Chapter Thirty
Over the next several weeks, so many good things happen. After we take care of the business of ending my lease and moving me out of my apartment—some things go to his house, other stuff straight into storage—Shane and I fall into a comfortable routine.
He starts working out and skating again to prepare for the upcoming new season, and I immerse myself in my business.
I’m glad to be back to help Shay with all of the upcoming autumn weddings.
Since I still feel bad for not being here for most of the summer, I work extra hard, meeting with clients, visiting venues, securing new vendors, etc.
It’s all good, though, as Shane and I make a point to end each day by spending quality time with each other.
We go on fun dates.
We hang out by the pool in the back like we did on the island.
He shows me all of his favorite haunts, as he promised.
And I give him a tour of my childhood neighborhood, school, and so on.
We even go grocery shopping together.
Oh, and I get that “family secret” scrambled eggs recipe out of him. It involves adding cold crème fra?che at the end for super creaminess. It works, too, as I’ve tried it.
But mostly, above and beyond all of that, we love each other—with our bodies and our hearts.
It’s September now, and today, Shane had a morning skate and team meeting to attend. Training camp is in full swing.
I have a light day, so we decide this afternoon is the perfect time for him to finally meet my best friend and business partner, Shay.
We just arrived at the restaurant, a quaint little bistro, and are seated at a booth where we are now waiting for her.
“I can’t believe it’s taken this long for me to meet Shay,” Shane says.
“I know.” I shake my head. “She’s always been your biggest supporter, too, so it is pretty crazy.”
“That’s right,” he says. “I remember you telling me she wanted us to end up together from day one.”
“She sure did,” I reply with a laugh.
“Well.” Shane crosses his arms over his wide chest, which I swear is getting bigger every day with him working out so much. “I like her already.”
A waitress arrives then and hands us our menus. We let her know another person is joining us, so she places an additional one at the place setting next to me. She also fills our glasses with water, as well as one for Shay.
“Is there anything else I can get you while you wait?” she asks.
We tell her that we’re fine for now, so she says she’ll be back once our other party has joined us.
When she walks away, I look over at the entranceway and catch Shay coming in. She looks sophisticated in black pants, a gray silky blouse, and high heels. Completing the look, she has her raven-black hair pulled back in a slick ponytail.
I give her a little wave, and, seeing me, she nods and heads over.
Once she reaches our table, Shane stands.
He’s such a gentleman.
Introductions are made, and he sits down after Shay takes a seat next to me.
As she unfolds her cloth napkin and places it on her lap, she says, “Well, Shane, I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to meet.”
Chuckling, he replies, “Willa and I were just talking about that exact same thing.”
I chime in with “We’ll have to make a point to do better about the three of us hanging out. After all…” I raise a brow and nod to each. “You are my two most favorite people.”
“Aww.” Shay leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder. “Isn’t she just the sweetest?”
Shane, chuckling, nods and agrees, “She definitely is.”
We then look over our menus, discussing what we’re all planning on ordering. Shay and I go with gourmet burgers with fries, and Shane opts for a grilled chicken salad.
“Gotta make healthy choices,” he says. “It’s training camp now, and Coach will chew my ass out if I gain any weight.”
“Damn, now I feel guilty,” Shay says. “Maybe I should change my order.”
Girl is just teasing; she’s not going to alter anything.
But I play along. “Oh, stop.” I nudge her with my elbow. “You look great. Plus, we don’t have to worry about gaining weight. We work for ourselves.”
“Good point,” she says. “Now that you mention it, remind me to order a big, calorie-laden dessert later.”
I nod excitedly. “Oooh, yes. I’ll get one too. Maybe even an extra I can take home. I can eat it tonight in front of Shane. You know, since he can’t have any.”
Catching on that we’re just joking around, Shane pretends to be wounded.
Covering his heart with his hand, he says, “You two are torturing me. Are you always this cruel when you get together?”
“Usually worse,” Shay informs him.
We all share a laugh just before our food arrives.
Everything is delicious, and the conversation continues to flow freely. I’m so happy that my best friend and my man are getting along so beautifully. It makes my heart happy.
After dinner, no one actually orders dessert, as we’re all too full. But we do order coffees.
Once they arrive, Shay takes a sip. Then, setting her cup down on the saucer, she mentions how excited she is for the hockey season to start.
“Oh yeah, about that,” I chime in. “I forgot to ask you, but do you want to go to the home opener? Shane can get us tickets.”
Shay’s brows shoot up. “Do I want to go? Are you kidding? Sign me up!”
“Consider it done,” Shane says. “The only question now is do you two want to sit in a luxury box or at center ice?”
Shay looks over at me and shrugs, and I ask her, “Do you want to do center ice for the first game? It’ll be like that playoff game we went to. We can always sit up in a luxury box another time.”
She nods. “Yeah, I loved those seats we had back then. But more importantly”—she raises a brow—“I’m super excited to hear I’m going to be invited to more games.”
“More games?” Shane scoffs. “Hell, I can get you girls tickets to all of them if you’d like.”
Shay lays her head on my shoulder again and says, “Willa, have I ever told you how happy I am that you’re dating a hockey player?”
We all share another laugh at that one.
But on a serious note, I’m glad I’m dating a hockey player too.
Not just any player, though.
Mine is Shane Thoma, the best boyfriend a girl could have.