“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?” Rachel presses, tucking her tablet into her backpack and zipping it closed.
“For the hundredth time, yes,” I reply with a groan.
“Because it would only take a phone call to arrange it,” she adds. “Plane ticket, hotel, box seats—the works. New Year’s Eve in the Big Apple.”
“As fun as that sounds, I really think I just need to take a minute and…regroup.”
She gives me an appraising look, like she’s waiting for me to crack.
I lean my hip against her kitchen island, crossing my arms, and stare right back.
It’s the morning after my surprise arrival, and Rachel and her guys are busy packing up Ilmari’s truck to head for the airport. They’ve got the Winter Classic game this weekend in New York City, which means I’ll have their house to myself.
Well, me and the dog. He’s currently chasing the guys around the front yard as they load all their gear into the truck.
“I promise I’ll be fine,” I say. “Honestly, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll walk on the beach with the dog.”
“Yeah, you gotta throw his ball at least once a day or he loses his freaking mind,” says Jake, walking up to Rachel and slipping her backpack off her shoulder. “This your last thing, babe?”
She nods at him, and he slings it onto his shoulder, brushing his lips against her temple.
He looks like a dream in his tailored grey suit and black tie. Ilmari is dressed up too. Apparently, all the players have to be in a suit to get on the plane. It’s an NHL rule. Rachel says they all change once they get airborne, meaning she gets a sexy strip tease while snacking on peanuts and Diet Coke. That image alone is enough to have me reconsidering her offer to join them.
“I put three pints of Cherry Garcia in the freezer for you,” Jake calls. “And the dog food is in the pantry, left side bottom.”
“Thanks, Jake,” I reply. “Cherry Garcia is my favorite.”
“He knows,” Rachel and Caleb say at the same time.
With a smirk, Jake shoulders Rachel’s bag and heads back down the hall.
Caleb lets him pass and then sweeps into the kitchen. He’s dressed in his Rays polo and athletic pants. His tattooed arm stretches out across me as he reaches for a banana from the fruit basket. I gasp, leaning back, as he turns and tosses it wordlessly to Ilmari, who has quietly joined us.
I feel so in the way. They have a life here, and now I’m daring to just set up camp for the next…who knows how long. Days? Weeks? I told Ilmari I would help him get his nonprofit off the ground. It’s not like I have anything better to do while I face the bullshit terms of my temporary leave.
“What?” says Rachel, reading me like a damn book.
“Nothing,” I say, flashing Caleb a smile as he steps wordlessly past me.
“It’s not nothing,” she says. “Did you change your mind about coming with us?”
“No,” I say, watching as Ilmari steps out too. “It’s just a little weird, right?”
“What’s weird?”
“Me being here. It’s weird, right?”
She huffs a laugh. “Tess, we lived together for almost three years. I know your habits better than I know theirs.”
“But that’s my point,” I press. “Rach, you just got married. You’re all still figuring each other out. I’m in the way—”
“Don’t,” Rachel says, stepping around the island. “You’re not gonna do this. You’re not going to talk yourself out of staying.”
“Rach—”
“I’ve been praying for this moment of clarity to hit you for three freaking years. And now that it has, we are not going backwards. Do you hear me? You’ll go crawling back to Cincinnati over my dead body.”
“Babe, we gotta go,” Jake calls from the entryway.
“I’ll be right out,” she calls back. Then she’s focused on me. “Listen, if you feel that weird about staying here, I have another place you can stay.”
“Another place? You a real estate mogul now, Rach?”
She smirks. “No, it’s Ilmari’s old place. Cute little bungalow about fifteen minutes from here. Right on the Intracoastal—”
“I can’t do that,” I cry.
“Why not?”
“Well…because it’s his house. Staying here with you and your guys feels weird but staying in Ilmari’s house feels…weirder.”
She slips her hand into her pocket. “It’s not like he’s using it. He lives here now, remember? He just hasn’t sold it yet. Here—” She works a small silver key off her keychain and holds it out. “Consider it part of your package deal, Ms. Director of Operations. Keep in mind that free housing comes with obligatory dog-sitting…you know, when you’re not turtle-sitting.”
I can’t help but smile as I reach out and take the key.
“I’ll text you the address once I get in the car,” she says.
“Thanks, Rach,” I murmur, annoyed that stupid tears are stinging my eyes again. I’m going to make it one day without tears this holiday season, or I’ll walk into the ocean and join the turtles permanently.
“Hey,” she says, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I love you.”
“I know,” I reply with a watery smile. “What’s not to love?”
“Exactly. That’s what I’ve been saying for three years. You are a goddess, and you deserve to be worshipped and adored. Altars, burning of incense…maybe some ritual orgies.”
“Will you just go?” I laugh, giving her a shove. “Or Mars is gonna drag you out.”
“Are you staying?”
I close my fist around the key and nod.
“Good.” Finally, she moves towards the door. “Oh, and hey,” she calls over her shoulder. “There’s a sauna out on the back patio, and it’s divine. Give it a try.”
I follow her through the kitchen and down the hall, narrowing my eyes at the back of her head. “You guys fucked in it, didn’t you?”
“No comment,” she replies with a laugh.
I just sigh. “Yeah, you fucked in it. ‘Cause you’re a horny little horndog who can’t get enough.”
“Can you blame me?” she teases, tugging open the front door. “You get yourself a hockey player and see if you can ever get enough.”
“Is that an invitation?” I tease right back.
“Down, girl. The Rays are off limits, remember?”
My heart stutters a bit as I think of my dance with Ryan, the kiss I wanted but didn’t get. Just as she’s about to step out the door, my hand is reaching out, brushing her arm. “Hey—do you really mean that? Is it like a hard line in the sand for you?”
She turns, her gaze leveled at me. “Oh, Tess, what did you do?”
“Nothing,” I cry, feigning indignation.
“Tess…”
“Nothing,” I say again, laughing this time. But then I squeeze my boobs together and give her a saucy wink. “Yet.”
“I fucking hate you,” she says, shaking her head.
“You love me, remember? You just said it.”
“When do you move out again?”
“Today. And I’m taking the dog with me,” I tease.
“Just give him back on Sunday night or Caleb will cry,” she says pulling the door shut.
Poseidon dances at my feet, drawn to the only company he has left. I’m flattered he thinks I’m more interesting than his overflowing basket of toys. He blinks up at me with those pretty blue eyes, his black and white tail wagging slowly side to side.
“What do you think, bubs? You ready to go on a little drive with me?”
That sets him off like a firecracker. He’s a yipping, howling mess as he chases me up the stairs. I have no idea what the heck I’m doing with my life, but coffee and a beach walk with the dog sounds like enough of a plan for now.
And maybe I’ll try the sauna tonight…after I disinfect it first.
