She grimaced. “Then I’m glad you’re not playing because I wouldn’t want to lose you.”
“You don’t have to worry about it. That ship has sailed.”
“But now you have this amazing new hockey team, right? And even though you can’t play, you can be there in the thick of things, every single day.”
“Speaking of which…I have a meeting I can’t get out of. How would you feel about a quick forty-eight-hour trip to Florida?”
She sighed and looked down. “I can’t.”
“How come? Really, it would be quick and we could—”
“I don’t have a passport.”
“Oh.” Damn, that sucked. I traveled back and forth between Canada and the US so much, it never occurred to me that some people didn’t have passports. I knew it intellectually, but I’d never met anyone who didn’t.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” I squeezed her hand, trying to think of something to say. “Maybe then I won’t go…maybe I’ll fly him out here.”
“What?” She frowned in confusion.
“I want to sit down in person with the guy we want as head coach of the Knights, and we were going to do it in Fort Lauderdale. However, if you can’t go, and we have so little time together as it is, maybe I’ll just fly him to Vancouver.”
“Oh, don’t do that just because of me.”
“I want to. I’m honestly dreading heading down to Florida. I’m excited about the team, but it’s been nice being here in Garland Grove. Everything moves at a slower pace, like life is busy and the holidays are bustling, but things are relaxed. I don’t know how to describe it. In my world, everything moves at breakneck speed, whether it’s a business deal or a TV interview or back-to-back meetings about the new team. It never stops. And yet, here in Garland Grove, even though I’m still keeping up with everything online and via email, it’s not like that.”
“There’s something to be said for small-town living,” she said, nodding. “Most of the time, it’s wonderful. People care about each other, traffic is nonexistent, there are a lot of old-fashioned values and very little crime. On the flip side of that, work is hard to find sometimes. There’s no major airport nearby so travel is a hassle. And everybody is in your business—like with our relationship and me having to consider what other people think. Mostly, I don’t care, but you know what I mean.”
I nodded. “I don’t think I could live here full-time, but this would be the perfect place for a vacation home. And I’d love to spend holidays here.”
“Best of both worlds,” she said softly.
I wanted to tell her she could come with me, live with me, figure out where things were going, but it felt soon. It had been a little over a week. What the hell was wrong with me?
“I’m going to try to get Toli to fly to Vancouver instead of Fort Lauderdale,” I said instead.
“Are you talking about Anatoli Petrov?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“Yeah. Are you a fan?”
“Hell yeah. I mean, he’s legendary. I loved watching him play, especially after he was traded to Vegas. And then when he played his first pro game with his son…I don’t think there was a dry eye at the bar that night. It was pretty epic seeing him and Anton on the ice together.”
“You wanna meet him?”
She flashed me another huge grin. “Duh.”
“I’m going to call him in the morning and see if I can set up an interview in person.” I turned and started skating backwards, taking both her hands and pulling her closer to me. “In the meantime, is this the rink that’s supposed to be magical?”
She laughed. “It is.”
“What happens when you skate on it?”
“I’m not sure what’s supposed to happen, because I’ve skated on this ice a million times and so far, nothing magical has happened.”
“Until tonight.”
She arched a brow. “What happened tonight?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever skated with a woman I’m involved with. Not counting random teenage stuff.”
“Is that magical?”
“It is to me. To have a woman I really like, that also enjoys hockey and ice-skating, the two things I love most in the world, yeah, that’s pretty magical.”
She leaned forward, tilting up her face for a kiss, and I slowed down as I pressed my lips to hers. She was so damn sweet, it was kind of magical to kiss her right here on the ice, while skating, with Christmas music playing and white, red, and green lights flashing all around us.
“I’m a very lucky man,” I whispered against her mouth as we glided to a stop.
“Tonight, I’m a very lucky woman,” she whispered back.
“I’d like to take you to bed, sweetheart.” I looked into her eyes, loving the way she gazed up at me.
She slowly pulled her lower lip through her teeth. “Me too. But I’d like to keep skating for a while, if that’s okay? I love being here at the holidays.”
“I’d love to keep skating for a while.” I put some distance between us again and picked up speed, pulling her along with me. Despite not having been on skates in probably six months, I’d been skating for as long as I could remember and my body remembered what to do. I wasn’t in hockey shape, but I was in excellent shape overall, and I wove in and out of slower skaters without slowing down.
With the wind blowing Noelle’s hair out behind her, her cheeks flushed from both exertion and the cold, I would never forget the sheer joy emanating from her. And I never wanted it to end.
Chapter Sixteen
Noelle
* * *
I’d never had as much fun as I was having tonight with Remy. We skated for what felt like forever, going fast, slowing down, holding hands, talking and laughing like we’d known each other forever instead of a little over a week. I was falling hard and fast, which was one of the more ridiculous things I’d ever done, but the last couple of years hadn’t been kind to me. My life could be summed up with the saying “if it wasn’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all.”
Remy breathed new life into me. I’d never been the type of woman who thought she needed a man to save her, but when I was with him, I didn’t need saving. I’d never met anyone like him; gorgeous, famous, successful, hard-working, and more than anything else, kind. Thoughtful. Gentle. I’d even go so far as to describe him as loving. I’d had very little of any of that in my life and spent most of it kicking and clawing my way to survive. With Remy, I didn’t have to do anything but live.
For the first time in my twenty-seven years on earth, I felt alive.
“When we’re done here, you want to get a late dinner?” he asked me when we finally sat down to take a break.
I shook my head.
“No?” He seemed confused.
“Let’s get takeout and go to bed.”
“I like the way you think.” He leaned over to kiss me and my mouth opened of its own volition. I couldn’t help myself when we were together. No one had ever made me feel so beautiful. So desirable. So happy.