Chapter 26
26
Sydney
I walked inside my building, Predator trailing behind me. The doorman was holding the door for both of us.
“Ms. Malloy,” he said with a nod of his head.
“Hey, Walter. How has your day been so far?”
“Very well, miss.”
“That’s nice.”
It was nice to hear someone was happy. Because the truth was, since Wyatt had left two days ago, my days had been sort of shitty. He didn’t call me anymore. He’d done that for weeks even though I never picked up.
I would now though. Pick up. If he called. Which he didn’t.
The sex we’d had didn’t feel like breakup sex. Quite the contrary, it had felt more like make-up sex. He said he loved me. What was a girl supposed to think?
Considering I’d only ever been in fake relationships, it was proving a real challenge to navigate the real thing.
One thing was certain. My attorney called yesterday to say they had received the signed documents by courier overnight. More legal stuff had to be done, but essentially it was all final. Wyatt and I were divorced.
Growing up, I had no idea if I would ever be married, but I knew I never wanted to be divorced. Being divorced mostly sucked.
I started toward the elevators, but Walter called out. “Oh, Ms. Malloy, I forgot. You’ve got a package waiting for you at the front desk.”
A package? Is that what Wyatt had meant about being on the lookout for something?
Denise was a lovely retired woman who basically worked the front desk, handling calls, packages and various at home appointments for all tenants. A resident concierge that was included in our building fees.
She greeted me with a hello and she vanished into her back room and returned with a box at least two feet wide and two feet across.
“For me?”
She winked. “The return address is a rather unique place and that’s all I’ll say about that.”
I maneuvered Predator and the box to the elevators and into my apartment.
Once inside I let him off his leash. I’d bought him three different types of doggy beds, and he preferred the couch to all of them, but I had to lift him up so that he could settle in.
“What do you think it is?” I asked him.
Predator licked his crotch.
“You know, it’s always the same answer with you.”
Of course I checked the return address. A rather unique address indeed.
It was the home arena for the Colorado Peaks. I tore open the brown paper wrapping and pulled out what appeared to be a fan box. The Peaks logo graced the top. Images of some of their current players. I found Wyatt’s face on the side of the box, looking particularly fierce.
I opened the box and found a #43 jersey with Wyatt’s name on the back. It wasn’t a new jersey. The edges along the collar and the sleeves were soft like it had been washed.
No, this jersey…could it have been worn? In an actual game? I lifted it to my nose to see if I could smell him, but it smelled like laundry soap. It didn’t matter. I knew, deep in my bones, it had been his, so I immediately put it on over the clothes I was wearing. The bottom of it hit the tops of my knees.
I was surrounded by Wyatt and instantly felt better.
Also inside the box was an envelope. Wrapped around two VIP passes, there was a note.
Dear Syd,
When one chapter ends, a new one can begin. Again. I’ll understand if the answer is no, but please know I’ve been sad too. You were right, I did try to control things. But this time, I’m leaving it in your hands.
Would you like to go on a date with me to see one of the Peaks games? This is just preseason, but there will be food and drinks in the family suite. Dad will be there. I know I said and did some really stupid shit. So if the answer is no, I won’t bother you anymore. But I really hope you’ll come.
Bring Bea.
Wyatt (the asshole)
I laughed and clutched the letter to my chest. A date. A new chapter.
“Am I nuts to be considering this?” I asked my dog. “I barely survived the first chapter with Wyatt.”
Predator rolled over and licked his crotch some more.
“Guess I’m going to have to go to Colorado to find out.” I dug my phone out of my back pocket and hit Beatrice’s contact name. She picked up almost immediately.
“He’s contacted you,” she said right away.
Beatrice had been with me through every phase of this drama, so of course I’d told her about Wyatt coming to see me in NY. She’d made no bones about the fact that she was firmly on Team Wyatt. Even when her being on Team Wyatt felt like a betrayal.
I read her the note.
“Hmm,” she said in classic Beatrice style.
