Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
APRIL
The next day, I wash Chance’s hoodie, fold it up and place it in a bag. I need to return it to Chance but, every time I take out my phone to text him, I end up deleting the messages and putting it off.
Three days of indecision pass by.
Today’s Friday and I’m definitely returning Chance’s jacket. It’s not that difficult. All I have to do is drive over to the stadium before the press conference, hand it over and it’ll be fine.
Walking to the living room, I take out the hoodie and spread it out on the chair. “Come on, April. It’s just returning a hoodie. You can do it.”
“Yeah, you can do it,” May says.
I yelp. “May! When did you get home?”
“Just now. Didn’t you hear my keys jangling in the lock?” She kicks her shoes off and springs into the chair. “Ooh. This is nice.” She grazes her hand over the hoodie. “And it feels so soft. Did Chance give you this?”
“No, he didn’t.” I snatch the hoodie from her, surprised by the level of possessiveness I feel.
May shrugs. “He hasn’t stopped by the shop lately. Has he talked to you since you both signed the contract?”
I shake my head.
“Huh.” May swings to her feet. “I’m making spaghetti. Want some?”
“No, thanks.” I purse my lips and stare at the hoodie.
It has to be today.
Chance will get incredibly busy once the season starts, and I don’t want him to think I stole his clothes.
Resolute, I return the sweatshirt to the bag and prepare to text Chance when my phone lights up.
It’s Evan.
I sigh heavily and ignore the call like I’ve been doing all week.
Immediately, he sends a text.
Evan: I need to talk to you.
Evan: If you won’t answer, I’ll stand outside your house until you see me.
The thought of Evan showing up at my door gives me a headache, but I know he’s good for the threat.
I text back.
Let’s meet at the park across from the stadium.
After a moment’s contemplation, I add:
You have five minutes. No more. No less.
Evan is already at the park when I get there. He shoots to his feet and waves happily, as if we’re meeting for a date and not because he’s been harassing me.
Today, he’s dressed in a T-shirt with the Kinseys’ mechanic shop logo, jeans and a backwards baseball cap. I used to swoon when Evan wore his hair with that stupid baseball cap turned like that. But now, he just looks like a man who really wants the world to treat him like a child.
I start to open my door but my eyes catch on the bag in the passenger seat. At the last minute, I shrug into Chance’s hoodie. Somehow, it makes me feel stronger.
That pinched look in Evan’s eyes when he sees me wearing Chance’s last name also brings a vast amount of satisfaction.
His hands tremble when he offers me a cup. “I bought your favorite. Strawberry lemonade.”
“Your five minutes start now, Evan.”
“April, sweetheart, I know you’re mad at me, but I know we can start over.”
I bark out a laugh.
“What happened with that girl was unfortunate, but I’m glad it happened because it made my feelings clear. It’s you, April. It’s always been you. And from now on, I choose you .”
“You should have made that choice when we were, I don’t know, actually together, Evan. Instead, you chose both me and someone else. That’s called cheating . It’s called lying and it’s called backstabbing.”
He rubs his unkept mustache and nods sadly. “I know. I was tempted away by someone who wanted to damage our relationship. But I see now that no other girl is as loving, as loyal or as sweet as you. You were the one who stayed with me when I had nothing and so you should be the woman by my side when I’m at the top.”
I bark out a laugh.
Evan’s eyebrows tighten.
“What do you mean at the top? You still have nothing, Evan. And what you do have is borrowed from your family.”
Blotchy red spots form across his face and he narrows his eyes. “See that? If you were a little more encouraging April, maybe I wouldn’t have?—”
“Have what?” My heart feels like two giant clamps are squeezing it. Flashes of that awful conversation with him in the Kinsey’s mechanic shop sails through my mind. “Maybe if I were more encouraging? Maybe if I wore pink like Rebel? Maybe if I liked putting bows in my hair and putting on lip gloss? Maybe if my fingernails were clean? Maybe then you wouldn’t have cheated on me?”
“T-that’s not what I meant.”
Folding my arms over my chest, I stare at him. “That girl dumped you, didn’t she?”
His mouth opens and closes like a fish.
“She saw what a pathetic loser you are and she ditched you. And now you’re running back to me, thinking I’m your fallback girl. Thinking I’ll forget that you were cheating on me. Thinking I’ll magically forgive those awful things you said to me after?—”
“No, no, April, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. That’s what I wanted to say. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t call me sweetheart!” I shriek, shaking my head so wildly that my ponytail slips out.
Evan blinks in surprise as my curls spring free and fall to my shoulders.
I raise my chin, my heart pounding. “You ignored me for weeks after we broke up. Let’s keep doing that. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to talk to you. Don’t ever call my number again.”
“April, you can’t just throw what we had away.” He grabs my arm.
“Hands off!” I growl.
Evan releases me, but he doesn’t step back. “The end was awful, sure, but not every part of it was bad. We have three years of happy memories, don’t we? Give me another chance. Let me show you why you were right to love me.”
“I’ve moved on, Evan. I’m in a great relationship and I don’t want to go back. Now get out of my way.”
Evan snorts. “You expect me to believe you’re actually dating Chance McLanely?”
The heat in his tone stops me in my tracks.
“Why haven’t I seen you two in town together?” Evan challenges. “Every time I see him, he’s alone or flocked by a bunch of female fans.”
“We’re busy. Not that I have to explain myself to you.”
“You’re lying,” Evan says confidently.
He’s right, but the fact that he’s so sure about it is offensive and makes me want to punch him in the face.
