Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
Molly
“You made it!” Chloe pulls me into a hug and bustles me through the front door.
It’s two days after Christmas, and I’ve been unable to talk my way out of attending this gathering of hockey women at Chloe and Niko’s house, no matter how hard I tried.
“Well, when you said you’d kidnap me if I didn’t show up, I figured I’d save you the trouble.”
Chloe chuckles and links her arm in mine. She’s wearing a festive red sweater that shows off her decolletage and some spike-heeled leather boots I want to steal. “Hey, everyone! Molly’s here!”
We turn the corner into a gorgeous open living space where I expect to see a dozen or more hockey wives and girlfriends gathered. But, to my surprise, only Kaitlyn, Sara, and a woman I don’t recognize sit relaxed on the oversized couches.
I turn a confused gaze to Chloe. “Am I early?” I know I’m not since I spent the last twenty minutes in my car talking myself out of driving right back home. The last thing I want is to spend an afternoon pretending I’m not miserable and keeping up some pretense that Bobby and I are just fine. Hell, I have no idea if he’s told anyone we broke up or not, so I don’t know how to act at all. “I thought all the WAGs were coming.” After all, that’s what the invitation said.
“Change of plans,” Kaitlyn says before gesturing to the stranger. “Molly, this is Olivia LaFontaine. Her husband, Roman, used to play for the Storm Chasers, and the two of them can’t seem to decide whether they live in North Carolina or Tampa, they’re here so often.”
“I don’t know about that,” Olivia responds with a grin. She’s around my age and has the prettiest honey brown hair. “He spends enough time with the hockey boys at Blue Ridge U, I might have to buy a second house there.”
“Roman runs the hockey program at brU,” Chloe explains. “But right now, he’s throwing axes with our guys. There was too much testosterone in the place, so we kicked them out.”
I nod and paste on a pleasant smile, having no idea what’s going on here. “Nice to meet you, Olivia. My son just bought a bobblehead of your husband, I think.”
Sara laughs. “Our kids have them too. They worship Roman. Danny got jealous and ordered a dozen of his own Dan-O bobbleheads to scatter around the house.”
Chloe gestures to an empty loveseat. “Take a seat, Molly. What can I get you to drink?” she asks.
“Oh. Water is fine.” I gingerly perch on the edge of the loveseat.
“They’re all drinking wine. It makes them laugh a lot,” comes a girlish voice from the far side of the room. Niko’s daughter, Ayana, skips toward the women, her blond hair pulled back into two braids.
“Pump and dump, baby,” says Kaitlyn, raising her wine glass up in the air.
“Hi, Ayana,” I greet the little girl. She’s on the younger hockey rec team that practices with Matty’s group. “Did you have a good Christmas?”
“Uh huh.” She nods. “You’re Matthew’s mom, right? He’s kind of nice—for a boy, that is.”
Everyone stifles their laughter at that.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.”
Ayana turns to Chloe. “Don’t worry. I’m not crashing your lady time. I just came to get Paul. We’re playing beauty shop in my room.”
Before I have a chance to muster too much sympathy for this Paul child, a German Shepherd trots through the room toward Ayana. She throws her arms around him. “Come on, Paul! Let’s see what color eyeshadow goes best with your fur.” The two scamper down the hall, leaving us all smiling after them.
“She’s adorable,” Olivia gushes. “I always knew Niko had a soft spot, and it’s clear where he got it.”
“Life can be pretty sweet, that’s for sure,” Chloe responds before turning her gaze to me. “But it can also suck sometimes.”
Oh, crap. Is this what I think it is?
When all four women aim identical concerned gazes my way, it’s confirmed. I just walked into a fucking intervention.
“I know I’m a total stranger, Molly,” Olivia begins. “But believe me when I say I’m very familiar with the complications of life with a hockey player.”
Oh god.
“Oh, no. Really, I’m fine.” I try to wave her off, but Kaitlyn leans forward on the couch and cuts me off.
“We all know what happened, Molly, and we’re here to help. You and Bobby broke up right before the Gold Rush game, and he’s been flailing ever since. Not that you’re to blame!” she hurries to add. “We just figured you’re probably hurting too and might need a friendly ear from women who’ve been in your shoes.”
Shit. “That’s really kind of you.” I scan the women’s faces. “But I’ll be okay. I’m sorry if I messed things up for the team.”
All the women protest at once with such vehemence that I almost want to smile. Almost. “Listen, we all know Bobby can be...a lot sometimes,” Chloe adds.
“But you two seemed so happy together,” Sara chimes in.
Kaitlyn jumps on board with, “We just want to know if there’s any way we can help.”
I quell the rising panic in my chest and respond, “If you’re asking if there’s anything you can do to get us back together...”