“What do you think it means? Predator has his own thoughts.” I looked sideways at my dog, who panted up at me.
“I think the two of you should stop wondering what the other means and just say the truth out loud and to each other. Sydney, no great love has been won without risk.”
“Holy shit,” I said. “Did you just come up with that line? I’m stealing it for a song.”
“Only if I get song writing credit. I’ll make the arrangements and send you the details.”
Two Days Later
Colorado
The arena was loud and sold out for a preseason game. Beatrice and I made our way through the throngs of attendees filing inside to get to their seats, everyone clearly excited for the upcoming season. I saw a lot of Locke jerseys and it made me happy for Wyatt that he had fans who loved him.
I obviously hadn’t followed hockey before meeting Wyatt, but I imagined I should now. If I was going to date a hockey player, I was probably going to have to get to know the whole team, their positions and everything.
I wore my Peaks ball cap and Wyatt’s jersey with a pair of torn tights and high-heeled booties. As a hockey girlfriend, I thought I looked the look. And bonus – no one looked twice at me.
A month after coming clean about our fake wedding, combined with a couple weeks of lying low and working on the new album, meant that I was yesterday’s news. The P&P’s had moved on to hotter topics.
Turned out Ellie Wheeler was cheating on John Bernard with another up and coming actor. And Axil had officially come out of the closet and was dating a cute drummer in a heavy metal band. Everyone was super excited for him.
“To the right,” Beatrice said, pointing me in the direction of the suite.
We stepped inside and I was surprised to find guests already in attendance. One I recognized immediately.
“Danny?”
Wyatt’s father turned around and beamed at me. “You made it! Wyatt wasn’t a hundred percent that you would come, but I was sure of it.”
“Danny, this is my…this is my very good friend, Beatrice.”
Beatrice smiled at me and then stretched out her hand. “Mr. Locke. Very nice to meet you.”
“You as well,” he said, with a twinkle in his smile. “My son tells me you take very good care of Sydney.”
“I do my best.”
“Sorry he was such an ass, Syd. He had a rough go of it when he was a kid, and we’re all still working through it.”
I patted his shoulder. “It’s all right,” I said.
“Heard you got a dog you named after that alien movie. You really do love that stuff, huh? Beatrice, can I get you something to drink?”
“You know, I believe a spot of champagne might be just the thing,” she said.
I grinned at her. I’d never known Beatrice to drink on the job, but this truly felt more like a really good friend, being there for me when I needed her. So drinks were absolutely acceptable.
“Team’s taking the ice,” Danny said, returning from the open bar with two glasses of champagne.
I rushed forward toward the seating area that was outside of the enclosed suite so I could get a clear view of the skaters. The fans cheered as they came off the bench to circle the nets. An announcer somewhere was calling off their numbers and names.
Patiently, I waited for #43. If I screamed as loudly as I possibly could, would he hear me? Would he know that I was here? That I’d accepted his offer of a date and that I’d worn the jersey he’d sent me?
Only his number, his name, wasn’t announced.
What did it mean that he wasn’t here? Had he gotten hurt? He would have told me if he’d gotten hurt, wouldn’t he?
I wrapped my hand around the railing, at a loss for what to do next. Wyatt wasn’t on the ice, which meant I had no idea where he was.
“Team looks strong this year. They have a chance to go all the way, I think.”
I whirled around at the sound of his voice. Wyatt was standing there in jeans and a black Henley shirt, as calm as I’d ever seen him.
“I don’t understand,” I said, pointing down at the ice. “Why aren’t you down there?”
“You look good in my jersey, Syd. It was hard to pick the one I wanted you to have, but ultimately I landed on the jersey I wore when we won the Stanley Cup a few years ago.”
Which had to be what? Only his most prized possession.
“Wyatt, I don’t understand. Are you hurt? Did you injure yourself practicing?”
I searched his body up and down but found no evidence of a cast or bandage.
“No, not injured,” he said quietly, and then took my hands in his. “Retired.”
