38. Lavinia
THIRTY-EIGHT
LAVINIA
I’m going to regret this. I know I’m going to regret this as soon as I step foot inside the arena.
It’s like the air changes and every Falcon fan knows a traitor is amongst them.
It’s me, I’m the traitor, according to them, anyway.
I’ve never claimed to be anything other than a Titans loyalist. Even when I was with Josh, I always supported the Titans.
“Lavinia?”
I’m walking down the hallway to the arena when someone calls my name and I turn around, trying to find the person in the crowd.
“Chelsea!” I say, when I see her.
Through the crowd, my only friend I’d made during my time being a Falcons WAG walks towards me. She’s wearing a denim jumpsuit with a purple cardigan and when she reaches me, we hug like long lost siblings.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Chelsea gushes in my ear.
“Me either, honestly.”
We pull apart and Chelsea keeps a hold of my hands.
“It’s so good to see you. The other girls are going to be here tonight, fyi.”
“Let me guess, I’m public enemy number one?” I say wryly.
Chelsea rolls her eyes. “You know how they are. They still think you’re in the wrong and must have done something to have Josh leave you. I can’t wait until Jamie gets traded so I can finally be around fun people. By the way, did you really get married to Roman Maddox? ”
Chelsea’s eyes drop to my hand and the ring on my finger, and she squeals.
“Yeah, I did.”
Once Sage posted photos of the Titans Christmas party, it was only a matter of time that everyone found out.
There was no mistaking the rings on our fingers.
It’s part of the reason I’m here today, playing the role of the dutiful wife.
Also, I want to see the look on Josh’s face when he sees me with Roman’s ring.
“I’m so happy for you. Jamie and I always wished Roman would stop looking at you and actually tell you how he felt. Josh wasn’t the right choice for you, and I always wanted to tell you, but Jamie told me to keep my mouth shut.”
Hmm, interesting. I had no idea he was watching me so openly that other people noticed. Was I the only one who didn’t notice?
“I should go find my seat,” I say.
Chelsea frowns. “I wish I could sit with you, but I have to stick with the other girls.”
“Of course, don’t worry about it. I’m so happy we got to see each other again.”
I hug her again and on my way to the arena, I change my mind and walk to the friends and family room instead. It’s part of the tunnel the players walk out of. I don’t want Roman to see me for the first time when I’m in the audience.
I find Sage directing her intern to set up the camera and tripod in the perfect location. They’re closer to the dressing room so they can film the players as they walk out.
Sage waves to me when she sees me. She’s the only one who knows I’m here tonight because she helped me secure the ticket. I know it’s crazy to pick this particular away game to attend when I could have attended the one in New York or New Jersey. Those are also Roman’s old teams.
He didn’t have as contentious a relationship with them as he did with the Falcons. Not even the Titans hate him as much as the Falcons did. They’re very clique-y and they follow Josh’s direction in all things. If he hated Roman, they all hate Roman.
That’s why I’m not surprised to hear that I’m the bad guy for them because they likely believe whatever excuse Josh fed them for leaving me at the altar.
The game is about to start and one by one, the players start walking out. There’s a crowd of people here, but Reese is the first one who spots me. His face splits into a grin as he comes over to hug me.
“I’m loving this new messy version of you,” he says, grey eyes sparking with mischief.
Drew is the next to notice me, shaking his head as he walks over. “Of all the games, you had to pick this one to attend?”
“Do you want me to leave?” I raise an eyebrow.
Drew frowns at me, but I know he doesn’t mean it. “If they start a fight, I’m blaming you.”
“Oh, sure, blame the woman because two men can’t regulate their emotions.”
With a roll of his eyes, he kisses my forehead. “Don’t be a menace.”
“Good luck,” I call as he walks out the tunnel to roaring screams. Damn, I do miss the thrill of it all, sometimes.
The wild, chaotic energy of walking into an arena and feeling everyone’s eyes on you.
It was such a high, no wonder it took me two years to recover from it.
Consequently, those two years also aligned with me dating and being engaged to Josh.
I smile when Roman walks out and laugh quietly at the look of surprise on his face when a little kid asks him to sign his jersey. It’s like he doesn’t even realize how crazy hockey fans are about him. Hockey fans love a bad boy.
Roman straightens from signing the jersey and jerks back in surprise when he sees me in the crowd.
