Chapter 51 Winnie
WINNIE
Ican hear Nolan pacing around outside, talking to someone on the phone.
Laura is whimpering next to me.
“We need to get our story straight for the cops,” Laura tells me, rubbing her head.
“We?” I screech at her. “We don’t need to do anything.”
She cringes.
I hate sitting here doing nothing. I’m not a damsel in distress. I’m not some waify princess. I should be doing the rescuing. It’s literally killing me to sit here. Also, I’m hungry, and I can’t feel my hands.
Is this what I’m going to do for the rest of the day? The week? The month? How long can someone feasibly be trapped in a room?
Laura groans.
“Shut up,” I snap at her.
“You shut up.”
Nolan bangs on the door. “Fuck.” He wrenches it open. “What the hell am I going to do with you?”
“Just let me go. You can keep Laura here,” I tell him. “I’m not going to say anything to anyone. She deserves to stay locked up.”
“I’m not that stupid. I actually graduated from high school. You’re going to go tell the police, and I’m going to get blamed for this,” he whines, “even though it was her”—he points at Laura—“idea! I just wanted to play hockey and buy the good weed.”
“You let me go, and I’ll testify on your behalf that Laura was the mastermind,” I assure him. “And don’t think I’m lying. I can’t stand that bitch, and I’ll send her to jail with or without you.”
“But I’ll still do time, won’t I?” He frowns.
“You might plea out.”
“I’ll still lose my job.”
“I don’t know. They let some real characters into professional sports. It might actually be a good thing for you, you know? Give you some street cred.”
I’m trying to remain calm. “Look, why don’t you and I have a seat on the couch?
You can take these cuffs off me. I’ll contact some high-powered attorneys I know.
Look, even if your hockey career goes south, you had, what—a couple more good years left at best?
We can transition you into a book deal, a speaking tour, a Netflix documentary. And an athleisure-wear line.”
“I do want to be on Netflix,” he says, reaching into his pocket for a key.
“Of course you do. That’s good, steady money. You can go on the speaking circuit. Everyone will want to hear your story of resilience.”
“Don’t listen to her,” Laura rages from the room. She sounds a little stuffy. “She’s lying. She’s going to contact Fitz, and then he’s going to have you killed.”
Goddamn it.
“You need to let me out,” Laura says. “And you and I will figure this out together, baby.”
“She’s lying.” I lose my cool. “She’s the one who got you into this mess in the first place. You’re too stupid to see it. I’m trying to help you.”
“She’s trying to hurt you,” Laura says to her fiancé.
I can see him wavering.
“I’ve always had your back, baby.” Laura creeps out of the door. “You can’t trust Winnie. She’s going to sell you down the river. You need me,” Laura whispers the poison to him. “Only I can help you. We’re in this together, baby.”
“Yeah.” He leans in, and they kiss. “Together.”
I’m shoved back into the room.
At least this time, I’m alone and Laura’s not in here too.
“She’s going to steer you wrong,” I yell at the door. “Ugh.” I rest my head against it. “Fuck my life. Fuck my fucking—”
I don’t know how long I sit in the room. It might be the next evening. My stomach certainly thinks so.
“Hello?” I yell, voice dry.
Bang!
“Get down! Get the fuck down!”
“What the hell?”
Someone wrenches the door open.
It’s a man all in black, standing there shadowy in the doorway.
My stalker!
He walks in, wordless, and grabs me then picks me up.
“Fitz?” I ask uncertainly.
My stalker doesn’t say anything, just carries me through the chaos of broken furniture and men with guns all in black screaming at Laura and Nolan. He carries me out through the busted front door like I’m the princess he rescued from the dragon.
I should hate it, but I’m hungry and tired, and sometimes it’s nice to be carried, you know?
“Winnie!” Kathy screams when he carries me out to a waiting van. “Oh my god.” My little sister throws herself on me, sobbing.
“You should have seen Kathy”—Gran mimes kicking ass—“threatening people with a knife.”
“I can’t believe Loony Laura kidnapped you,” Carolina says as the masked man pulls out a handcuff key.
Sirens blare in the distance.
I pull the mask off. “Fitz!”
Gray eyes inspect me. “Winnie.” He says my name like a prayer.
“For a second, I thought it was your hot brother,” I joke weakly.
“For that, I might just leave you in the handcuffs.”
Then I kiss him.
“We need to take her to the hospital.”
“Oh my god, this is ridiculous. I don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine. I need pasta, wine—a large glass of wine—probably some coffee.”
“Can we do water and a salad and a shower?” Carolina wrinkles her nose.
I watch as Laura and her fiancé are led away by the state troopers. “I’m a victim here,” Laura yells.
Her fiancé is crying. “Winnie,” he begs, “can you still get me that Netflix deal?”
“Man, that’s going to be all over the internet in like five minutes.” I make a face.
“Are you kidding?” Fitz smirks, still cradling me to his chest. “This is great publicity for your café.”
“Well, thanks for the rescue, guys.” I swing my arm awkwardly. “I’ll just be heading home now.”
Fitz scowls down at me. “Creampuff. I’m never letting you out of my sight. You’re coming home with me.”
“But I—well, I was pretty shitty to you,” I remind him, looking down at my dirty toes.
“Don’t care.”
“Laura said you were trying to propose and—”
“Are you fucking kidding me? That bitch ruined your proposal plans!” Kathy rages. “Send her straight to jail!”
“Man, did you see the size of his TV?” Dad is marveling at Fitz’s penthouse.
“He certainly has a lot of knickknacks.” Mom picks up a soapstone cat.
“Do you swim naked in this pool?” Gran asks.
