Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
We have to plan an actual, real-life wedding. I have to lie to my teammates and tell them it’s real. I’ve got to decide things like where we’ll be living after we leave this hotel. Do I stay with her in Frosty Harbor? Do I bring her along with me in a few months when the hockey season starts? Are we going to keep sharing a bedroom like this in private? Or is this just temporary for the trip?
I can think of a million more questions we’ll have to answer.
Caroline stirs, sitting up against the headboard and rubbing her eyes. Her hair is always thick and a little wild. Right now, it’s so far beyond “wild” that it’s hard not to blurt out a laugh. One chunk of it is sticking straight up, and another is stuck to her cheek with sweat. She looks like Ana from the beginning of Frozen–not that I, a grizzled, macho NHL player, have seen that movie enough times to reference it, of course.
She blinks groggily, then looks at me and Walker. It’s a few seconds before the lights come on for her.
“Look at you two,” she says.
“You sound a little better. How are you feeling?”
“I think the medicine is helping. Thank you, by the way. I didn’t mean to stick you in as an emergency babysitter.”
“I’m glad I was here to help. What would you have done back in Frosty Harbor, anyway?”
“Probably pretended I was fine and nearly killed myself? Or if worst came to worst, I could’ve asked someone in town to help. I just hate bothering people with my problems.”
I grin. “Sounds about right. I had to cancel our flight back.”
Caroline sits up straighter. “Oh, shit. The bed and breakfast. I need to–”
“Already handled it,” I say, holding up my palm to relax her. “I called Andi and Jesse this morning while waiting at the hotel desk for your meds. They’re making sure the bed and breakfast is in good hands. Grams and Edgar agreed to run things as long as we need. And my sister said she headed over there as soon as I called her to keep watch until they arrived.”
Caroline sits back a little, seeming to relax. “Thank you,” she breathes. “I’m not used to somebody taking care of things like that for me.” She pauses, grinning out of one side of her mouth. “A girl could get used to that.”
“So there’s one hitch,” I say slowly. I’m not sure how she’s going to react to this. “I was threading a bit of a needle coming here yesterday. But I had the flight plans all set to be back with you by the afternoon today. And then I could be back in the city tonight. Because I’ve got a charity event tonight, I can’t miss it.”
“Sorry,” Caroline says, shaking her head slowly. “I’m going to blame it on my sick brain, but I don’t understand. What’s the hitch? And since when do you do charity stuff?”
“The hitch is I can’t take you back to Frosty Harbor until at least after the charity event. That’s tomorrow night.”
“Oh,” she says. “I’ll owe Grams and Edgar, but it won’t be the first time. That’s okay, right? I can stay out of your way while you do your charity stuff. But seriously, what charity stuff? Why have I never heard about this?”
I shrug. “It never came up. The organization is called Pucks for Progress. I started it in my rookie year. Every offseason, I put in some time to bring wealthy donors to grow the program. It’s a bit of ass-kissing, a speech, and ensuring I hire somebody to organize the event. It’s not much, but I need to be there.”
“What is the charity about?” she asks.
“We help young kids who can’t afford to get into hockey. It can be expensive, especially when you factor in traveling and camps for the kids who are really serious about it.” I shake my head at the memories of hearing my parents talking seriously about money late at night–about how they would come up with money to cover my hockey expenses. “Basically, we make sure kids can go as far as they want. We cover gear, application fees, team fees, travel costs, hotels, and whatever else. Last year, we had our first member graduate to the NHL.”
“Wow,” Caroline says. “I had no idea you did that.”
“I don’t do it for recognition. I promised myself I’d give back if I ever made it. That’s all.”
“Well, I think it’s really admirable of you. So, I’m coming, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said there’s some kind of event tonight? What if I come with you? I could get some practice pretending to be engaged to you in public. And if Peter catches wind of any press from it, he’ll be less skeptical. Right?”