3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
Blaze
If the Williams family didn’t already think I was a little obnoxious, after this, they definitely will…
But Addy sent an SOS. So, did I even have a choice?
Sometimes, I wonder if her family thinks I’ve corrupted her over the years since we met in college. After all, I’m nothing more than an aged-out foster kid who only made it to college because of a hockey coach who wouldn’t give up on me.
And sure, as a result of all that, I was drafted to the NHL, and the rest is history…
But internally, I’m still an orphan of sorts.
“Oh my gosh,” Addy huffs as she comes storming into the lobby. “I could kiss you right now!”
“That bad, huh?” I smirk.
“It was the absolute worst.” She beelines straight out of the building, shaking her head.
“Thanks, Molly.” I smile at the hostess before turning to leave. But she doesn’t smile back.
Whatever.
I jog to catch up with Addy. The afternoon sun hangs high in the Atlanta sky, and the heat is brutal right now. And it’s on days like today that I wish I’d have gotten drafted for a team located further away from the equator…
But then I’d be further from Addy, and that’s not worth the tradeoff.
“If I were to ever move teams to a different state, would you come?” I blurt out, the random question causing her to peer up at me with a funny expression.
“Uh … Are you changing teams? You literally just won the Stanley Cup…”
I shake my head. “Intrusive thought.”
She laughs, threading her arm through mine. “Those are seriously the worst, but to answer your question, I might follow you. Maybe even hide in your suitcase. At this point, I think my own family would be relieved if I left town.”
“Oh, stop,” I tell her, rolling my eyes. “Your family loves you.”
“Yeah, as long as I do exactly what they say and get married before I turn thirty.” Her tone sours as we continue down the street. It’s full of tourists this time of year, so it’s fairly easy to blend in. Most people don’t recognize me outside of the rink.
Thank goodness.
I couldn’t handle that level of fame.
“Are you even listening, Blaze?” Addy nudges me.
“Yes, sorry.” I rub the dark stubble on my jaw. “I think you’re going to be just fine. It’s rare for your parents to say anything to you about your marital status unless it’s the holidays or something, and even then—”
“It’s my grandma Esme,” she interjects with a heavy sigh. “She acts like being single at thirty is a death sentence or something. It’s ridiculous. And my mom goes along with it because life is apparently just a series of boxes that must be checked off.”
“Okay, but you’ve always done things your own way. It’s never seemed to bother you before. So, why now?”
She falls silent, her lips flatlining like they do when she’s trying to decide if I’m making a solid point or if she’d like to murder me.
It could go either way.
However, this time, she just sighs again. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m a little jealous of my sister. But that’s only because everything always works out for her. She’s only twenty-five, yet she’s already got a rich fiancé who perfectly fits my family’s expectations, and now she’s about to have the perfect wedding…”
“I’d hardly call Robert Welch a real catch.” I snort, earning myself a dirty look.
“He’s a little old, sure, but he’s nice,” Addy reasons, her dark brows furrowed beneath her platinum blonde hair. I’m pretty sure her hair has been every color under the sun at some point, and now that I think about it, I have no idea what the natural one is. But I digress.
“He’s forty.”
“And you know you’re only nine years away from that.” Addy rolls her eyes.
“Okay, but your sister is only twenty-five,” I reason with a shrug as we make it to our favorite pizza spot. “I think that’s a pretty significant age gap. Just saying.”
She lets out a frustrated sigh. “Okay, but he’s also an investment guru who’s made more money at forty than my family will inherit in their lifetime. Not to mention, he has a reputable last name. Trust me, my family couldn’t be more thrilled that Aurora is marrying him. And it’s a win-win because she gets to keep living her luxurious lifestyle—never having to lift a finger. But, anyway, enough about Robert.”
I purse my lips as I grab the door, holding it open for her. While I refrain from making any further comments about the subject, my mind instantly wonders if Addy feels like she’s missing out.
My best friend works harder than anyone I know, and even though her parents have offered to foot the bill for things, she, instead, works overtime in the business she started to support herself. It’s admirable—much more so than someone who’s just searching for a deep wallet and a diamond ring.
“Just the two of you?” the hostess asks.
“Yeah,” Addy mutters, brushing some of her hair out of her face. “Just the two of us.”
I frown at the saltiness in her voice before following her in silence to our usual back corner booth. I slide in across from her, and before I can even ask her about her work schedule tomorrow, she’s off on another tangent .
“You should’ve heard them, Blaze.” She groans. “They were going on and on about how I don’t have a plus one for the wedding—it’s so embarrassing. They act like there aren’t tons of people who are still single at thirty.”
“You’re only twenty-nine,” I say, eyeing the waiter as he sets down our waters. I thank him on behalf of both of us and then order our usual pineapple and bacon pizza.
“I just don’t get it. Why have I had such horrible luck finding a true connection?” Addy rakes her black, chipped fingernails through her hair. “I’m a catch, right?”
“Uh-huh.” I clear my throat. “But I don’t know why you’re suddenly so upset about this. Why don’t you just ignore them and go have a good time in Hawaii? Who knows, you may end up meeting some surfer dude that’ll accompany you to the wedding.”
Addy suddenly looks hopeful, but it quickly fades. “There’s no way my family would ever be okay with that. They didn’t even like Harrison .”
