Chapter 22
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
ZOMA
T he next morning, I fluttered my eyes open to sunshine streaming between the curtain… Where the hell was I? With a start, memories flooded through my brain. Oh shit, I’d tried to break up with Ace, but he hadn’t let me. In fact, he’d told me he loved me. I glanced at the empty sheets next to me. I’d told him I loved him. It was like a dream, but I was here, so it really happened.
The scent of bacon wafted through the room. I smiled. He was cooking breakfast for us. When had he gotten out of bed and what the hell time was it? I flicked my gaze to the nightstand, my phone resting on it. Ace must have found it and put it there at some point.
I picked up the phone. It was already ten. Shit, I never slept in this late. A text message popped up on the screen, and I tapped it.
Nova
What the hell happened last night? Call me. You better not have broken up with Ace. I’ll kill you, I swear.
Biting my lip inside a smile, I sat up in bed, resting my back against the pillows and the wood-slatted headboard, and called her.
“Zoma? Oh my God. Are you all right? What happened?” She freed heavy breaths into the phone.
“I’m fine. We, uh, we worked some things out.” I furrowed my brows. Why was she out of breath? “What are you doing? Are you at the rink practicing?”
“No, I came up to the Ice Den looking for you and got wrangled into helping Judy with the kids. I was worried as heck about you when you weren’t here and weren’t answering your phone.” She huffed and, in a low voice, said, “Don’t ever do that again.”
Damn, she was ready to kick my ass. “Sorry, I don’t even remember where I put my phone.” The battery might have run out too. Had Ace charged it for me? “How’s Darla today?”
“She’s doing great and don’t change the subject. Tell me what happened.”
I blew out a breath and combed my fingers through my hair. “I tried to break up with Ace. I came to his house with all his shit in a garbage bag but?—”
“Goddammit, Zoma. Where are you now? At home?” She scoffed.
“No, I’m at Ace’s. He’s making me breakfast.” As my chest warmed, I grinned. “He wouldn’t let me break up with him. He threw me over his shoulder, brought me into his room, and tossed me on his bed. Then he told me he loved me.” My grin widened. It had been the most romantic gesture anyone had ever done for me.
She squealed. “Seriously? Where do I find a man like that?”
“At the gay bar, obviously.” I rolled my eyes. But damn, I was a lucky man. “Turns out he’s also trying to work a deal with the Coyotes and was waiting to tell me until he knew what was going on.” And I’d been such an ass that he’d been afraid to tell me sooner.
“Oh, so he might stay here? That’s awesome! Then we can finish our degrees together.”
“Yep.” And who knew? Maybe I could get some Olympic hopefuls to train here.
Ace popped his head into the room. “Oh, you’re up. Good.” His smile crinkled his eyes. “Breakfast is ready. You can put on the clothes I gave you last night. I’m washing what you wore over here.” Wearing an athletic shirt and sweats, he jogged to me, planted a quick kiss on my cheek, and straightened. “Who’s that?” He pointed at my phone.
“Oh, it’s Nova.” I put the phone on speaker. “Say hi to Ace, Nova.”
“Hi, Ace. I’m sorry my friend is such an idiot.” She giggled.
“Hey.” I glared at my phone resting on my thighs. It figured she’d say something like that.
“It’s okay, Nova. I should have told him earlier. I shouldn’t have been such a coward.” He sank in next to me and scruffed my hair. “I assume you’ve already told her everything?”
“The abbreviated version.” I leaned against his muscled body. I was sure she’d make me tell her more later. “Anyway, Nova, it’s time for breakfast. I’m glad you’re with my kids today. Who knows, maybe you have a future in it?”
“No, I’m leaving it for you.” She huffed through a chuckle. “Talk to you later and have a great day with your new love.”
My new love. I liked the sound of that. “Thanks, talk to you later.” I ended the call and crept my gaze to meet with Ace’s. “What did you make me?”
“Bacon, sausage, and whole wheat pancakes.” Wrapping his hand around my head, he kissed the top of it. “So, she’s taking over for you at the Ice Den today? Did you set that up last night?”
“No, she was worried about me when she couldn’t get ahold of me and went up there.” I pressed my lips together. I shouldn’t have worried her like that. But I wasn’t thinking straight.
“Yeah, I found your phone this morning in your pants and plugged it in, and it started going off with messages. I figured you’d need to talk to her.” He sucked in a breath. “Anyway, let’s go get breakfast before the vultures eat it all.”
