Noelle
I knew he meant it as a compliment, but his words made me feel a little weird. He obviously didn’t notice everything or he would have figured out I was homeless by now, and while I didn’t want him to know, I also didn’t like keeping such a big secret from him based on our rapidly growing intimacy. It was just so freakin’ embarrassing, and he was so damn successful, I couldn’t imagine admitting that I’d lost everything and was in the process of starting over. I was almost there—six more months—but in the meantime, it was humiliating.
It was also ironic. The people of Garland Grove were generally kind and caring, while simultaneously spectacularly nosy. Sleeping with Remy Knight? It was undoubtedly the main topic of conversation at the diner on Main Street, but Noelle Burrier living out of her car? No one had picked up on it other than Dwayne. So hiding it from Remy was almost second nature, despite the fact that I longed to tell him. I wanted to curl up in his arms and explain, bask in his warmth and strength, and let him know I was almost there.
I must have sighed out loud because he glanced over at me. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “I’m a little sad we had to leave Vancouver. That’s all.”
“You want to go back?” he asked. “I can talk to my assistant and check email from anywhere.”
“We can’t. I have to check in at the arena and make sure the coffee urns are working since I haven’t used them in months.”
“How about I come to work with you and then we can go out? You want to catch a movie or something?”
I hesitated. How many times could we go out without him asking to go to my place? What would I say? How could I explain that I didn’t live anywhere right now? The only way to avoid that would be to either go back to the bed and breakfast with him, or not see him at all. I could say I had plans with friends, but I didn’t want to. God knows, I wanted to spend every waking moment with him. Hell, I wanted to spend all moments with him, waking or not.
“Seems like a long time to think about whether or not you want to go to a movie,” he said after a moment.
“I’m not used to…dating,” I said finally. “And frankly, we’re back to the same situation, where everyone is going to see us together and then I’m going to be the small-town girl the billionaire hockey star hooked up with while he was in town, before heading off into the sunset.”
His fingers threaded through mine and this time he sighed. “I fucking hate that. Not just that people in small towns are nosy, but also that you think I’m just going to head off like that.”
“Aren’t you?”
“Well, I’m definitely leaving to go to Florida, but there’s no reason you can’t come visit or that we can’t keep seeing each other. I don’t know where, if anywhere, this is going, but I have no plans to ride off into the sunset or some such nonsense. I like you, Noelle.”
I swallowed down an uncomfortable lump in my throat. “I, uh, haven’t had a lot of luck with people sticking around in my life. One way or another, they all disappear.”
“That’s not me, babe. That’s not what real men do.”
I chuckled but there was no humor in it. “Yeah, well, starting with my dad, that’s not been my experience.”
“Every day brings the potential for new experiences—and that’s what we have with us.”
I nodded, though I wasn’t sure I believed him. “You’re sweet,” was all I said.
“I’m sweet on you.” He lifted our linked hands and pressed a soft kiss on the inside of my wrist.
“You won’t be saying that when I put you to work this afternoon,” I quipped, trying to lighten the mood because I didn’t know how to talk to a guy who seemed to really like me. When was the last time I’d been out with a guy I liked as much as he liked me?
“The harder you work me, the quicker we can be done and I can take you home and ravage you. You want to go to your—”
Nope. Not going there. I interrupted him before he could finish that thought. “I think if we stay out late and sneak in after Rudy is asleep, he might not notice.”
“I don’t like the idea of people gossiping about you,” he said firmly. “I mean, I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of me, but I won’t do anything that could hurt you long-term.”
I shrugged. “Long-term I’ll be fine. Short-term is the problem.”
“Short-term, I’m right here.” He kept our hands in his lap even though it forced me to scoot over as far as I could in the passenger seat. “Also, just FYI, I’m not a billionaire. Multi-millionaire, yes, but not a billionaire.”
For some reason, that made me smile.
After a few hours cleaning and fighting with the two big coffee urns I planned to use to keep the hot chocolate warm, I made sure there was enough popcorn and then we called it a day. I desperately needed clean clothes, especially if I was going to stay with him tonight, but how did I explain the fact that they were in my car? I was starting to hate the secrets I was keeping, and it was on the tip of my tongue to just tell him everything.
“I should move my car,” I told him as we walked out to the parking lot. “I might as well drive over to the bed and breakfast with you so I can take off in the morning without making you drive me. I have a few things to do before the skating party and I know you have to keep up with work.”
“You sure you want to park there?” he asked, pulling me against him.
