Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Trinity
Sunlight spills in around the edges of the curtains through the window in my bedroom the next morning. I just turned off my alarm and I curl back into Linc, wishing I could go back to sleep.
We had a ridiculous amount of crazy good sex, taking the occasional break to rejuvenate with snuggling or a late-night snack. I had to reluctantly tell him around three a.m. that I needed to get a little sleep. I have a huge work meeting today.
That three and a half hours was the best I’ve slept since I got back home. I fell asleep immediately and didn’t have nightmares.
“Call in sick,” Linc mumbles.
I groan, my cheek resting on his strong, warm chest. “I can’t. Our CEO is coming and part of the reason she’s coming is to see me.”
He grunts his disapproval. I sit up, knowing if I don’t force myself out of bed, I’ll fall back asleep. Fatigue makes my head swim.
“Hang out here with Karma while I’m gone. We can go out tonight and you can meet Genevieve.”
His sexy, lazy smile makes me want to curl back up to him, just for five more minutes.
“The famous Genevieve? The one who hordes office supplies and requires Starbucks in the morning and the afternoon?”
I’m touched he remembers. We talked a lot about our friends at the cabin, and he told me about every one of his teammates.
“That’s her.”
His smile fades slightly. “I wish I could, babe, but I’m flying out early this afternoon.”
“Oh. Sure, I understand.”
“Hey.” He reaches for my hand. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I didn’t just come here for a night of sex. I meant everything I said.”
I nod, embarrassed by the tears welling in my eyes. It’s not that I don’t believe him; it’s that I just got him back. And now he’s leaving again.
“Let me show you where I’m going.” He reaches for his phone on the bedside table and even though I’m bummed he’s leaving, I don’t miss the opportunity to admire his body.
His muscles are perfectly ridged, his golden skin smooth other than some dark chest hair. He looks more like an artist’s take on the perfect man than a real one.
His fingers fly over his phone screen and then he passes it to me. “Scroll through those photos.”
The first one is of a sprawling log and stone home that looks straight out of a luxury home magazine. It has two stories, floor-to-ceiling windows and there’s a mountain range in the distance. Other photos show a four-stall garage, two separate log buildings and an outdoor space with an in-ground pool and a massive gazebo.
“It’s beautiful,” I say when I reach the end of the photos.
“I’m glad you think so. Because it’s ours.”
His gaze is locked on mine, his eyes bright with excitement. It takes me a couple of seconds to find the words to respond. Even then, I can only come up with one.
“ Ours ?”
“I bought it for us. It’s outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Remember how we talked about our dreams? Yours was to open an animal rescue for cats and dogs and mine was to own a ranch. We can do both of those. Together. I’m going to Jackson Hole today to meet with a builder about converting one of the outbuildings into a space for cats and dogs. We’ll add heating and cooling and plumbing so we can give them baths out there.”
I just gape at him, words escaping me.
“We’ve got forty acres. Plenty of room for anything we want.”
“Linc...I’m...stunned.”
His smile slides away. “Is it a good stunned?”
“I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed.”
The light fades from his eyes and an ache forms in my chest. I crushed his excitement. I take one of his hands in both of mine.
“Look, I just need some time to process this. Until last night, I didn’t even know if you wanted anything with me. And now you tell me you bought a ranch in Wyoming?”
“I thought you’d love it. You don’t have to think about money ever again because I saved a lot and invested well. I’m renaming the ranch Shining Light because that’s what you are to me.”
I don’t have a choice about it—I cry. I never imagined anyone would do something like this for me. Feel so deeply for me. And I feel just as deeply for him.
I wipe tears from my cheeks and smile at him. “You are the worst communicator ever. I still adore you, though.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
I laugh a single note. “This is definitely a surprise.”
He sighs heavily. “You’re not happy.”
“No, Linc. It’s not that.” I squeeze his hand. “My last boyfriend wanted to split the check when we went to dinner. No one has ever done anything remotely close to this for me. I am happy. I’m just also shocked.”
He cups one of my cheeks in his hand. “When I was back on the road with my team, I kept wishing I was back at the cabin with you. I want us to have a life where we can wake up every day and do what we love. Cook. Dance. Read. Take a dozen dogs for a walk. Start a garden. And, since I’ve already shocked you, I might as well go ahead and add that I’ve changed my thoughts on having kids. I thought I didn’t want kids, but...I called my dad and he was happy to hear from me. He wants to have a relationship with me.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.” My voice is thick with emotion.
“It’s not just that, it’s also...I hadn’t met anyone I wanted any of this with until you. A home and a life and a family. It would be really fucking ironic if I finally found you and you don’t feel the same way.”
A fresh round of tears floods from my eyes. “Of course I feel the same way. I was just so sure there was no way for us to be together.”
His lips quirk up in a smile. “After the cabin, there’s no way for us not to be together, Trin. Not for me. I always thought my purpose was hockey, but now my purpose is you. Us.”
I kiss him, my mind still spinning from the news. “And we don’t have to move immediately, right? Like that could be our plan for the future? Because I have my work, and you’re retiring, so you could move here.”