“Myles and Tyler?” I set my phone on the nightstand. He had some funny terms for them, but I knew it meant he loved them.
“Exactly.” With a pat on my thigh, he climbed off the bed and held out his hand. “Come on.”
After getting dressed in Ace’s clothes from last night, I followed him to the dinette, which was off their kitchen and next to their patio doors. My stomach grumbled. I couldn’t wait to have a breakfast that wasn’t a quick protein shake. I dropped into a chair next to Ace and across from Tyler. Myles sat on my other side. I glanced out the patio doors into the sunny morning. The rain from last night was a distant memory. “Looks like a beautiful day.”
Myles bit into a slice of bacon. “Sure is. After we get our studying done, Tyler and I were thinking of heading out to a sports bar to watch the game.”
“Yeah? What game?” Ace placed bacon, a few sausage links, and two pancakes on a plate and then slid it toward me. “I hope you’re hungry.”
Picking up a fork and butter knife already laid on the table, I said, “I’m famished.” The pancakes were perfectly round. How had he done that? Mine were always lopsided. Just another new thing to discover about my love.
“Blackhawks, who else? We gotta see our guys win against the Bruins.” Tyler stuffed a bite of pancake, dripping with syrup, into his mouth.
“You really think the Hawks are going to beat the Bruins?” With a cackle, Ace poured orange juice for the two of us into short glasses. “No fucking way.”
“Way.” Tyler eyed Ace. “The Bruins star center is out. We have a shot at it.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Ace set the juice bottle down and picked up his silverware. “These two are from Chicago, so of course they like the Blackhawks.”
I nodded and drank some juice. If Tyler and Myles went out for the game, it meant we could have the house to ourselves. “So, what do you want to do today, Ace?”
Myles tapped his fork on his plate. “Yeah, Ace? Seems to me you two might have some more making up to do.” He let out a soft snort. “And we won’t be around to hear it, eh.”
“You two need to stop eavesdropping on people.” Ace’s gaze found mine, and he grabbed my hand from the table. “How about we enjoy a nice day in? We could get your favorite wine from the store, and I’ll make you anything you want for dinner.”
“Oh, now that’s an offer I can’t turn down.” One day away from the rest of the world with the man I loved sounded wonderful. With a grin, I kissed the back of his hand.
Tyler rolled his eyes at Myles. “Ew.”
Shaking his head, Myles said, “All I know is I’m envious. You two have a great time together today.”
“Thank you.” I cut into my pancakes and ate a bite, the fluffy mixture melting on my tongue. “Oh, really good, Ace.”
Later that day, we went to the grocery store and picked up salmon and rice pilaf for dinner. Ace had some recipe involving a raspberry chipotle sauce he thought I’d love, and it sounded fantastic. After putting the groceries away, I popped the cork out of the wine we’d bought and gazed at the sunny backyard. The large mesquite tree was shading part of the patio and the table and chairs out there looked so inviting. “Hey, let’s have a glass of wine on the patio.” I’d also thought of more questions I wanted to ask him about his Detroit visit.
“Sure.” He wrapped me up from behind and kissed my cheek. “God, you’re fucking adorable in my clothes.”
He’d insisted I wear them shopping, but I didn’t mind. I’d do whatever he wanted at this point. “Thank you.”
He grabbed a couple of low-ball glasses from an upper cabinet and set them down. “Sorry, we don’t have wine glasses in the house. We usually drink beer.” He shrugged a shoulder.
“It’s fine. It’ll still taste good.” I poured the wine and handed him one. “Here. Let’s go on the patio and enjoy this fine day.” And just…relax. When was the last time I’d done that? Taken one day off from schoolwork and practice and my lessons? Never.
“Absolutely.” With a sip of his wine, he headed toward the patio doors and slid them open. “I don’t think I’ve sat out here since we moved in. It’s been so dang hot.” He dropped into a chair at the glass and fake wicker table.
I took the seat next to him and looked over the flowering plants in the yard. “Where’d you guys get this patio furniture?” Surely, they hadn’t gone and bought it.
“I think it was originally from Jonah’s family in Minnesota.” He drank more wine. “When we first came out here and moved in together, our parents all pitched in and gave us whatever hand-me-downs they could.”
Nodding, I said, “What’s in the house from your family?” Now, I wanted to meet them. I wanted to know everything I could about this man.
