Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
Grady
My memories of the concussion treatment are fuzzy. I’m pretty sure I said something completely inappropriate in front of Noah. Violet Newberry, too. And I’m not sure how I got home. Every so often, I start to drift off, and I’m aware of someone shaking me awake. An angel, I think. Maybe one of Charlie’s Angels? Whoever she is, she is unbelievably gorgeous. I don’t think angels are allowed to be as sexy as this one unless they’re affiliated with Charlie, although every time I try to examine this thought, it falls apart. It’s hard to know what’s real.
It’s like my mind is not my own.
But the light hasn’t come for me again, so that’s good.
Sometime around sunrise, clarity sets in. I’m still exhausted, and my head feels like I lost a round with one of those Spanish bulls. Bits and pieces of the day before start to make sense, too. I am, for example, finally able to recognize Vivian for who she is. I’m pretty sure that Noah is aware that we’re dating now.
Also, I think I proposed to her roughly thirty-four times last night, though I’m iffy on the numbers.
“Hey.” Vivian runs her fingers through my hair. She looks as exhausted as I feel. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” I croak.
She sits up and hands me a water bottle. It’s one of mine, a Stanley with a built-in straw, and I have vague memories of her encouraging me to drink water throughout the night. I wriggle more upright against the mound of pillows she built around me and grip the handle tight.
“Were you here overnight?” I ask.
Viv’s answering nod is interrupted by a yawn. “Violet said you’d be okay, but I wasn’t supposed to let you sleep.”
I sniff. No wonder the room smells like coffee. “I’m sorry.”
She scoffs. “For getting injured?”
“For… anything I may have said while I was concussed.”
“You’re still concussed,” she says, brushing a kiss on my temple. “Violet gave me a pamphlet. You’re going to take it easy for the next few days. No driving, no heavy lifting, and I’m supposed to make you wear sunglasses when you go outside.”
The mention of the outdoors jolts me upright. “Blade?” I ask.
Vivian sits up, too. “What about him?”
“I haven’t fed him or taken him out or—”
“You goose.” Viv nudges my shoulder. “I did. He’s fine. I wasn’t sure exactly how much to feed him, since he’s bigger than Biscuit was, so I may have overcompensated with treats. In my defense, he was a very good boy.”
Of course, she did. If I’d thought about it for two seconds, I would have realized that. She loves that numbskull as much as I do. I lean back against the pillows and exhale my relief.
I just wish she loved this numbskull.
“Did we win?” I ask, sounding more hopeful than I feel.
Viv nods. “Ranger totally rallied the troops who played their best just for you.”
My mind goes blank when I try to remember anything about the game. “That’s good to hear.”
Viv stretches her arms over her head and yawns again. I didn’t realize it before, but she’s wearing my jersey. My old one, the one she wore the night that we tried shibari. “I’m starving,” she says. “Want some breakfast?”
“Food,” I say, stunned by the revelation that I’m ravenous. “Food sounds amazing.”
“I’ll go make something.” Viv gets up. Beneath the jersey, she’s wearing a pair of my boxers.
I whistle. “Hello, nurse!”
“Oh, no, no, no. From here on out, I am to be addressed as Angel. I will accept nothing less. Do you think you can dress yourself?”
I consider this before nodding. “Angel it is.”
“Give me a shout if you have any problems.” She leans over to rumple my hair and kiss my forehead.
I don’t like comparing Vivian to Larisse, but as I look around the room, it’s hard not to. Larisse didn’t even wait for us to get home the night of my injury. She went right for the divorce papers. Viv, on the other hand, got me home, stayed the night to observe me, took care of my obnoxious dog, got me changed into sleep pants and a loose tee, and dumped my work clothes in the laundry.
I sit on the edge of the mattress and wipe at my eyes. The sunlight streaming through the window may be making them water, but it’s equally possible that I’m overcome with the swell of emotion that courses through me.
We’re going to take care of each other. Viv trusts me enough to take risks with me, but knowing that I can trust her just as much leaves me breathless.
I take my time getting dressed and tottering to the bathroom to brush my teeth. The light over the bathroom sink is painfully bright, a clear reminder that I’m still working with a brain that has had better days than this. Reaching up, I wince when I feel the size of the goose egg I have from that rogue puck.