He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again.
“What?” My heart races as my anxiety starts setting in.
“I mean...we’ll need to talk about things, but I was hoping we could move there soon.”
We aren’t even engaged. Twenty-four hours ago, I didn’t even know he wanted to be with me. And now he’s asking me to give up everything I know to start a new life with him.
I’ve never been late for work in my life, and no matter how much I want to be here having this conversation with him, I can’t be late on the day our CEO is coming.
“I’m so sorry, but I have to take a quick shower and get to work. Can we talk later?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“When will I see you again?”
He considers. “I’ll be at the ranch for a few days getting work plans figured out. Then I have to go back to Minneapolis and get my house there listed and hire movers.”
I sigh softly. “So not for a while.”
“Yeah. You want to take advantage of me one more time before you go?”
I respond by straddling him, my knees on the bed as I look down at him. Our gazes lock and he slides his hands up the backs of my thighs, over my ass. He sinks his hands into my hips.
It’s only been a few hours, but my body still aches for him. Even though we have a lot to talk about, we only have a few more minutes together, and this is how I want to spend them.
Kate Ryker is beautiful. Her blond hair comes to her shoulders and her blue eyes have just a hint of crow’s-feet when she smiles, which makes her look both pretty and wise. Her smile is flawless and warm, her body lean with curves in all the right places.
“How are you, Trinity?”
We just finished an Allura group meeting, and now I’m alone in Gloria’s office with her and Kate. I can tell Kate isn’t just perfunctorily asking how I am; she genuinely cares.
“I think I’m doing pretty well overall. I’ve given up on expecting things to be the way they were before. It’ll never be the same, and that’s okay.”
“Some experiences change us.”
I smile, thinking of Linc blowing me a kiss as I was walking out of my bedroom earlier. He was planning to get a couple more hours of sleep, and it was difficult to make myself leave him.
“That’s very true. And sometimes people change us, too,” I say.
Kate and Gloria exchange a knowing smile.
“You mean the hockey player?” Gloria asks. “Lincoln?”
“He flew in last night and surprised me.”
Gloria claps her hands together, her eyes sparkling with happiness. “I’m delighted to hear it.”
“That explains the wet hair,” Kate says with a laugh.
My cheeks warm. I took a record-setting two-minute shower and caught an Uber to work, applying my makeup on the ride. I didn’t have time to do anything but run a comb through my hair.
“He bought a ranch in Wyoming,” I blurt. “For us. Because I said my dream was to have an animal rescue one day. I meant, like, in thirty years.”
Kate meets my gaze, her expression amused. “And let me guess, he didn’t ask you about it beforehand?”
“No! He hasn’t communicated about his feelings over the phone at all . I was so upset, thinking it was over between us, and then he shows up and says he loves me and we now own a ranch in Wyoming.”
“That sounds about right. He’s the team captain, right?”
I shrug. “I mean, he was? But he just decided to retire. He dropped that news on me last night, too.”
“He’s used to being in charge and having people follow his lead. My husband is the same way.”
I knew she was married to a retired hockey player—Jason Ryker—but I’d forgotten that he was also once a team captain.
“How does that work for you and your husband? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t mind at all. Ryke can be...domineering at times. I say it’s one of his best and worst traits. When we disagree and he thinks he’s right and I think I’m right...well, buckle up.” She laughs. “But he has so much more heart than any other man I’ve ever known. Everything he does is for our family. Our kids think he hung the moon.”
Her voice is filled with pride and affection. She shrugs and shakes her head as she continues. “I mean, I kind of agree. I think he’s the best. But we’ve had to work things out before, like any couple. He once surprised me by reserving an Italian villa for a month during the summer, and I had some meetings scheduled then that I couldn’t miss. He doesn’t always understand why the company is still important to me even though we’re well-off financially. But he got over it and took the kids on a friend’s boat for the few days I had to be gone, and it ended up being a wonderful trip. Now he asks me before he schedules trips.”
I nod. “I love my work here. Getting to help people feel beautiful and confident isn’t just a job to me. It’s a calling.”
“I love hearing that. You’re a big part of Allura’s success, Trinity. And if your heart tells you to move to Wyoming, there will still be a role for you here if you want it.”
I warm inside, smiling as big as my cheeks will allow. “I wouldn’t have asked you for that, but it would mean a lot to me to not have to leave completely.”
“I’m thrilled for you. You didn’t just survive the plane crash—you came out of it stronger. And in love.”
I picture Linc sitting across the table from me at the cabin, elbows on the table. His warm gaze on mine. He was a lifeline to me then. A port in a storm of uncertainty and fear. And he still is.
“He loves me exactly as I am, and I want to love him back the same way. Surprise ranch purchase and all.”
Kate stands from her seat. “He’s a keeper. They’re stubborn and sometimes impulsive, but life with a hockey player is never dull. I wish you all the happiness in the world.”
I’m still nervous as hell, but it feels real now. With her words of support, what felt overwhelming and impossible this morning now feels like it’s truly happening.
I guess I need to buy some cowboy boots.