A gentle breeze blew through the yard and ruffled Ace’s dark hair. “The dinette. It used to be in one of our bunkhouses on the ranch. Mom sacrificed it for me. No one else had one to spare.” He gave me a quick grin. “And my bedroom furniture, of course. I brought that with me from home.”
“Yeah?” I took a sip of wine, the oak flavor mixing with the hint of citrus. This was so much better than most of the stuff I got in the bars with Nova.
He tapped his index finger on his glass. “Zoma, you need to let your family know I can only be with them on Thanksgiving Day, pretty much.”
“I know. I’ll call my mom this week.” I eyed him. It was time to talk a little more seriously. “If you get a contract with Detroit, what does that look like?” I’d never been able to learn the specifics with Brody. He’d only broken up with me and left.
“Well, there are camps over the summer where I have to prove myself. Once I get through those, then the real games start in October, with pre-season at the end of September. I guess I, I mean, we, would formally move out there in August of next year.” He watched me. “You ever been to Detroit?”
I shook my head. “Nope.” I watched a desert rabbit hop across the yard and duck under a bottle brush bush. “All I know is it’s in the Midwest, cold, and they make a lot of cars there.”
“Yeah. That’s about all I know too.” He chuckled. “Zoma, if things work out with the Coyotes, I’ll take whatever they offer me. I’m not looking for money.” He smirked. “I mean, money is nice, but I’ll give up a few million to stay here.”
“Million?” I stared at him. Holy shit, was he really ready to give up millions? “Are you sure?” And how wealthy would he be by this time next year?
Chuckling, he said, “Naw, just kidding. I might be giving up a hundred thousand or so though.” He pursed his lips. “I’m sure my agent won’t be happy about it since he gets paid a percentage, but too fucking bad.” He slid his hand across the table and covered mine. “You’re worth it, Zoma. I’ve never fallen in love like this before, and quite frankly, I doubt I ever will again.”
With my gaze searching his face, I parted my lips. I needed to tell him everything. He’d been so open with me. He deserved it. “Same. I tried so hard not to fall for you, but it happened anyway.” Leaning across the table, I placed a lingering kiss on his lips, closing my eyes for a beat and cherishing the feel of him.
When I broke the kiss, he said, “Yep, guess I’m just irresistible.” As his cheeks pinked, he freed a soft chuckle. “Anyway, tell me what I’m in for when we visit your family.”
“Oh, well, my mom’s going to dote over you. It’s what she does.” I sipped my drink. “And my dad is going to want to talk politics, but don’t try and debate him.”
“What is he? Democrat or Republican?” Ace cocked his head, studying me.
“Independent. He says he’s fiscally conservative but socially liberal.” I looked him over. Shit, we’d never talked politics. What was Ace? If he was from Montana, would he be Republican? But how could he be Republican and gay? “Uh, what are you?”
“I consider myself an Independent.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m going to get along just fine with your dad.” With a quick grin, he drank his wine and snapped his gaze to mine. “Hey, what about Christmas? I’m supposed to go home to the ranch. I’d love to take you with me.”
My heart kicked. “Yeah? I think something can be arranged. Have you told your family about me?” After all, I’d told Mom about him already.
“Not yet.” He dipped his head. “Last time I spoke to my mom, I think you’d ghosted me, and we weren’t together.” His gaze rose to mine. “But I’ll talk to her soon. She’s due to get a call from me.” Shaking his head, he chuckled. “She is going to be happy as hell to hear I’ve found someone.”
“Yeah?” I shifted my chair closer to his. He was too far away. Would it be too much to sit on his lap?
“Yep. She’s been worried about me settling down. She has this stupid notion that gay men don’t do that.” He huffed a sigh. “I’m still working on my parents. They mean well, but they live in conservative cattle country and tend to hear all sorts of stupid shit.”
I nodded. “I guess we’ll have to set them straight, then, won’t we?” Leaning toward him in my chair, my shoulder brushed his. “I can’t wait to meet them. Will your siblings be there too?”
“Hell yeah. It’ll be very Hallmark Christmas when we get up there.” He chuckled. “If you want, I’ll take you to the little town close by the ranch, and we can have hot chocolate while walking up Main Street with all the Christmas lights.”
Lifting my brows, I said, “I’d love that.” Especially with him. “And you’ll wear your cowboy hat?”
“Jesus Christ…” He chuckled through a scoff. “For you, anything.” He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on my lips. “I’ll have my wranglers and my flannel shirt on too.”
Heat shivered over my skin. “Can’t wait for it.” There was something about seeing his rancher side that turned me the hell on.