“Do you know who Chance McLanely is? His family’s loaded. With his background alone, he could have babes at the flick of a finger. Why would he want you?”
His words are like flying shrapnel from an exploding car and each one hits my chest with expert precision.
Evan tilts his chin up, talking down to me with his beady eyes narrowed. “You’re the girl he’s playing around with while he’s in town. He’ll never love you like I do.”
I open my mouth to fire back at him when the sun suddenly disappears and a shadow falls over me.
“Since your definition of love involves cheating on your partner, then you’re right. I don’t love April the way you do.”
I look up in surprise.
Chance winks. Backlit by sunshine, his thick black hair looks like velvet. Screaming blue eyes, piercing enough to rip through paper with a look, soften on me. “Hey, Tink.”
“H-hi,” I stammer.
My heart stalls in my chest when Chance slips a hand around my waist and pulls me against his chest. His strong, muscular arms lock at my hips as he secures me in a hug from behind. I’m being pulled into his universe of cool, earthy scents, the scratch of his jacket collar against the pulse at my neck, and his thick fingers that scrape the band of my jeans.
His warm skin sends electricity buzzing through my veins.
My heart thu-dunks in my ears.
He’s way too big, way too strong, and way too manly to hug me from behind without a little warning.
I’m about ten seconds away from death by over-heating.
“What are you doing here?” I whisper, twisting my head to look up at him.
At first, all I see is the underside of a strong jaw before he looks down. “I was on my way to the stadium when I spotted you.”
My lips inch up in a smile. “Great timing.”
Chance returns my smile with a smirk that belongs on magazines.
“Ahem.”
I glance over at Evan. His lips are trembling like a banjo string in the hands of a folk artist. Undoubtedly, the excitement from being this close to one of his favorite hockey players is warring with his jealousy over me.
I’m feeding on the chaos.
Yup, I’m a petty person.
“Evan,” I speak with a hint of disdain, “I don’t think you two have properly met. This is Chance, my boyfriend .”
Evan sneers.
Chance totally ignores him. His eyes are gentle on my face.
“Tink.”
“What?”
He sighs dramatically. “Why do you look prettier today than you did yesterday?”
I release a high-pitched giggle, playing it up in front of Evan. “Stop it.”
Chance grins, his eyes twinkling. “I’m being honest.”
There’s a note of earnestness in his voice that takes me by surprise. Wow. He really does sound like he’s being honest.
In the moment, it becomes abundantly clear that Chance is a much better actor than I am.
My competitive juices start pumping. I’ve never been one to lose.
At anything.
“Babe, you’re embarrassing me.” I laugh again and brush my hand over his knuckles, sliding my index finger in and out of the hills and valleys.
Chance burrows his nose in my neck, making me giggle. “Ready to get out of here?”
“First, I have something to give you,” I say, tapping his hand.
Chance’s eyes make a quick beeline to Evan before he loosens his grip at my waist. Released from his back-hug, I turn fully to face him and rise on my tiptoes. My lips descend on his smooth-shaven cheek, pressing firmly.
A buzz starts in my chest as I feel his cheek beneath my mouth. Goodness, how can a man as masculine as Chance have such scrumptious skin?
I pull back quickly.
Chance’s mouth falls open and he looks down at me in a daze.
“I thought you might need a good luck kiss before the conference,” I explain, flashing a nervous smile.
A bird caws overhead, staring down at our frozen trio.
Chance has stopped breathing.
Evan is glaring.
I’m sweating because I have no idea what to do now.
The silence lengthens.
Pushing Chance forward, I grunt, “We should go or you’ll be late for the conference.”
Evan’s scowl gets darker, but he doesn’t stop us from leaving. Probably because it was easier to manhandle me than it would be to manhandle Chance.
As we move, Chance shakes his head and seems to come alive.
“Tink, let me drive you over.”
“Wait,” I tug on his hand when we pass my car, “I drove here.”
He glances over his shoulder and notices Evan is still watching.
“Come with me,” Chance says firmly.
He opens the car door for me and I slip inside, melting into the buttery, leather seats. The car still has that minty, fresh-off-the-lot smell mixed with the scent of Chance’s cologne. I take a deep, intoxicating breath and then release all the painful memories Evan stirred up in me.
“Are you okay?” Chance asks, his blue eyes darkening with concern.
“Yeah.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No. But thank you for stepping in again.”
“I hope there’s not a next time, but if he ever calls like that, text me. Or better yet, the next time he calls, let me answer.”
I laugh. “I don’t think he’ll call again.”
“I’m serious, April,” he says sternly. “I’m your fake-boyfriend. Protecting you is in the job description.”
“I know how to handle a wrench, remember?”
“At least give me a heads-up. If I’d passed by too late, I wouldn’t have seen you.”
His stern look is equally hot and equally irritating.
I glance away.
An earnest Chance McLanely is far too appealing and I haven’t built up enough of a resistance yet.
“The point is you did see me. And that was by design. I chose to meet Evan here knowing you were close by.”
Chance’s facial muscles relax. He starts driving. “Is that so?”
I squirm in my seat. “I’m sorry about your hoodie. I wanted to return it.” I smooth my hands over the sweatshirt. “But it looks like I’ll have to wash it again and return it another time.”
“Keep it.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s your hoodie. It literally has your name on it.”
“Keep it.” Slowing the car in front of the arena, Chance turns to me. He has an odd look on his face as he stares at the hoodie. “Yeah, keep it,” he says again. “My name looks good on you.”