Spencer scowled. “What the fuck makes you think that?” He stood and headed for his room. Taylor hurried to follow.
“Nothing concrete,” she said. “Just a woman’s intuition.”
Spencer saw the envelope but stopped short of grabbing it.
“I honestly don’t blame her for feeling the way she does,” Taylor said. “Zach and I really threw a wrench into everything, not to mention the fact that we’ve overstayed our welcome.” She raised her chin and gave him a sad smile. “So while you’re reading the letter, I’m going to go choose an apartment from the ones that Stacy found for me and get that started. We’ll be out of your hair as soon as I can manage it.”
He didn’t bother to answer, just snatched up the envelope. It was from Maggie, all right. He’d know that perfect teacher’s penmanship anywhere. He ripped it open.
Dear Spencer,
This is a very difficult letter for me to write because it’s all about me. I’m being totally selfish here and I admit it. You may as well know that right from the start.
Spencer highly doubted Maggie was being selfish. It wasn’t in her genes. She was the most generous, giving person he’d ever known.
I think it’s best if we end it between us. To say it’s been a challenge for me to see you, Taylor and Zach together would be an extreme understatement, and I acknowledge that this is due to my own emotional baggage. Don’t get me wrong. I’m so happy that you found your son and are now able to be a part of his life in a way that I haven’t gotten with Maya. I really am. But I can’t take it anymore. It just hurts too much.
So, let’s make this neat and clean. You’re in the middle of the playoffs, after all. You need to focus on hockey, one hundred percent. That goes without saying. I know the Stanley Cup is everything and I don’t want to be the thing that stops you from giving it your all. So just forget about me (not that it’ll be that hard) and win that Cup. Then enjoy your life and your loving family, the way you were meant to.
M
Spencer’s gut churned with several different intense emotions—anger, disbelief, anguish. What the fuck. No question that Taylor and Zach’s arrival had rocked the boat. Just as he and Maggie had gotten on solid ground with each other, boom. Everything exploded. He’d had no idea that Maggie had been this torn up inside. She’d never let on. But then, it was Maggie. Of course she’d never let on. Her motto was “grin and bear it.”
Looking back, he felt like an asshole. Talk about selfish. He’d been the selfish one. The only reason he’d not pushed harder for Taylor to move out was because he wanted Zach there. If there’d been a way for him to keep Zach at his house without Taylor, he’d have jumped on it, but they were a package deal, so he’d dealt with it.
At Maggie’s expense, he realized now.
What an oblivious idiot he’d been. Even Taylor thought she’d had a shot.
He had to make amends. He had to prove to Maggie that she was the one for him. Neat and clean, my ass, he thought. No way he was going to let her just melt into the background and disappear from his life as if she’d never jumped right into it with both feet.
With a smile, he remembered seeing her that day she crashed his All-Star Game watch party, demanding her dog back. He might have fallen in love with her that very moment. How could he not fall for a woman with the balls to do something like that?
He got into his car, intending to head for Maggie’s apartment.
But when the garage door opened, he saw Jade standing in the driveway.