Viv is puttering around in the kitchen when I arrive. She’s made herself more coffee, and she’s looking a little perkier than before.
“You should take a nap,” I tell her. “Really, I’m fine now.”
“Later,” she assures me. “And before you ask, Blade is fine. I just put him in his crate so that he wouldn’t bowl into you. We don’t need your ball sack to match your skull.”
“You’ve thought of everything.”
She tosses her hair and strikes a pose. “That’s because I’m awesome. An awesome, otherworldly, heavenly, Angel woman.”
“Maybe as a way of saying thank you, I can take you out to dinner?”
Viv looks over her shoulder with a sly smirk. “Trying to get rid of that gift card my dad gave you?”
“I wasn’t thinking about that, but it could be.” I reach for the envelope Noah brought over only a few days before. It feels longer than that, even if I don’t remember much from the last day. We had such a nice talk.
Something tells me that our next conversation won’t be so genial.
The gift card is for someplace I’ve never heard of before. When I try to read the words now, they swim before my eyes. I give up and set the card aside again. “I’d love to take you with me. I want to try new things with you.”
Her smile this time is softer. “I’d love to join you. Let’s do it. In a few days, when you’re not quite so…” She waves a spatula at me to illustrate my general disarray.
Breakfast consists of pancakes from the box, turkey bacon, and scrambled eggs. Viv has just joined me at the island when the doorbell rings. From the back room, Blade starts his usual howling protest.
“I’ll get it,” Vivian says and hops off her stool before I can protest. I’m grateful. I’m feeling a lot more with it than earlier, but it’s like my body’s moving through molasses whenever I try to propel my limbs forward.
I hear Viv’s voice at the door, mingling with a man’s lower tone. A few seconds later, she returns with Noah on her heels.
“Oh.” I try to get up and almost face-plant onto the kitchen floor. “Hey.”
Noah just looks me up and down. “So, I came here to check on you,” he says without preamble, “but I also see that it’s true that you and Vivian are dating. For how long?”
“It wasn’t official until two days ago,” Vivian says. “Do you want some coffee, Dad? I just made a fresh pot.”
Noah crosses his arms. “I’d like to know why you lied.” He’s answering her but looking at me. “You didn’t tell me who you were, you didn’t tell me about your relationship with my daughter… What am I supposed to think?”
“Vivian didn’t want to make things public just yet,” I say. “I was respecting her wishes.”
Noah lets out a disappointed sigh. It lasts an impressively long time; the guy has strong lungs. “You acted like a couple of teenagers. Both of you.” He flicks a glance at Vivian.
“With all due respect, Father , you’ve never needed to know the details of my love life before.” Vivian’s tone is light, but I notice that her brow is wrinkling.
“I’ve never worked with your boyfriend before,” Noah retorts.
“Which is one reason we kept things private,” I interject. I finally manage to stand without getting my feet tangled in the legs of the stool. “Noah, can I talk to you in private for a moment?”
Vivian frowns. “Is that necessary? This feels very—” She wrinkles her nose. “Proprietary? Like you’re going off to decide my future without me. I’m literally in my fourth decade of life, you noobs.”
“It’s not that, I promise.” I reach out to squeeze her shoulder. “There’s something I need to show Noah, okay?”
Vivian doesn’t look thrilled, but she nods. I wave for him to follow me and lead him down the hall to my study, which is a grandiose term for an office I’ve barely unpacked, but hey, it sounds fancy. Blade whines as I pass his door. Noah doesn’t say a word.
I usher him into the room, close the door behind us, and then go over to the desk. “I know I was running at the mouth last night—”
“You proposed about eighteen times.” Noah rubs his eyes. “And that’s just what I heard. Frankly, the fact that you’re thinking about marrying her even when you barely know each other, and you’re concussed is one of the reasons I’m not furious with you both. It seems like you’re serious about her, which is… something.”
“I am. I really do want to marry her.” I open the top drawer of my desk and remove the velvet box that was delivered to my house yesterday morning. “And we’ve been seeing each other since before the season even started.”
Noah stuffs his hands in his pocket and stares at the box. Neither of us open it. He waits a long beat before lifting his eyes to mine.