I make a face. “Duh, that dude was weird.”
She throws her hands up. “He was an aerospace engineer. Of course he was weird.”
“He told me the first time I met him that origami was one of his greatest passions in life, Addy,” I drawl. “I don’t think origami has anything to do with his career.”
“Okay. So, he liked to fold paper … a lot . What’s so bad about that?” She shrugs. “I wonder if he’d want to go to the wedding with me as my plus one.”
I think back to the Facebook post I saw a few weeks ago. “He’s married now. His wife is some kind of origami artist, too.”
“Match made in heaven.” Addy groans. “If he can find love, why can’t I? And why can’t my family just accept it?”
“Maybe you should try talking to your girlfriend Penny about this.” I offer up the advice mostly because I don’t know what to say. I don’t have a family that puts pressure on me to be anyone or anything. Nobody—aside from my teammates and Addy—thinks twice about what I do with myself and my life.
Addy sighs and slumps down in the booth. “That’s probably a good idea. She was raised in a similar household. She’ll know how to handle this. I’m sorry for bugging you.” She gives me one of her famous soft smiles, her plump, glossy lips turning upward, and as always, I return it.
She has the kind of smile you can’t meet with anything other than joy.
It’s one of the many reasons why I adore her.
“I’ll let it go,” I tease, “ if you stop worrying so much about what your family thinks. I know you’re close with them and all. But lately, I don’t know … I think you’ve been letting them get under your skin too much.”
“I know,” she agrees, and then her blue eyes grow wide. “Oh my gosh, I totally just word-vomited all over you and never once asked what you were up to. I’m so sorry. How’s your day?”
I chuckle. “I think that’s our norm, right?” I shoot her a wink and lean back in the booth, watching as she rolls her eyes at me for the hundredth time. “My day has been good. Settling into the off-season. Enjoying some rest, but also preparing to spend lots of time in the gym with the team—all that good stuff. I’m waiting for you to put me to work walking some of those dogs.”
She tips her head back, giggling. “I can’t pay you.”
“I don’t need you to pay me.”
Addy meets my gaze, a thoughtful expression on her face. “Funny how the tables have turned, huh? You’re Mr. Millionaire NHL player now, and I’m the one scraping by.”
I shrug. “You could have access to the parental fund if you wanted it.”
“True, but then I’d be under even more pressure to find Mr. Right. Which is the last thing I need right now, considering my terrible track record with men.” She sighs. “I’m an ever-loving mess.”
“Aren’t we all?” I say, just as the waiter sets our pizza down in front of us. I immediately grab a steaming slice, unbothered by the burn that comes with the melty cheese and warm fruit. Some people probably think it’s gross that we like pineapple on our pizza, but they’re nuts.
Addy chews on her bottom lip, her arms folded across her chest. I can see it all over her face that she wants to keep talking about how unfair her family’s expectations are. I nearly laugh and kind of find it endearing that I know her so well. I’ve never known anyone as well as I know her—and I don’t think I ever will.
“Go ahead,” I tell her as soon as I swallow. “Keep going.”
She shakes her head and waves me off. “No, I know you’ve heard enough.”
“But I can tell you need to get it out of your system,” I reason. “If you need to vent more about how unfair your family is, I’m all ears. I have pizza now. My emergency is over.”
She bursts into giggles. “So pizza was the emergency?”
I cock a brow at her. “Isn’t it always?”
“Touché.” She grabs a slice and then immediately drops it on her plate. “I don’t know how you eat it at this temperature.”
“I don’t know how you eat it dang near frozen right out of the fridge, but you do,” I shoot back. “Different strokes for different folks.”
“I hate that saying.”
I grin, flashing my freshly whitened smile. “I know.” I scoop up another slice and eat. She watches me like I’m some kind of science experiment.
“I’m probably gonna have to walk down the aisle with Robert’s brother,” Addy says as I continue to chow down on my pizza. “I don’t like him.”
“You don’t like anyone,” I say through a mouthful.
“Wow, you’re so kind.” She huffs, her eyes darting toward the exit. “No wonder I’m alone.”
My chest pangs with a little guilt mixed with sympathy, and I nudge her under the table with my Nike. “Hey.”
Her eyes shift back to mine, and I see she’s more than flustered… She’s hurt. “What?”
“You’ll find the right person one of these days, Addy,” I tell her, holding her gaze. “You just haven’t found him yet. But I’m sure that once you stumble into his arms, the world will suddenly make sense. It’ll be a happily ever after and what-not. You know, the same stuff you read in your books. That’ll happen to you. When the timing is right.”
“What if my family doesn’t like him?” Addy’s voice grows quiet.
I shrug. “I don’t think it’ll matter when it’s the right person. I don’t think you’ll care as much about it as you do now.”
“What if I’ve already missed him? What if he was on a train or something, and I just walked right past him? What if he already died or something?”
I raise my brows. “That escalated quickly, but um—” I pause, trying to dig deep. “I’m sure whoever he is is still living, and I’m sure he’s waiting for you as much as you are for him.”
She smiles her famous smile, and I bask in the warmth it emits. As far as I’m concerned, it’s mission accomplished. I’d do anything to keep a smile on Addy’s face.
After all, she’s my best friend.