Laurel was just coming in from a shopping trip with Dani when Gage’s name flashed on the screen of her phone.
“I’ll see you later,” Dani grinned when Laurel pointed at her phone, waving as she got off the elevator.
“Hey, babe.” Laurel answered as she tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder so she could unlock the door to her room.
“Hey.” Gage sounded strangely subdued.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, I just need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure. What’s up?” She dropped her bag and sank onto the bed, leaning back against the pillows. When Gage wasn’t with her, she didn’t stay in big suites, so this was a normal room like everyone else’s.
“I went to a fundraiser at the Met tonight.”
“Yeah, you mentioned it.”
“I ran into two former…” His voice trailed off.
“Lovers?” she asked, her voice soft.
“Yeah. They, uh…”
“Gage, did you sleep with one or both of them?”
“Fuck no. Jesus. It’s just…”
“Would you spit it out already? If you didn’t cheat, it’s not really a thing. What happened? Tell me and get it over with.”
“I was walking in with one, we arrived at the same time, just friendly conversation. The other saw me and called out, approached us, acted all hurt that I was in New York without calling her. So the other decided to be a little proprietary and planted one on me, right as every camera in New York City showed up.”
Laurel was taken aback at first. Then she sighed. “Seriously?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t kiss her back but I’m sure the pictures will look damning, and no matter what’s happened between us, I would never—”
“This is really hard, but our relationship is never going to work if we don’t trust each other.”
“Um, what?”
“Look, I trust you. I have to. My female intuition is bitch-slapping me every which way but loose, but I can’t not trust you.”
“You can’t?”
She paused. “Well, no. How the hell are we going to be together again if I don’t trust you? And anyway, as far as I know, you’ve never cheated on me. That’s not your style. I’m sure I’ll be green with jealousy for about five minutes when I see the pictures, but then I plan to forget about it.”
“As soon as hockey season is over, we’re going public in a big way. I don’t care how you want to do it, but I’m going to tell the whole world we’re back together.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t need anything like that. I just need you.”
“You’ve got me, Laurie. Always.”
“Well, then there’s only one thing left to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Phone sex.”
The Blizzard swept Nashville in four games, making another cross-country trip unnecessary and bringing them to the second round of the playoffs. This time they were playing San Jose, which was a lot closer, but still a long commute. Laurel was having the time of her life, pumped up on adrenaline every time the team took the ice and falling into a routine with Gage that felt ridiculously natural. She loved being with him, working with him, living with him—all of it. After so many years of longing and hurting and living with regret, she was starting to believe this might work. Gage bent over backwards to make her happy, the sex was out of this world, and despite being so busy with hockey, they still found time to steal away together. Late-night talks, afternoon quickies, working out together in the morning, it was all natural and easy.
It had been like this in college too. Things hadn’t gotten complicated until he’d been deployed and she often wondered why since she wasn’t particularly insecure. Being alone hadn’t been a problem because she’d been busy finishing college, playing hockey, and then training for the Olympics. She hadn’t had time to be lonely or worry too much, but that had begun to change when he missed both her college graduation and the Olympics. She’d won a silver medal and he hadn’t even been able to call. Of course, she’d also discovered she was pregnant just after that, which probably had played into how emotional she’d been.
Gage had gotten two weeks leave but they’d barely seen each other because of her training schedule. She’d been upset that he’d come home before the Olympics, but he’d said he had no choice. Somehow, they’d had an accident and she’d ended up pregnant at the worst possible time. Her mother had died not long after and her entire world had turned upside down. After that, everything in her life spiraled and the only person she had to take it out on was Gage.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone and when she saw who was calling, she answered guiltily.
“Hey, Dad.”
“How’s my girl doing? You’re kicking ass with this NHL gig, honey.”
“Thanks. Sorry I haven’t called, but it’s been nuts and I’ve been…” She didn’t know what to say about Gage.
“Falling in love with Gage again?”
“Do all the men in my life read minds?” she demanded playfully.
“At least one of us.”
“Do you want to fly out to some of the games?”
“I’d love to. When were you thinking?”
“If you can get away, why don’t you come to San Jose? It’s not terribly far for you and we’ll be there four days.”
“It’ll be good to see you, kiddo, and Gage too.”
“Be nice to him, Daddy!”
“I’m not the one who divorced him,” he replied.
“Okay, I have to go, but I’ll text you the flight info. Gage will probably send the jet for you.”
“He has his own jet?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Wow.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, kiddo.”
“Was that your dad?” Gage came into the room just as she hung up.
“Yeah. Can we fly him to San Jose for the games?”
“We can fly him to all the games if he wants to go.” Gage grinned.
“He probably doesn’t, but we’ll see.” She leaned over to kiss him. “Are you coming to San Jose with us?”
“Of course.” He paused. “Shouldn’t I?”
“You can and you should, but you seem to be heading back east a lot lately, so I wondered what your schedule was like.”
“Yeah, it’s been a little hectic. Between my investors in New York and handling everything Uncle Malcolm left me, I travel quite a bit. I suppose I could give more people power of attorney, but I don’t trust that many people and you know me—always like getting my hands dirty.”
“That you do.” She glanced at him. “If most of your business is so far away, why did you stay in Anchorage?”
“Because I love the team,” he said slowly. “And honestly, Uncle Malcolm loved it here. Did you know he was born here? His father—my grandfather—moved them to L.A. when he was small but they used to spend summers here. He bought this house here years ago because he loved Anchorage and he decided to stay permanently when he bought the team. Living here somehow makes me feel closer to him and my dad. I guess it’s kind of dumb.”
“It’s not dumb at all. It’s sweet.”
“I try.” He reached for her, pulling her onto his lap. “Will you be happy living here, Laurie? With me?”