“Let’s forget, for the moment, that you’re my boss,” he says. “Let’s forget that we have a history on the ice.”
“Done.”
“You’re still, what, thirteen years older than Viv? Do your values align? Do you even know what matters to her?”
“Her career,” I say at once. “Design. Her gnomes. Her family. I know that she wants to have kids at some point—we’ve talked about that—and she loves dogs even more than I do. I know that even when she holds people at arm’s length, she cares about their well-being. I know that she and her younger brother argue, but they still care about each other. For the record, Viktor would have kicked my ass if he thought I was trying to use her.”
Noah’s eye twitches. “Damn Viktor.”
I nod. “He’s known since day one.”
Noah mutters something under his breath. He takes another steadying breath. “Well, that’s good, I guess. It’s a better list than I was expecting. All you talked about at the arena was her looks.”
“Well, to be fair, she is really stunning. And my swollen brain was completely offline. I wasn’t thinking clearly. And my mouth went reckless.”
Noah whips his head toward me.
I hold up both hands. “But that’s not what drew me to her. I’ve been married once, and it didn’t go well.”
Noah nods. “Your ex left you after your injury, right? You mentioned something the other day, and I Googled it afterward.”
“I know how awful it feels to be with someone who runs at the first hint of trouble. I would never do that to Vivian.” I turn to the wall behind me. “And there’s something else.”
When I open the cabinet behind me, Noah sucks in a breath. “Holy crap,” he says. “Where did you get all of those?”
I stand back from the cabinet to admire the vast assortment of gnomes I’ve been collecting. “Here and there. Some from the internet, but I’ve visited a lot of thrift stores and yard sales, too. I took photos of the Gnome Gloam, so unless Vivian bought more since my last visit, none of them are duplicates.”
Noah presses his hand to his mouth. He looks stunned. “Damn,” he says at last. “You are serious.”
“So, we’re good?” I ask. “You and Molly give your blessing?”
Noah exhales, rubbing a hand over his jaw. His expression is unreadable, but something in his posture shifts—less bristling father, more… accepting. Resigned, even. “You know, I only found out about this last night. And believe me, I was not thrilled.” He looks me over like he’s reassessing everything he thought he knew about me. “But it’s obvious how much you care about her. I see it in the way you talk about her, the way you know her. And if Viktor willingly kept your secret, that says a lot.”
He pauses, his gaze softening. “Vivian’s always been fiercely independent. Stubborn as hell, just like her mom, my sister. She doesn’t let people in easily. But when she does, she loves with everything she’s got. She needs someone steady, someone who won’t spook at the first sign of trouble. Someone who can handle her sharp edges and still see all the good in her.”
His lips press together, then he lets out a short, begrudging chuckle. “Hell, I didn’t think a guy like that existed. But… I see it now. You’re good for her.” He gestures to the cabinet full of gnomes. “And, clearly, you get her.”
I don’t realize I’ve been holding my breath until I finally let it out.
“So, we’re good?” I ask, my voice just a little rougher than I’d like.
Noah shakes his head, exasperated but not unkind. “Like I said, I’d never presume to speak for Molly… but yeah. I think we’re good.”
“How can you be sure?”
Noah cuts his eyes toward me. “My wife wouldn’t let me kill you last night.”
“Ah.” I nod. I’ll have to remember to thank her later.
“One more question.”
I close the gnome cupboard. “Ask me anything.”
“When were you going to pop the question?”
I turn back to face him. “As soon as possible. I don’t want to waste another minute. I’d ask her tonight, but since neither of us slept…”
His eyes narrow.
“Concussion,” I remind him, pointing to my temple. “Violet said I should stay awake as much as possible. Nothing untoward happened.” Given all the untoward things we’ve done in the past, this is somewhat disingenuous, but we will literally never go there. “Anyway, I’d like to be able to propose without wearing sunglasses, and it would be nice if I could drive her to dinner afterward. So… this weekend, I think. Oh, and speaking of proposing, can I use the Gnome Gloam?”
“You want to propose in the Gnome Gloam?” A wry smile creeps over Noah’s face. “Now, this I’ve got to see.”