“No! That’s not what we’re doing at all,” Olivia exclaims.
“Uh, yeah it is,” Chloe objects.
Olivia throws her arms out. “I’m sure Molly thought through her decision before she called things off, and we need to support her.”
“We are supporting her,” Kaitlyn interjects. “Can’t you see how miserable she is? We want her all swoony and smiley like she was when she was with Bobby.”
“You didn’t see it, Olivia. They’re adorable together,” Sara informs my only ally.
“Excuse me!” I raise my hand. Everyone shuts their mouths and turns my way again. “Olivia is right. I did think things through. I’m still thinking things through.”
“Sorry, Molly. I guess we got carried away.” Chloe’s expression is a bit chagrined. “You’re both just such awesome people, we loved the idea of you two.”
“I did too—when I let myself lose sight of real life there for a while,” I admit.
“What do you mean?” Kaitlyn asks.
I shake my head with a sad smile. “It never should have been anything more than a fling, but I was stupid and let emotions get in the mix. Pretty soon, Bobby was buying a house and asking my kid and me to move in with him. After a month!” I look around the room, expecting at least some degree of allegiance. I don’t get it.
“I fell in love with Roman in less than a week,” Olivia shrugs.
“I’m pretty sure I was in love with Niko after our first kiss,” Chloe adds.
Sara furrows her brow. “It took a few months for Danny and me, but he was twenty-two and trying way too hard to play it cool. I went out on a date with another guy and bam ! Danny was at my door the next morning with roses and a ring.” She shakes her head.
“I don’t think Bobby could ever play it cool. He wears his heart on his sleeve.” My voice catches on the last couple words and all the women spring from their seats and gather close.
“Oh, honey,” Sara says. “You love him, don’t you?”
I tilt my head back so the tears can’t fall while I try gathering myself together. Only when I’m sure they’ve receded do I lower my chin again. “It doesn’t matter. Better to cut things off now before it got more complicated. I have to put Matthew first.”
“That’s her son,” Kaitlyn informs Olivia.
“Oh. Did your son and Bobby not get along?” Olivia asks.
My responding laugh is almost maniacal. “Matty worships the ground Bobby walks on.” Since I know I’m not getting out of here without spilling my guts, I turn to Chloe and say, “I changed my mind. I’ll take the wine.”
Twenty minutes later, I’ve downed an entire glass of Pinot Grigio and spilled my guts about my parents and my vow to raise Matthew in a home life that’s stable and secure. They listen intently as I share all the other factors that went into my decision: the lingering scars from my failed marriage, Bobby’s unexplained predilection for dating older women, our age gap and my fear that he’ll have regrets, our opposite personalities —Bobby’s impulsivity versus my pragmatism and cautiousness. All of it.
“I hated Banks for the first ten years I knew him,” Kaitlyn is the first to speak when I’ve quieted. “Well, technically, I liked him for a couple hours when I met him, but then I hated him for ten years.” When I cock my head at her, wrinkling my nose in confusion, she laughs. “What I’m saying is I got in my own way because I thought we were too different. Turns out, our differences complement one another.” She shrugs.
“Roman is younger than me. And I had no idea what to do with the idea of dating a celebrity,” Olivia says. “Turns out it’s pretty easy to shut off all the noise when it’s just the two of us.”
“Niko’s younger than me too!” Chloe says.
“Banks too!” Kaitlyn laughs.
Chloe squeezes my arm. “Niko is a grumpy sourpuss half the time, but he needs my positive energy. It’s okay to have differences. And we all tune out what other people are saying. Who cares what some strangers think about your private business?”
She reaches for the wine bottle and refills my glass. “I’m not trying to talk you into anything, so just take this for what it’s worth. Bobby has a big personality, no doubt. But that means he loves just as big. The guy can’t help it. He gives a hundred percent to whatever he commits himself to.”
“As his agent, I can tell you I’ve never seen a client so ecstatic to find a team that was as ready to commit to him as he was to commit to them. What can I say? The guy knows what he’s got and doesn’t take it for granted.” Kaitlyn shrugs and takes a sip of her wine.
“You guys aren’t doing a very good job of helping me get over the guy, you know,” I respond with a hint of a smile.
They all laugh and toast each other while my mind reels.
“Hey.” Kaitlyn squeezes my hand. “You know yourself better than we do, of course. If your heart is telling you you’re better off without Bobby, that’s okay. Just don’t let your head do all the decision making, okay? Been there. Done that. Got a bucketful of regrets for wasting so much time.”
I squeeze her hand in return, but when I draw in a breath to tell these women how great they are, I’m cut off by a barking German Shepherd streaking through the house with a little girl at his heels brandishing a can of body glitter and a pink hair bow. “Paul! We’re not done yet!”
I can only shake my head and drink another sip of wine.