why I’ve asked you here. You see, I’m going to propose to my beloved, so there’s been some reorganization at my home in preparation for her moving in. Some items for donation, some for resale, and one special piece of my mother’s was meant to go to the family jeweler for resizing. I’m afraid there was a mix-up, but thankfully it’s been corrected now.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gorgeous ring that started this whole debacle. I gasp and, like the jewel hound I am, proceed to gush over it. “It’s so beautiful, just like I remembered, even though I only had it for a little while.”
Mr. Conniver smiles fully, a look that’s oddly boyish on him, softening the harsh lines of his face. “That’s why I’d like to have you redesign the ring for Georgina. My jeweler was simply going to resize it,but I’ve studied your work, and I think you can turn it into something truly special. And she deserves something as unique as she is.” He sounds genuine, his love for his bride-to-be apparent in every word.
Georgina must be unique, because I can’t imagine many women signing up to marry a Mob boss. On the pages of a book, maybe. But in real life? It’d be terrifying in a way I’m not sure the fancy dinners and clothes could make up for.
I search Mr. Conniver’s face, looking for any hint of a lie, any tell that he might be deceiving me. But now that he has the ring in his possession, there’s no need to harm me. That was the only possible reason a man like him and a woman like me would even cross paths.
So I take the leap, deciding to believe him. “Then let’s create something gorgeous for Georgina. First, tell me about her so I can tailor the piece to her.”
Chapter 25
Griffin
Two Hours Ago
“No more issues,” I vow to Coach.
“Everything’s good,” Dominic echoes.
We’re both lying through our teeth. Things are not good between us. They might never be again. But we can’t let that ruin our careers. Sure, we’ve built our careers on a bond of brotherhood, but we’ve both been in hockey long enough to have experience playing with teammates we hate. It’s almost mandatory, especially when you’re a pro.
Still, even considering that idea makes my gut churn.
We’ve already explained our sudden and unprecedented mid-game departure as a family emergency, taking care to keep Penny’s name out of it as much as possible so it doesn’t affect her status with the Hawkettes. She’ll have to take her lumps for leaving, too, but we’re not adding fuel to that fire, because Coach would immediately go to the Hawkettes coach to discuss why her cheerleaders are ruining games for the team.
Because without Dom and me, we lost that game against the Torches. Thankfully, our playoff seed is locked in at this point, but the win gave the Torches some bragging rights I wish they didn’t have and created some doubt moving forward into the playoffs.
“We need you two. Whatever’s going on, it stays off the ice. Or you’ll both be off the ice.” Coach is no idiot, seeing right through our lies. I’m amazed that he hasn’t decided to put us on separate rotations, keeping us away from each other at least temporarily.
“Heard.”
“Yes, Coach.”
Dismissed from his office, Dominic and I walk through the locker room and out to the parking lot. I can feel his anger, sense his betrayal, both surrounding him like a heavy blanket. Trying to head his explosion off, I admit, “I went to see Conniver. Told him everything.”
He whirls, his eyes wide, to shout, “Youwhat?”
“You told me to fix it, so I did.” I lock eyes with him. “I fucked up, but I want to be better for her. I want to be worthy of her.”
We both know I’m not, and may never be.
Dominic lifts his eyes to the sky and sighs heavily. “Why didn’t you tell me? I thought we told each other everything.”
I don’t shy away from the question. He needs to understand this, so I’m going to let him judge me all he wants. “I don’t know what to say, man. I knew the first time I saw her, but you were my only friend, and staying away from her was the one thing you asked of me, so of course I was going to do it. But I didn’t know how to act, so I acted ... like you.” I shrug, seeing that it was the wrong choice to make, but not sure what I would’ve done things differently. I didn’t have a lot of choices back then, and I sure hadn’t seen how good life could be yet. “Love felt like one more thing other people deserved and got easily, that I would never have. I was ... bitter?”
Labeling an emotion beyondhappy,sad, ormadis a big step for me, but bitterness feels accurate for what I’d felt then. Hell, I’ve felt it for years, every time I saw teammates with girlfriends and wives, or even with casual hookups, because at least they got to be with the person they wanted.
But not me. Not Griffin Mahoney.
Dom stares at me, his eyes hard and his jaw set. “You’re not just fucking around with her?” he demands, the question accusatory.
I tilt my head, glaring at him, and he glares right back, waiting for an answer expectantly. “Well, I do want to fuck her.”
