Chapter Twenty-Eight
Barry White
Carter
“Fuck, I hope this isn’t stupid.”
I was bouncing on my toes, fidgeting, not feeling even the least bit cool as I waited for Livia to arrive.
It didn’t matter that it was the perfect night, warm and pleasant with a crisp breeze for reprieve, the sun slowly sinking over the bay in the distance.
It didn’t matter that we had the whole rooftop to ourselves, that I’d rented the thing out and wouldn’t have anyone watching me while I bumbled through my idiotic speech to Liv.
And it definitely didn’t matter that she’d already told me she felt the same.
For some reason I couldn’t explain, everything just felt volatile, like my world as I knew it was a triangular-shaped rock balanced on its peak. It was stable for now, everything meticulously placed.
But one wrong move could shatter the whole thing.
“It’s going to be great, Fabio,” Will said, smirking from where he stood beside me. “Look, the worst thing that could happen is she turns you down and tells you to get lost. Nothing you haven’t endured before.”
“Comforting,” I said flatly, but the corners of my lips curled a bit. He wasn’t wrong.
When the guys had helped me come up with a plan for the evening, I’d suckered all of them into being involved one way or another.
I wanted every step of the night to feel luxurious, VIP treatment from beginning to end.
And I didn’t just want strangers doing all the pampering. I wanted it to be our friends.
Our family.
I wanted to remind Livia that no matter what, even when things got difficult between us — which they inevitably would — we were never alone. We’d always have love and support around us.
I didn’t fill the girls in on the plan, though.
For some reason, that didn’t feel like my place.
I knew Livia would want to tell them in her own way and in her own time.
So, all the girlfriends and wives believed we were having a guys’ night on the golf course, sneaking in a few rounds without Coach knowing.
In reality, Vince was playing limousine chauffeur. He’d picked Livia up at five from her condo and had her en route to us now. They were just a few minutes out, and it felt like the longest stretch of time in my life — more so than any period of hockey I’d ever played.
The rest of the guys were here with me, each committed to their role. Will was the bodyguard and gatekeeper. He’d go downstairs to receive Livia when she arrived, walking her through the lobby and into the elevator like she was a celebrity being ushered into a private dinner.
Aleks had been tasked with all the details, and while it had felt like the biggest mistake when I agreed to let him handle that side of things, he’d surprised the hell out of me.
The rooftop was beautiful enough without embellishment, but Aleks had transformed it into something out of a dream.
A long table was dressed in a sleek black runner, the surface scattered with dark roses, low bowls of floating tea lights, and candles in staggered heights that flickered like fireflies in the evening breeze.
He’d hung string lights from the pergola in a way that made the whole place glow, cozy and intimate but still elegant.
Soft linen napkins, polished silver, wine glasses that looked like they belonged in some five-star joint — he’d thought of everything.
And, because it was Aleks, he’d added the most ridiculous touch: place cards.
He’d written my name and Livia’s in elaborate cursive on thick cardstock and propped them up against the plates like we were at a gala instead of my half-baked attempt at romance.
But when I saw the way the whole scene came together — romantic, intentional, and just a little over-the-top — I couldn’t even be mad.
Jaxson was the DJ for the evening. He’d taken over playlist duty, ignoring every text suggestion I’d sent him.
Now, a beat-heavy jazz song floated over the rooftop, the kind of music that felt sultry and alive, and it reminded me instantly of Liv.
I supposed I could trust that he’d done the job well.
And then there was Zamboni, running around with his tail wagging and sniffer going nuts as he inspected every corner of the space.
His job was gift-holder, the poor bastard, and he wore my little secret in a box strapped to his back by way of a doggie hiking vest, completely oblivious to the treasure inside.
It meant everything to me, having the guys there, having them participate. They were giving up their Sunday night to help me make a statement to a woman I loved more than anything in the world, and I would never forget that they showed up for me.
Will’s phone buzzed in his hand.
“She’s here,” he said, glancing at me before heading for the elevator. “Try not to puke before she makes it upstairs.”
Jaxson raised his glass in salute, already manning the speaker with a grin. “Don’t worry, I’ve got Barry White queued if things get awkward. Nothing sets the mood like deep baritone and a saxophone solo.”
“Christ,” I muttered, scrubbing a hand down my face.
Aleks smirked from where he adjusted the lanterns strung across the railing. “Ignore him. Everything’s ready. Just breathe, Fabio.”
Easier said than done, I thought, but I did my best to force air in and out of my lungs.
I cracked my neck, rolling my shoulders and swallowing what felt like sandpaper in my throat.
My hands were too big suddenly, too awkward, and I couldn’t figure out what the hell to do with them.
I alternated between cracking my knuckles, smoothing my sports coat, and shoving them in my pockets.
The ding of the elevator snapped through the rooftop like the starting gun of a race.
My pulse lurched, stomach twisting violently like I was on a rollercoaster that just did a loop before dumping me into a nosedive.
Don’t blow it, a familiar voice whispered in my mind.
Before he could get another word in, I snuffed him out, visualizing me shoving him into a box and kicking it off the edge of the Grand Canyon.
