Chapter 2
Holden
She walked past me and started down the stairs.
I watched her as her golden-blond ponytail swished side to side with each step.
Was I really about to follow this woman I’d just met to go have linner?
Which I was pretty sure she had made up.
But as I hurried to catch up to her, I couldn’t help the intrigue I felt.
Once I was by her side, she asked, “Are you staying at the hotel, or are you at the Plaza for another reason?”
“I’m staying at the hotel,” I answered as we made our way to the doors that would lead us back outside.
“Is this your first time in New York?” Her brown eyes held so much sincerity and kindness that I was sure I had never met someone so genuinely interested in my answer.
And it seemed like she really didn’t know who I was.
Which wasn’t particularly uncommon, but I ran into more people who recognized me when I was back in New York than anywhere else.
I had been drafted to the New York Coyotes right out of college and quickly became a fan favorite.
There had been a lot of angry fans when I’d been traded to the Minnesota Wolves last season.
I held open the door for her, the cold air meeting me with a blast to the face.
If she didn’t know who I was, I wanted to keep it that way.
“Uh, no. I used to live here.” I worried my answer would spark a memory in her of seeing me playing hockey or doing interviews on TV, but she continued to look at me as if I was still the nice stranger who had saved her life.
“Really?” she asked, her face turning to look at me in surprise. “What made you leave all this?” She held her hands out to the bustling city around us—the tall buildings, the line of honking cars, the piles of old snow, the sidewalk full of people, and the holiday decorations lining the street.
I hadn’t cared one way or another about staying or leaving New York City. All I cared about was hockey. There was no place that had ever felt more like home to me than being on the ice. So as fun as living in the Big Apple had been, I was just as happy living in Saint Paul.
“A job,” I answered vaguely.
It had been a long time since I had spent time with a woman who didn’t know I was a professional hockey player.
It was refreshing to be around someone who did not have any preconceived notions about me.
Especially when that person seemed as happy-go-lucky as the woman walking beside me.
She exuded a confidence and brightness about her I wasn’t used to seeing in the people around me.
She lifted a hand and hailed a taxi.
“Where are we going?” I asked, curious about where this woman was taking me.
“To Rolf’s, of course. It’s Christmastime.” She said this like it should have been obvious, but when my look showed her I had no idea what she was talking about, she continued. “You seriously have never been to Rolf’s? It’s the most Christmassy Christmas restaurant in the city.”
Ah. That was probably why I had never been there.
Although I hadn’t been to many places in the city.
Back then—like now—I rarely went out except to hang with my teammates after a game, and that usually involved some random upscale bar.
I wasn’t what anyone would call a scrooge, but I also wasn’t a lover of all things Christmas.
To me it was just another day. Another day when I was reminded that my life was different from most. There was no loving family to go home to for the holidays.
There was no one special to buy a present for. It was just me.
Well, I guessed that wasn’t a hundred percent true.
I did have my Aunt Maggie, but I had always felt like the third wheel in her family.
Over the years she had tried to be there for me, but I hadn’t always welcomed her attention.
I had never been too close to my uncle or my cousin and had never wanted to feel like a charity case.
But even when I’d been a punk, Aunt Maggie had still stuck around.
I think a part of it was because of the guilt she felt, like somehow she had to make up for talking my mom—her sister—into keeping me.
But enough of that—and any thoughts of my dear mother. I tried to hide my distaste at just thinking about her from appearing on my face since this woman—had we really not exchanged names yet?—was waiting for me to join her in the taxi.
I slid into the back of the car as she told the driver where to take us.
“You’re going to love it,” she gushed, and I had a feeling she was going to love it enough for the both of us.
“Rolf’s has over-the-top holiday decor. It’s like a Christmas wonderland with all the ornaments and lights and garland.
Every inch is decorated.” She spoke animatedly with her hands, her words coming out fast, and I found it extremely entertaining.