“I’m suddenly tired of sneaking around like I’m a teenager breaking curfew. I’m an adult and even though there’ll be some gossip, I’m sure, it’s nothing I can’t handle. And to be honest, I like sneaking around with you.” I wound my arms around his neck. “I like being with you. And I’m not going to let a bunch of busybodies ruin it for me.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard all week.” He pressed his lips to mine. “All right, do you want to park your car there now and then we can go to the movies or should we come back later and get it?”
“Let’s do it now. Rudy knows me so he’ll recognize my car. If he’s going to gossip, I can’t stop him.” I was so tired of lying, this just made it a little easier. If my reputation took a hit, I could handle it. And if Remy was serious that we might see each other again, that would shut everyone up. At least that’s what I was telling myself.
“Okay.” He kissed my forehead and got into his rental while I fired up the RAV4. I’d let him drive off and then grab some clean clothes out of the hamper in the back before following him. I hadn’t been sleeping at the arena enough to get my laundry done, so I was going to have to take care of that sooner rather than later, but it was going to be tricky. Why was everything in my life so complicated?
I should have been used to it by now, but I wasn’t. I wasn’t used to being homeless and I’d never get used to being so completely alone. With Remy in my life, I suddenly didn’t feel that way anymore and it was nice.
Hell, it was more than nice.
It was awesome.
The Holiday Appreciation Skate at the rink was always a blast, and even though it was a lot of work for me, I enjoyed running it and being part of it. We’d decorated the outdoor rink and since there was an hour before the doors opened, I’d dug out the box of my personal Christmas decorations and started putting them up in the lounge. My grandmother’s old lighted ceramic tree was on the coffee table in front of the fireplace, tinsel on the mantle, and I’d used some garland to hang ornaments on a few lamps. It wasn’t much, but better than nothing.
I’d sold my four-foot artificial tree last December because it had been the only way to have enough money to buy some things for Alexander. I’d been sad about it, but I didn’t have room for it in the car anyway, and Alexander was growing so fast he’d needed the new winter coat more than I needed an old Christmas tree I didn’t even have anywhere to put up.
“Hey, what’s all this?” Remy came into the lounge looking about as hot as a guy in jeans and a sweater could be. His broad shoulders seemed to fill the room and I already knew how great his ass looked in jeans.
“A little decorating. I use my own stuff since my current living situation isn’t conducive to holiday decorations,” I said carefully. “It makes me feel good to see my stuff here since this is where I spend most of my time anyway.”
“We should go shopping for stuff just for the rink,” he said, looking around. He walked over to the coffee table, pointing at the ceramic tree. “You know this is an antique, right? My grandmother had one. They’re worth money. You shouldn’t leave it here where someone could break it.”
I hadn’t realized it was an antique. “I didn’t know that. It’s literally the only thing I have from my mom’s mom.”
“Let’s pack it back up and tomorrow we can go shopping for decorations for the whole arena and you can keep your personal stuff safe. It’ll be fun to decorate anyway, don’t you think?”
I smiled. “Okay.” I got out the box and started putting the ceramic tree away again. I felt him behind me, one big, warm hand on my back as I put the tree away. Then I turned and moved against him, letting him kiss me.
“Get a room, for Christ’s sake.” A deep male voice made us jump apart and I smiled at one of the hockey league coaches, Jacques “Jock” Frontier.
He was a nice guy, despite his ribbing. “Hey, Jock. Have you met Remy Knight, the new owner of the arena? Remy, Jock coaches the fourteen- and fifteen-year-old team.”
The two men eyed each other before Remy approached him, holding out his hand.
“Hey, Jock.” The two men shook hands.
“So it’s true.” Jacques cocked his head. “You’re the owner now? I’d heard rumors but wasn’t sure it was accurate.”
“I am. I had no idea my dad even owned the place.” Remy looked around with a faint smile. “So no one was more surprised than I was.”
“And now you’re gonna sell it.” Jacques looked a little annoyed, and that was saying something since he was a pretty quiet guy who kept to himself when he wasn’t coaching.
“I haven’t made any decisions yet,” Remy replied patiently. “I’m trying to get a feel for the place, see what’s what before I do anything.”
“How do you two know each other?” I asked curiously.
“We played together a long time ago,” Remy said.
“Hey, Noelle, where do you want the coffee urns?” Dwayne stuck his head in the door.
“Oh, let me show you. Excuse me, guys.” I headed after Dwayne but glanced over my shoulder at Jacques and Remy. It had never occurred to me they might have played together even though I knew Jacques was a retired player. Hopefully, they'd been friends.