“Not often.” Fitz looks up from where he’s carefully slicing up watermelon rind because that’s supposed to help with hydration.
“Mom! Dad! Leave his stuff alone! You really didn’t need to bring my parents here.” I’m freshly showered and tucked in on Fitz’s couch in a mound of blankets. Fidget is curled up next to me.
“Stop giving her snacks,” I tell one of Fitz’s multitude of brothers.
“She saved your life,” Fitz’s brother Faulkner says, offended. “She deserves a doughnut.”
“Yeah,” Whitman adds. “Without Fidget, you’d still be locked up in that house.”
“You can’t get engaged anytime soon,” my mom tuts. “I mean, look at you, Winnie. You’re a mess.” She goes after me with a comb.
“Yeah, how long will it take for those bruises to fade?” Kathy dabs my face with ice. “Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
“Don’t kink shame,” Fitz jokes.
Dad frets. “Those dark circles under her eyes could be cranial bleeding.”
“No, she always has dark circles under her eyes,” Carolina states.
“Now, which one of you is single?” Gran demands.
Several of Fitz’s brothers raise their hands, including Crawford.
“Go for the hot one.” Gran shoves Kathy toward him.
“He’s not rich,” Fitz warns.
“I’m not dating,” Kathy says, dusting her hands. “I’m done with that. I want to run one of Winnie’s cafés.”
My mom sighs heavily. “You want to open a café instead of having a husband and children?”
Kathy nods. “I have plans for the Summit Square location. I already told Fitz we want a better lease agreement. And you’re going to be too busy being a wife and mother. It’s a perfect arrangement.”
Brinley bounces around. “I’m done with men too. I’m going to help Kathy in the café.”
“They are killing it on Instagram,” Carolina tells me.
“I need a minute to process.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What happened to the house Fitz is buying you?”
“He says you’re moving in with him, so we had him cancel the sale,” Dad says simply.
“It doesn’t make sense for your house to stay empty, Winnie,” Mom tells me.
“Ugh.” I slap my forehead
“You’re not leaving my sight,” Fitz says simply.
“Well.” Gran huffs. “I guess it’s all on me to find a man to support us.”
“Winnie’s doing a great job of supporting us. We should adopt a dog and give Fidget a friend,” my dad says earnestly.
Fidget does not like that idea.
“I’m not giving up my house,” I counter.
“Fine, then I guess we’re all moving into your house, Winnie,” Fitz tells me. “One big happy family.”
“It will be nice to have a man around. We can fix up that garden in the back.” Mom beams.
“It is looking pretty raggedy, Winnie,” Gran tells me. “I hate to say it.”
“So, Winnie.” Fitz nuzzles me. “Are you moving in with me, or am I moving in with you?”
“No one is moving in until my daughter has a ring on her finger,” my mom says shrilly.
“Great, let’s go get married right now.” Fitz kisses my hand.
I start to cry.
“Oh, Winnie!” Kathy reaches for me.
“Sorry.” I sob. “Sorry. I’m fine.”
“It’s the stress of everything.” Mom tries to wipe at my face. “Mark, get her some water.”
“She needs tea, April.”
“She needs a good stiff brandy,” Gran declares.
“I love you, Winnie. I’ll never let anything happen to you.
” Fitz’s voice is low, rough. He holds me tighter.
“You’re safe now. Laura and her fiancé are in jail,” he murmurs against my hair.
“He’s off the team. Knox is gone—I sent him to northern Canada.
You’re safe. I’ll never let anything happen to you. I love you.”
The words hit me with impact—beautiful, terrifying, enormous.
Like he’s offering me everything.
“I’ll give away all my stuff, if it would make you happy. Not my brothers, though.” He waits a beat. “Well… some of them can go.”
A watery laugh escapes me. “Oh god.”
But he’s looking at me—waiting.
I can feel him waiting for me to say it back.
And my stupid throat closes up.
“I know,” I whisper. “I know. I just—” I swipe at my face, annoyed at how messy I am. “I thought… I thought you and Kathy were—” I choke on it. “It’s stupid.”
He takes my hand. Warm. Unbelievably steady.
“Guys always want her instead of me,” I admit, voice small. “I guess I didn’t really believe you’d actually… like me. Want me.”
His brows pull together like I’ve physically hurt him. “Creampuff. You’re the only woman I want. You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved.” He takes my hands. “I love you.”
“I love you too. God, that feels crazy to say. I never told a guy I loved him before.” I wipe my eyes.
Fitz kisses me.
“I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.
And then—like he can’t help himself—he grumbles, “And Kathy was helping me plan your engagement, by the way. Which you completely ruined, so… good job.”
I shove him. Light. But he goes with it dramatically, like I’ve knocked over a linebacker.
“Oh my god,” I groan. “I’m such an idiot. Do you know how many master’s degrees I have? I’m so dumb.”
He pulls me in and kisses me—slow, deliberate, grounding, and dizzying all at once.
“Well, I guess I need to make it up to you, Kathy,” I tell her. “Sure, you can have that franchise location. Go nuts.” Kathy and Brinley scream. “Guess my family is entrenched.”
“Do I get an apology?” Fitz grins.
“I’m sorry, Fitz. I do love you. That’s not really fair to treat you like you committed a crime just because of shit that happened to me in high school. I guess I just sort of thought I’d never have, you know, the happily ever after, the big wedding, the handsome rich husband.”
“To be fair, he’s not actually all that great,” his brother Salinger says dryly. “He’s more of a bottom-of-the-barrel Svensson brother. Like third or fourth tier at best.”
“Do you love me enough to marry me?” Fitz smiles softly at me.
“No!” Kathy explodes. “This is not how you propose to my sister!”