Page 100 of Put a Rink on It

It’s the one decision Nero’s leaving totally in my court. I’m waffling between Vermont and a lake in Minnesota. I hate for my family to have to travel so far. Even with Nero offering to cover all of their costs, it’s still a lot for them. Tate and Walsh, especially. Vermont would be the simple choice, but that’s not how I roll. Not with Nero. With him, I’ve always done what I wanted, regardless of how it may affect others. Why should now be any different?

If Nero Champion wants to give me the wedding of my dreams, I’m gonna make it the wedding of my dreams.

I can get married in Vermont next time.

The thought makes me cringe. I’m making it hard for the poor guy who comes after Nero, the one I’m gonna marry for love. The one I’m gonna pledge to spend the rest of my life with. I feel bad for him. I suppose the tradeoff will be he has my heart. He’ll have the marriage, not one day with a fancy party. He’ll get my life, all my future days.

With him, we’ll build a family together. I’ll be a mom, which is priceless.

And something Nero isn’t willing to give me.

So, yeah. I’m gonna go out for this special day.

“The lake in Minnesota where he proposed.”

Juliet gasps, but Ma titters. “Wouldn’t expect anything less, Marina. I can’t wait to see the beauty.”

“But Ma,” Juliet protests. “It’s in Minnesota.”

“A place planes fly every day,” Ma responds in earnest. “And the flight’s shorter than California, where Nero grew up.”

“And now I’m crying again. Thanks, Millie,” Tate grumbles. “When I mentioned to my mom I was getting married in Vermont, where my current life is, where my kid is thriving, a place I love, she burst into tears because it’s not what she wants for me. Because she wants me to get married in Kansas. Because she doesn’t want to fly. And she wonders why I’d rather spend time with the Keeley family.” She buries her face in her hands in exasperation.

“I’m sorry you had to experience that,” Ma says, pulling into the lot of a strip mall. “She could have at least pretended to be happy for you.”

“Is that what you’re doing for Marina?” Juliet asks the question on my mind.

Ma parks in a spot and shuts off the engine. She twists her torso to meet my eyes. “Absolutely not. Much as Walsh has always been my wild child, and Juliet’s lived up to second and middle-child vibes, Marina’s the one whose wings needed to spread the most. She’ll always have a safe place to land when she needs it, but it was only a matter of time before she carved her own path.” She reaches for my hand, and with more tears in my eyes, I latch onto hers. “I can’t wait to watch you fly higher than you already have. No matter the distance between us. For the wedding and after. You’re happiest when he’s around. I wouldn’t want to get in the way of that.”

Damn you, Millie Keeley.

I let the tears fall but bite back the deception she believes. “Thank you, Ma. I don’t tell you enough how much I love you.”

“Same, Ma. I love you and don’t tell you enough.” Juliet places her hand over mine and Ma’s connected ones.

“Same, Millie. I love you,” Tate adds. She tentatively reaches out a hand, hovering it over the pile. With my free one, I grab it and slap it on top.

“You’re stuck with us now. I’m sorry because that means you’re stuck with Walsh, too, but he’ll do right by you.”

“He’s not that bad,” Juliet sasses.

“In fact, he’s the best,” Tate confirms. “If we ever break up, I’m kicking him out of the Keeley family and I’m staying. Sorry, not sorry.”

“If he screws up enough to warrant a divorce, you know where I live,” Ma states, our laughter filling the car.

It sucks I can’t be truthful with the people I love most, but one day, when the storm blows over, hopefully they’ll forgive me for being deceitful.

“Enough crying. I need to find a dress if there’s going to be a wedding in a few months.”

If all goes according to plan, that is.

CHAPTER 32

nero

Marina’s been gone since this morning, and I miss her already. How I lived my life with sporadic visits before this, I haven’t a clue. Sure, for a lot of the years, I was busy building my hockey career, wanting to prove myself as a rookie, getting into my groove in the later years, and it offered a good distraction. But for the past several months, with daily access to her, she’s buried herself deep in my marrow, and when she’s not here, it’s misery.

Okay, I’m being dramatic. Probably because practice was a shit show. As if everyone showed up for a Squirts practice instead of the professional league.