Destiny on Ice (Boys of Winter #1)(78)

We actually do a lot of winning throughout all of January, and into February. Things are great with my family, as well. Dad continues to improve, and my mom is back to her usual happy self. Also, for me, life remains incredible with Aubrey in it. The only thing threatening to f*ck things up is that damn upcoming LA assignment.

Fuck that celebrity dude. I don’t want her to leave me.

Two days before she’s set to fly out of Vegas and onto LA, I am miserable. Still, I keep my promise to be supportive, even offering to help her pack.

Up in our bedroom, grasping at straws, I sit down on the bed and say, “Do you really have to go, babe? Playoffs are only a little over two months away. I need you here with me now more than ever.”

She sighs. “Brent, what can I do? This is my job we’re talking about.”

She’s been pretending to be committed to this new assignment, but I can tell she wants to stay with me as much as I want her to. I haven’t told her yet, lest I get her hopes up for nothing, but I talked with Dolby the other day. I asked him if there’s any way the team can hire Aubrey on in a permanent position.

Before you laugh and think I’m just a fool in love, it’s not that far-fetched of an idea. The team’s ownership likes her being around all of us. And why wouldn’t they? We’re winning like crazy, in part because Aubrey keeps us all grounded.

Just the other day, Benny was jonesing for a drink. “One won’t kill me,” he said on the flight home from an away game.

“Dude, don’t do it,” I warned.

“You’re an ass if you ruin your sobriety now,” Nolan threw in, shaking his head.

It was Aubrey, though, who got Benny over the hump.

She moved next to his seat. And though she knows enough about hockey these days that she could probably teach a class of her own, she started asking Benny about game strategy and plays.

Of course, he was into that. So much so that the old dry-erase board was dusted off and brought out. Unfortunately, its emergence came just as Coach Townsend was heading up to the lavatory in the front of the plane.

“Hey,” Coach T said, stopping in the aisle. “Is that one of mine?”

“Uh…” Benny turned beet red. “Yeah, uh, I may have borrowed it a while back.” Sheepishly, he added, “You have a bunch, so I didn’t think you’d miss just one.”

“Maybe not, but even so…” Coach sighed. “I’ve been looking for that particular board since October. See that heart drawn on the back?”

Benny flipped over the board, and we all leaned in to have a peek. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a little heart drawn on the back.

“That particular dry-erase board,” the coach went on, “was a gift from my wife.”

Benny’s eyes widened. “Wow, I never noticed that heart there before. I’m really sorry, Coach.”

He started to hand the board back, but Aubrey put out her arm. “Can you hold up a minute, Coach T? This is actually all my fault. I asked Benny way back in the fall if he could teach me the game. He borrowed the board so he could diagram a bunch of plays for me.”

Coach smiled. He clearly liked what the board had been used for and immediately softened, which you don’t see much of with him.

Easing the dry-erase board back to Benny, he said, “Ah, hell. My wife gives me one of those things at the start of every season. That’s why I have so damn many. Just go ahead and keep that one, Perry.”

Even Coach T is positively affected by Aubrey, lending further credence to my assertion that hiring her makes total sense. She hasn’t worked for the team since the contract termination in December, but business is business. If they believe she’s worth the investment they’ll hire her in a minute.

Only problem is the minutes are ticking away. The day Aubrey has to fly to LA is almost here.

And I’ve still not heard a thing from Dolby.





Good-Byes Suck





The day I leave for LA arrives.

This is it, another sad good-bye. Only this one is harder than any before because I’ve fallen more in love with Brent.

There are tears, lots of tears, and promises to Facetime every single day. It won’t be the same, though.

Damn it all to hell! I want to stay here with Brent. I don’t want to go live near—or God forbid, with—some problem actor in LA. But I need my job. I refuse to become one of those player girlfriends or wives who do nothing but gossip, shop, and stir up drama.

Yeah, I’ve watched WAGS.

And hell no, that’s so not me.

On the way to the airport, I notice Brent is exceptionally quiet. So, clearing my throat, I try to draw him into a conversation.

“Maybe I won’t have to stay all that long in California.”

I’m throwing something out, however lame, to maybe make this easier for both of us.

But Brent’s not buying it. “You stayed with me, under contract, for four months,” he replies. “And it would’ve been longer had I not f*cked up.”

I place a hand on his hard thigh, and he hits the gas. He’s frustrated, wound up.

“Brent, please.” I blow out a breath. “Don’t kill us on the way there, okay?”

“Sorry, babe.” He slows down.

Still, even going the speed limit we reach the exit ramp leading to the airport way too soon. “I’m going to park and come in with you,” Brent suddenly declares.