Chapter 12 #2
When we get outside, Daisy is very cooperative about getting buckled into her car seat.
She’s really such a sweet and well-behaved child, in spite of her challenges.
The only times I’ve seen her unhappy were that very first early morning at the diner, and when she wanted to do things her own way with her cupcake, which is honestly relatable.
Emotionally, she seems like a perfectly on-track four-year-old to me.
Which means that Caleb is doing a great job with her. The bond between them is so obvious. If he could be the man he is with her the rest of the time, he wouldn’t have half the problems he’s got now.
I know he said that worrying for Daisy is part of what shortens his fuse, but if he could see her through my eyes, I just know he’d have more faith in her and in himself too.
After Daisy is secured, Caleb opens the passenger door and offers me his hand. I take it and climb in, feeling like a princess or something. A princess in a hockey jersey.
He hops in while I’m still fastening my seatbelt, and a moment later we’re headed down Magnolia Avenue.
I can’t help admiring my bracelet as we drive.
“Pretty,” Daisy says again from the backseat.
“Yes,” I say, turning to her. “I just love it. And it has all the colors, so it will go with everything. I can wear it every single day.”
She beams with pride and I wish I could scoop her up and give her another hug.
“My parents will meet us there,” Caleb says suddenly, his voice a little flat.
“Nana,” Daisy sings out.
“Yes,” he agrees. “Nana and Grandpa will be there.”
Daisy lets out a whinny and then giggles.
“Yes,” Caleb laughs. “The horse mascot will be there. Daisy is really good at animal noises.”
“You are?” I ask her. “Can you do a cow?”
Daisy moos and then laughs, and I have to laugh too.
“How about a cat?” Caleb asks.
Daisy lets out a very convincing meow.
“Is there a cat in the car?” I pretend to worry. “I didn’t bring a cat into the car. Caleb, did you?”
More giggles and meows come from the backseat and it’s all I can do not to laugh out loud.
Too soon, we arrive and Caleb pulls into the arena parking lot.
“Big, big, big,” Daisy laughs.
“Yes, it’s a great big building,” I say, looking at the massive structure that looms over the lot.
It’s definitely seen better days. They keep talking in town about renovating, but I think the rumor that the team will be moved to another town where they have a better arena is the more likely one to be true.
Bluevale doesn’t exactly have a huge budget and if the team had extra cash they wouldn’t have let the arena go like this.
At any rate, there’s no time to overthink it because as soon as we park, a shiny BMW pulls up beside us and Caleb’s parents get out.
I have a moment of panic that somehow they’ll know who I am, though of course that’s absurd. I was never on their radar. If Caleb hasn’t recognized me, there’s no way they ever would.
In a way it’s lucky I go by Liv now, and that Williams is such a common last name.
It’s also lucky that no one on the team has said anything to him yet. Two of the Stallions went to our high school. I guess he’s not kidding that no one is being friendly with him.
He’s out of the SUV in a second and unbuckling Daisy.
“Nana, Nana,” Daisy calls out excitedly, waving her arms and making it a little harder for her dad to get her out.
But he only smiles and keeps working patiently on her straps. Once she’s free, he lifts her out and into her grandmother’s waiting arms.
“Well, hello there, sunshine,” his mom says, smiling at Daisy.
“Daisy,” she corrects her, laughing.
I look up and realize that Caleb’s dad is checking me out, a frown on his face as he takes me in.
“Hi, there,” I say sweetly.
I know I’m not exactly a runway model, but he’s not much to look at himself—just a skinny old beanpole of a man who looks like he was born with a lemon in his mouth.
Not that what he looks like matters.
“Liv, right?” he says in a paper-dry voice.
“Yes, that’s right,” I tell him. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Stone.”
“Enjoy the game,” he tells me, turning to his wife like I won’t be in the box for family with them. Or maybe Caleb hasn’t told him that part yet.
“Come on,” Caleb says to me with an encouraging smile as he takes my hand.
And just like that, I feel at home the moment his big hand closes around mine.
“Are you excited for your game?” I ask him.
“I’m excited about the cupcake you’re going to make me,” he teases. “And yeah, I’m excited about the game too.”
I smile at the reference to our little pact the other day. I’d bake a hundred cupcakes if it would really keep him out of trouble.
We come around the corner of the building and suddenly there are people calling out our names. Some have their phones held up, and I realize that we’re being filmed and photographed.
I freeze, my whole body going cold. This is the opposite of the safe, quiet world I’ve been cultivating.
“You’ve got this, beautiful,” Caleb says, squeezing my hand and giving me a devastating smile.
My locked-up body loosens and we move through the crowd, Caleb greeting the fans, ignoring the haters, and carrying himself like the prince of the ice he is.
Before too long, we’re safely inside and he’s walking me down a long hall.
“Okay, you’re just going to go through that doorway and head up to the box,” he tells me, pointing to a door. “And I’m going to go get ready to kick some butt.”
“Metaphorically,” I remind him.
“Of course,” he says. “I’ll be a gentleman on the ice today. Probably.”
I can’t help laughing at the furrow in his brow.
“Okay, okay,” he chuckles. “Go ahead and laugh at me.”
Suddenly he’s pulling me close and pressing a kiss to the crown of my head.
My heart thunders and I feel almost weak in the knees. Why do I feel this way? This is the kind of kiss a father gives to a child. And he’s only doing it to keep up our little charade. It shouldn’t feel so romantic.
“See you after, beautiful,” he murmurs into my hair before letting go.
“See you,” I manage, making a beeline for that doorway.
I’m out in the main hall before it even hits me that no one else was in that hallway. And even if they had been, they wouldn’t have heard him call me beautiful. That wasn’t for anyone but me…
“Liv,” Hailey yells to me.
I’m relieved to stop obsessing about Caleb Stone for a minute and join Hailey in the family box.
“Come on,” she says. “Let’s go get some food.”
“Food, wow,” I say.
“Oh yeah, the VIP box is the best,” she says.
We head up and she’s right, there’s a huge spread that even includes some healthy options. We each fix a plate. Hers is almost overflowing with cheesy nachos. I have a salad wrap that probably has enough dressing to blow my eating plan for the day. But I can’t turn down a free meal.
“I can’t believe that for the next game, we’ll be working the cupcake stand together,” she says with a huge smile.
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” I ask her, looking around at how nice it is to be in this box.
“Mind? I’m excited for it,” she says. “We’re going to have a blast.”
We finish our food and then take a seat near the front. Our view of the ice is amazing. Caleb’s mom and Daisy wander over almost immediately.
“Hi again,” his mom says. “I’m Audrey.”
“Liv,” I say. “And this is my friend and roommate, Hailey.”
And coworker, and investor…
If this was anyone but Hailey, I might be worried about having our lives so entwined. But Hailey is my girl, and I know she’s always got my back.
“Nice to meet you,” Hailey says with a smile.
“I’m sorry Caleb didn’t bring you up to the house first to meet us properly,” Mrs. Stone says, looking like she wants to make conversation and has no idea what to ask her son’s waitress girlfriend.
It hits me suddenly that even though they’re his family, he hasn’t told his parents that our relationship isn’t real.
“Did you see the bracelet Daisy made for me?” I ask her, holding out my arm.
While she and Hailey exclaim over the bracelet, Daisy quietly slips out of the seat beside her grandmother and scrambles into my lap, patting my outstretched arm approvingly three times, like she’s glad I love my gift.
Her warm weight feels just right in my lap, and all of a sudden, instead of feeling out of place in this fancy box, I feel like I’m right where I’m supposed to be.