He’s walking over to me in a second, lifting me up as he presses a hard kiss against my mouth that leaves me breathless.
The look in his eyes is pure joy and with a sudden ache, I realize this is probably the first time someone’s shown up for him. It makes me want to hug him tighter.
“What are you doing here?”
“Sowing seeds of chaos, apparently.”
His grin is blinding. “That’s not very angelic of you, angel pie.”
“We got married in a drunken escapade in Las Vegas. I don’t think I’m as angelic as people think I am.”
Setting me back on my feet, Roman leans down for another kiss. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course, it’s what friends do for each other,” I say, as I kiss him back.
He growls against my mouth, and I laugh, pushing him away from me. Before he walks out the tunnel, he looks back at me, the look in his eyes pinning me to place. “We’re going to talk about this later.”
I swallow roughly, licking the taste of him off my lips.
I’ve decided the only way for me to save my heart is to keep reminding us that we’re friends. Our relationship has accelerated to the point where it gives me whiplash to think about it. I need the protective bubble of the friendzone.
Once all the guys have left the tunnel, Sage walks over to me. She’s wearing gray pants with a blue sweater, her dark hair pulled into a half up, half down style. She was so shy when we first started talking, but she’s finally coming out of her shell around me.
“Did you get a lot of good content?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’m going to start posting during the game. I got a really good photo of you and Roman.” Sage smiles, turning her phone around to show me the screen. Roman has me lifted into his arms and we’re staring at each other with the goofiest grins on our faces.
“God, that man is hot.”
Sage laughs, putting her phone away. “Let’s go. I want to get thirst traps of them warming up.”
“That’s really the best part of the game,” I agree.
We go find our seats since Sage will be sitting with me. She offered to and I’m guessing it’s because she knows my history with the Falcons. Either way, I’m really grateful for her company.
“Did you always want to work in PR for a hockey team?” I ask.
Sage laughs softly. “No. I mean, I studied public relations, but I didn’t plan on working for a hockey team. This may come as a surprise to you, but I’m not really into hockey or hockey players.”
I don’t know how I always manage to surround myself with people who don’t care about hockey. But hey, it keeps things interesting.
“So, how did you end up here then?”
As we settle into our seats, Sage looks at me from the corner of her eye. She looks almost nervous for a second, like whatever she’s about to tell me is information she can’t share. Finally, seeming to make a decision, she turns her body towards me and leans closer.
“You have to promise you won’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you. There’s only one person on the team who knows.”
I love a good secret, and I love that my friends can trust me enough to tell me their personal details without fear that I’m going to share it with anyone who’ll listen.
“Of course you can tell me anything. I won’t tell anyone.”
Sage looks around us, making sure no one can hear. “I’m actually a nepo baby. The GM is my uncle. My aunt was his first wife.”
My mouth drops open at that news. That was the last thing I was expecting her to say. I figured at most she was related to Ethel, the head of PR.
“David Caine is your uncle?” I ask, to make sure I heard her correctly.
“Yep,” she agrees. “He’s my uncle. When he found out I was moving back to Boston, he offered me this job.”
“That was a really nice thing for him to do,” I say.
Sage makes a face like it wasn’t something he did out of the goodness of his heart, but she doesn’t say anything else.
“Wait, does coach know?”
Sage shakes her head. “No, it’s not him.”
Huh. She said someone on the team knows. Does that mean one of the players? So, one of the guys knows this secret that Sage doesn’t want to share with anyone. I look out towards the rink where the guys are warming up and briefly wonder which one of them is the one who knows.
“So how come you decided to move back to Boston?”
“My mom lives in New York, and she kept begging me to move there, but I can’t live in the same state as her. Boston is as close as I was willing to get. I can’t wait until I find a good house and my daughter can move here as well.”
“Oh my gosh, you have a daughter?”
Sage’s face lights up. She’s the brightest thing in this room at the mention of her daughter. “Yeah, Juniper, she’s three years old.”
“Sage and Juniper, that’s so cute! Is she with your partner?”
“Oh no, there’s no partner. Junie is with my cousin back in California and they’ll both move here once I find a house.”
“Well, if you need help, let me know. I’ll be more than happy to go see some houses with you. Now, show me some pictures.”
I clap my hand excitedly and Sage’s face lights up as she pulls out her personal phone. Opening the photos app, she selects one and turns it towards me.
“Oh my gosh, she’s so cute!!” I squeal.