Chapter 27 Violet
TWENTY-SEVEN
VIOLET
OCTOBER | COLUMBUS, OHIO
“Jeanine?”
A woman with shoulder-length, gleaming black hair and gorgeous blue eyes turned toward me with a smile. “Hey! Violet? Do you go by Violet?”
“Yep! Or Vi is fine.”
“You can call me Jeannie or J too. My name is flexible.”
“Just like you,” sang the redhead next to Jeanine. She leaned forward to greet me with a genuine smile. “Hey, I’m Mara. Jack Leroy’s wife.”
I waved, tucked my skirt under my butt, and sat.
I opted to not wear Colton’s college jersey, a decision I was regretting at that moment.
Luckily we weren’t right on the ice. While it was cold in the arena, it was still acting like summer outside.
October in Columbus is apparently quite unpredictable.
It was supposed to be cold again the next day.
But it was warmer than Boston or any other place I’d ever lived, so I wasn’t complaining.
“I’m glad you saw me first. Colton’s description was just ‘she’s beautiful,’ which, while true, is unhelpful.” She squinted at me. “But now that I see you, I remember you from Guy’s wedding. You were a bridesmaid, right?”
I blushed. Obviously, Colton had said things about me to people in his life, but I didn’t anticipate him telling people I was beautiful. “Yes! Kitty is one of my best friends. She says hi, by the way. She sent me a picture of you from her wedding so I could find you.”
“Ah! I miss her,” Jeanine said. “Haven’t seen them since last December when I went on the Rusties road trip.”
I took in my surroundings. “Been a long time since I’ve been to one of these. Probably college.”
“Lucky,” Jeanine snorted. “Mara and I live by the ice between our kids and our husbands.”
“Yeah, and Jeanine is crazy enough to read hockey romance books when she’s not at the rink,” Mara added.
“Don’t knock it till you try it,” Jeanine said, skimming her hair over one shoulder. “Those things are addictive.”
Since we all sat in a row, I leaned forward to make sure Mara could hear me. “You should give us a rec to initiate us.”
Jeanine gasped and her eyes lit up. “You read romance?”
“Um,” heat rushed my face, “he probably doesn’t want me to say anything, but Colt and I are reading some together.”
Why was I being so honest with these women? I guess I figured if Colton liked them, they were probably good people. Although, that had certainly backfired in the past. I stuffed down that uncomfortable thought.
Mara’s jaw fell open. “Wait, is this why Jack asked if I wanted to read romance?”
Jeanine grimaced. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but Dylan told me. He caught Colt reading one of my favorites on the plane. The lobster trapper one.”
“That one was so good!” I said, just shy of an overzealous squeal.
“No fair! I want to have girl fun!” Mara whined.
“Then let’s do one together,” Jeanine said. “A group buddy read. I do them with my best friend from the Princes WAGs group all the time. We just read this great goalie one—”
“No goalies.”
It fell out of my mouth so fast, ripping silence across the three of us.
“Right? They’re so weird,” Mara said, dismissing the thought with a wave of her hand and easing the tense air. “Do you have any about a single mom marrying a single dad and then dominating him?”
Jeanine cracked up. “Mara, that’s your story, dear.”
Their chatter continued, but I was already retreating into myself.
I was stuck back at the place where I demanded we not read a goalie story.
Could they see through me? Had Colton told them that?
The guys? Did everyone know how messed up I was, and that’s why Mara and Jeanine were being so nice to me?
“Ope. I think somebody’s trying to get your attention,” Jeanine said, nudging me with her elbow.
Indeed, the guys had come out onto the ice to warm up, meeting the excited shouts of those lined up along the glass. And there was Colton, talking to some probably middle school girls and their moms, pointing to me.
“Oh no,” I muttered. I pointed to my chest and mouthed “me?”
Colton nodded and waved me down. I shook my head. He tipped his head to the side and looked annoyed. Then he rubbed his gloved hands over his biceps, the universal “cold” sign. I did indeed have my arms crossed over my chest to keep warm, but I just shrugged.
He waved harder and now everyone on that end of the ice was watching. It wasn’t going to get any better if I stayed where I was.
I descended the stairs to the glass, trying not to trip along the way. I thanked the girls who parted for me to fit through. “What?”
“You forget a jacket?”
“Yeah, but I’m fine.”
Colton’s brow lowered, and he looked outraged. “You’ll catch a cold.”
“That’s been scientifically disproven. And you sound like my grandma.”
“Vi, please just go buy a jacket. Tell them to charge it to me.”
“I’m not doing that. Go warm up! Your coach is staring daggers at you,” I said.
“And I’m going to singlehandedly lose this game if you’re cold.” He drew himself up taller, looking smug.
The girls and their moms on either side of me giggled and I shook my head.
His eyes brightened. “Actually, wait here.”
Colton took off for the bench, leaping over the gate and running down the tunnel.
“How long have you two been together?” one of the moms asked.
How was I supposed to answer that? “We’ve been friends since college.”
She smiled. “Well, he seems like a sweetheart.”
“He’s a good guy,” I said. “A great friend.”
One of the other moms bobbed her head slowly like she called bullshit. “I bet.”
“Is he single then?” one of the middle schoolers asked.
Her mom chided her, but I just laughed. “I’m not really sure.”
And there was the man in question, running back down the tunnel, stick in one hand and some piece of clothing in the other. With the biggest shit-eating grin, he skated back my way, spraying ice against the glass. He wiped it clear in front of his face with the back of his glove.
“Here,” he said, holding up what I now saw was a zip-up sweatshirt. “Catch.”
“I said I’m fine!”
“I don’t care. Come down here so I can throw it over without the net.”
I groaned, and the girls next to me made room for me to scoot to my left and meet him outside the protective netting. He tossed it over and I had to jump to reach where the sleeve caught on top of the glass.
“Colt, this is so embarrassing,” I hissed through my teeth.
He propped his chin on the butt of his hockey stick. “Maybe you should have thought about that before you came to my game underdressed.”
I narrowed my eyes and growled.
“And now everyone will know you’re mine.”
I pinched my lips in a tight line, both thrilled and mortified that he was saying this in front of all these people. “Your friend,” I said.
Colt shrugged. “Yeah. That’s what I said, wasn’t it? Stay warm.”
He winked, blew a kiss, and skated off. But when I watched him line up for a practice shot, I noticed something unusual: a bright blue strand among his left skate laces. What was that about?