“What?” I asked, in near shock. “But you’re still really good. You said probably in a year or two…” I trailed off when I saw him shake his head.
“See, the thing is, Syd, I always had this idea that I would play the game and retire when I was ready. Then I would think about settling down. Find a wife, have some kids. All of it on my timeline. At my choosing. Like I was in total control of my future. Only, I found out I’m not.”
“You’re not?” I breathed.
He shook his head. “No. What I learned is, you can’t plan when you’re going to fall in love with someone. Sometimes you meet this incredible woman at a golf outing and all you know is that you only want to spend more and more time with her. And when you’re lucky enough to have that time, you start to get greedy, because you never want her to leave your side. So you take her away to your cabin and hide her away from the world so she’s all yours. You fall hard and fast and it scares the shit out of you because now you realize everything is out of your control. Plus, she’s got her own life that you don’t fit in, and it makes you feel self-conscious and shitty. So you say some dumbass shit to try to build up these walls that are crashing down all around you. I planned to play another season, maybe another two, then go look for a wife. Instead, my wife came and found me. So now it’s time to retire. If you’ll still have me.”
I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear the buzzing in my ears. He said love. I was certain of it. He said marriage and wife. When I opened them, Wyatt Locke was down on one knee in front of me. A diamond ring pinched between his big beefy fingers. I could hear the audible gasp from the crowd and turned to see that we were on the Jumbo-tron.
Everyone in the arena, including the guys on the ice, were staring up.
“Shit, Sydney,” he groaned. “I did not plan that. I was trying to do this low-key-”
“You love me?” I asked him, just to be sure.
“So much I can’t breathe when you’re not around.”
I cupped his cheek in my palm. “Well, then. We can’t have you not breathing.”
“And what about you?” he asked.
I was so blissed out I didn’t follow the question. “What about me?”
“Do you love me?”
I laughed. “Uh, duh. You know how much I totally love you.”
He smiled. “Yeah, I do. I feel it. Marry me, Syd. This time for real. This time…forever.”
“That’s awfully bold of you. Proposing on our first date.”
He shrugged. “It will make a hell of a story to tell our kids.”
“Yeah, it will,” I said. Then I got down on my knees too. “Yes, Wyatt. I will marry you. Again.”
“Atta boy, Wyatt!”
Wyatt and I turned to see Beatrice and Danny in seats with champagne flutes in their hands and big smiles on their faces. Suddenly everything made sense.
“You asked Beatrice for permission, didn’t you?” I asked Wyatt.
He nodded. “She loves you too, you know. Not just because you pay her to be your assistant.”
“Looks like I’ve got a wedding to plan,” Beatrice said happily. “Time to get started. Wyatt, do you prefer pink or lavender as the central color?”
“Neither,” he said.
“Pink it is. Now up with the two of you, you’ve got the entire crowd fawning over both of you. We’ll be stopped a million times on the way out.”
Wyatt stood and helped me to my feet. “That’s okay. Turns out, I like having a famous wife.”
“Oh really?” I said, not believing him for one second.
“Babe, let’s face it. I look good when I’m on your arm.”
I laughed and leapt into his arms. He caught me around the waist, my legs circling his body, while my arms held tight.
“Can Predator be the ring bearer?”
“Anything you want, baby. As long as you’re mine.”
Did I say our laughing kiss was my favorite? That’s wrong. This was my favorite. This happily ever after kiss. This new beginnings kiss. He chuckled in his throat and I laughed to harmonize.
I felt the vibration of his phone in his back pocket and he pulled away. “Sorry. It’s probably Liam. I’ll call him later.”
“Answer it,” I said. “Tell him your good news.”
He kissed me again and turned away to answer the phone. I showed off my ring to Bea and Danny, but when Wyatt came back he did not look happy. He was pale and his hand was over his mouth.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, grabbing his hand. “Is Liam okay?”
He looked down at his phone and then up at me, and then to his father.
“I think we need to go to Calico Cove.”