And then the doors slid open, and at just the sight of her, all my nerves were calmed.
Will stepped out first, all smug professionalism with dark sunglasses covering his eyes and Livia’s arm tucked into his like she was royalty being escorted to a throne. But the second I saw her, the rest of the world dimmed.
I’d been bracing myself for her usual armor: a killer dress, heels sharp enough to slit a man’s throat, that don’t-mess-with-me confidence that made everyone in the room orbit her like she was the sun.
Instead, she padded out in gray sweatpants and a black cropped tee, socks shoved into slides, her textured hair pulled back in a low bun.
She still wore her jewelry, of course, gold chains glimmering from around her neck and studs in her ears.
But she was bare-faced, cozy, like she’d just walked out of her condo and right into my best dream.
And Jesus Christ, she was beautiful.
The nervous hammer in my chest slowed to a steady and strong beat, like my heart was a drummer cast with the task to keep pace for every other organ. The moment my eyes locked on hers, the pressure released.
My breath evened out.
My spine straightened.
I didn’t just feel calmed by her presence, but confident — in what I would say, in how she would receive it, in us.
Why the fuck was I ever nervous to begin with?
Still, as I started walking to meet her, I could see her wearing the same worry and exhaustion I had been, like she, too, was suffering from the distance we’d put between us.
She looked like she’d been carrying just as much weight as I had these last weeks.
But she was here. She’d come. And I knew right then that this was my chance to bring her smile back.
I took my next steps with swagger, like she was mine already, like there was no other option than for the night to end with her in my arms and my heart in her hands.
Will smirked when we met in the middle, bowing like the Queen’s guard before handing me Livia’s hand. I chuckled a bit, giving him a mock nod of polite gratitude, and then as he slipped back into the elevator with Aleks joining him, I pulled Livia’s arm through mine.
“Hello, gorgeous,” I said, smile beaming out of me like a spotlight now that I had her. The press of her warm body against mine had me as giddy as a child.
I waited for her to roll her eyes or tell me not to call her that, the way she had when I’d called her beautiful. But for once, Livia didn’t seem to have a single word of retort. She only smiled, the edges of it soft and tinted with sadness. “Hi.”
“Matilda” by Harry Styles began to play, and when I looked over my shoulder, it was just in time to see Jaxson cast me a wink before he joined the other guys in the elevator. Will moved his hand where he’d been holding the door open, and they disappeared, leaving us alone.
Zamboni finally realized there was someone new on the rooftop, and he abandoned where he’d no doubt been sniffing out the crumbs not even the world’s best waiter could have found and sprinted straight for Livia.
Like usual, she commanded him with just a raised fist, my ornery pup sliding to a stop in front of her and plopping his furry butt right down on the ground.
He whined as he looked up her, tail wagging hard enough to knock over a small child.
“Good boy,” she said, bending to pet him. And she didn’t just hinge at the waist, either. She released me so she could squat down to his eye level, giving him her full attention, rubbing his chest and then up behind his ears with that soft smile of hers locked in place.
And if I didn’t already love her, seeing her love my dog like that would have done the trick.
“What’s this your dad has wrangled you into?
” she asked, plucking at the hiking vest. She stilled for some reason after the words left her mouth, like she’d said something she didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t read too much into it before she was standing, and the look was gone.
“Are we hiking or having a fine dining experience, because the way you’re dressed and the way Zambo is dressed are really contrasting here. ”
“We’re going skiing. Isn’t it obvious?”
Liv’s smirk was a tired one, and I reached out, thumbing just under her eyes where her full smile would usually reach. “I’m really fucking happy to see you.”
She leaned into the touch, surprising me with the way her face warped. Her hands covered mine, holding me to her. “I’m glad to see you, too.”
I led her to the table, pulling out her chair before I sat across from her.
And as soon as I did, two waitresses poured out of the back kitchen.
One unfolded our napkins and explained who they were, that they’d be taking care of us, while the other filled our water and champagne glasses.
When they were gone, Livia arched a brow at me.
“This is a very different experience from our first rooftop together.”
“I hoped it would be,” I said, reaching over for her hands. “I thought a lot about what I wanted to do tonight. After my game last week, I was crashing out. I was just thinking about how I told you I loved you for the first time while fucking you against the side of a house in the shadows.”
“Pretty iconic,” Livia mused with a grin.
I laughed. “Yeah, I mean, it fit us for sure, but… Livia, you deserve so much more than just that. I thought about how I could do this big gesture for you, take you in a hot air balloon maybe, or book a quick overnight trip to Key West to dive.”
“Well, I’m afraid of heights, and the thought of breathing out of a tube makes me want to claw out of my skin, so thanks for not doing that.”
I smoothed her hand in mine with a grin. “What I decided was that I just wanted to take you on a good old-fashioned date.”
“By renting out an entire rooftop and having your teammates treat me like a celebrity.”
“Precisely.”
The low laugh in her throat was raspy and delicious. “You are something else, Carter Fabri.”
But for some reason, I thought she still looked a bit sad when she said it.