“It’s super busy though, so we’ll have to wait to get a seat, but it will totally be worth it. ”
Excitement at taking me to this Christmas restaurant bubbled out of her, and I couldn’t help but let out a small smile. Which was not like me.
“So—” she started but cut herself off. “Oh, my gosh, I don’t even know your name. I’m Belle.” She held out her hand for me to shake.
I took her hand in mine, giving it a single shake. “Holden.”
She smiled. “So, Holden, what has you back in the city?”
I didn’t want to answer that. I didn’t want to tell her I had played a game last night against my former team and had asked to stay behind so I could spend one more day in New York.
I had hoped I could talk myself into visiting my aunt, but so far I hadn’t been successful.
I had thought that by maybe leaving my hotel room, I could force myself to get out and make the trek to see her, but then I bumped into Belle and was happy to give up my prior plans.
“Traveling for work.” That was true and would hopefully appease her enough to move on from what my job actually was.
“Oh, so what is it you do?” she asked.
I should have known she would ask that. She was like this eager puppy excited to meet someone new.
“I have an idea,” I said, thinking of this on the spot. “What if we keep things like our occupation, last name, family info, and stuff like that to ourselves? We can enjoy a nice linner without interrogating each other.”
Her brows creased in confusion for a few seconds before smoothing out again. “Okay, yeah. That could be fun. A different way of getting to know someone. I like it.”
How could someone be this positive? She felt like an anomaly to me. I was just grateful she had decided to go along with it. The pressure of trying to keep my identity from her started to float away. Now I just had to hope that someone else didn’t recognize me and blurt out my secret.
We pulled up to the restaurant, and I got out of the cab first, holding the door open for her to join me out on the sidewalk.
She practically bounced to the back of the line that had formed outside the door of Rolf’s, her enthusiasm and energy a stark contrast to my serious, glass-half-empty personality.
As I joined her, she asked, “If we can’t ask the normal get-to-know-you questions, that leaves us with either ‘what if’ questions or ‘would you rather’ questions.”
“What if,” I said, since I wasn’t a huge fan of the ‘would you rather’ game.
She nodded. “Okay.” She took a moment trying to figure out her question as the line moved along. “What if,” she started, “you could have any superpower, what would it be?”
“To be able to sleep anywhere at any time.”
“What?” She seemed genuinely surprised and confused. “You didn’t even take a second to think about it. And did you not hear the question? You could have any superpower, and the ability to sleep is what you choose?”
I shrugged. “I travel a lot for work, and I can never sleep. It’s horrible.”
“I guess that would come in handy, then,” she said. “I can sleep anywhere. I could sleep standing up in this line. Watch.” She closed her eyes.
She couldn’t be serious. I continued to watch her as her body relaxed and her head started to slowly tilt to one side, a slight snore already escaping her. I watched her in amazement as she seemed to fall asleep in front of me.
One of her eyes peeked open, and she caught me staring with what I assumed was a stunned expression on my face, because soon she was laughing.
“Oh my goodness,” she said through her laughter. “I was teasing.” She playfully hit my arm. “I didn’t know I was such a good actress.”
I gave her a close-lipped smile and shook my head at her, not believing it myself that I had fallen for her act.
Which made it official. I had never met someone like her before. She was so full of life, acting so carefree, that it made me wonder if nothing bad had ever happened to her. Because I couldn’t understand how someone could be this happy and alive.
Or maybe it had more to do with how different she seemed from me.
I was bitter and, well, unhappy. At least when it came to my personal life.
My professional life was everything I had dreamed of as a kid—and more.
Hockey had not only gotten me away from my mom, it was also the only thing I truly enjoyed doing.
The rest of the time, I walked around on autopilot.
“If I could have any superpower,” she said, thankfully cutting off my thoughts and not waiting for me to ask her the same question.
“I would want to be able to travel wherever I wanted, just like that.” She snapped her fingers in front of her face as if to emphasize what she meant.
“You can change your answer to that if you want. Then you wouldn’t have to worry about sleep.
You could just snap your fingers and be back in your own bed or back to work. ”