Chapter Eighteen
Noelle
* * *
Toli and Tessa stayed an extra day and the four of us did some touristy things the following day, walking around the city, taking a ferry ride, and having dinner at another high-end restaurant. Tessa and I had exchanged numbers, and though it felt a little surreal to me, it was nice to have a new friend. Though I didn’t show it on the outside, I was also completely flabbergasted that I was now friends with one of my hockey heroes.
Toli was as laid-back as Remy said he was, but he was way funnier than I’d anticipated, and he had us all in stitches as he told stories about the kids, his hockey career, and life on the road. Remy had fun stories too and we sat at the restaurant for hours, long after we’d finished dinner, dessert, after-dinner cocktails and several bottles of wine.
“We have an early flight,” Toli said as things started to wrap up. “But we wanted to tell you before we left that we’ve decided to make the move to Fort Lauderdale.”
“I’m really happy to hear that.” Remy held out his hand and Toli shook it. Remy turned to Tessa and hugged her. “I’m going to make sure it’s worth your while.”
“Oh, you definitely will.” She smiled playfully. “When one of the kids is sick and I haven’t slept in three days and Toli’s on the road, guess who I’m calling?”
Remy looked around, as if confused. “Uh, I don’t know. Noelle?”
“Oh, I see how you are.” I nudged him. “You talk the talk but then don’t walk the walk.”
“Fine.” He blew out a breath as if annoyed, though there was no doubt he was joking because of the twinkle in his eyes. “I’ll come babysit.”
“Excellent.” Tessa winked at me and after quick hugs from both her and Toli, they were gone.
“I really liked them,” I told him as we got ready for bed.
“He’s good people,” Remy agreed. “And Tessa seems great as well. He’s going to be an amazing addition to the organization, and I think having Tessa as the team matriarch, so to speak, will also be incredible. Someone like her, who’s been a hockey wife for a long time, can help the younger WAGs get their feet under them. The nice thing about an expansion team is that even the veteran players will be new to the team, the arena, and the city, which makes for a much more level playing field for everyone.”
“Sounds like it’s going to be a really exciting time,” I said softly, unable to keep the envy out of my voice.
But Remy heard it. “You’ll come visit,” he whispered, pulling me close. “As often as you can get away.”
“I know.”
“Let’s get your passport taken care of before I leave, okay? I know you don’t have a lot of extra money, so let me pay for it, please? You’re only getting it so we can see each other as often as possible, so let me pay the fee.”
“All right.”
“I’ve been thinking about what my mom said, though. Why don’t you come to Vancouver with me for Christmas?”
My eyes snapped up to his in surprise. I’d heard his mother suggest it, but hadn’t thought he’d actually offer. Now he’d caught me off guard and I wasn’t sure how to answer.
“You don’t think it would be…awkward?” I asked at last.
He frowned. “Why? We’re seeing each other and it’s the holidays.”
“We’ve been dating, like, ten minutes. If you bring me home for the holidays, your family will wonder how serious it is, and we don’t know the answer to that.”
“So? Do we need to know our five-year plan to enjoy Christmas together?”
“I don’t have the money to buy gifts for anyone and before you say I don’t have to, it’s polite. I can’t show up at your mother’s for Christmas without at least a bottle of wine or flowers or something.”
“Must you overthink everything?” he asked, lifting my chin so I was looking right up into his face. “I want you to be with me, to spend time with my mother and brothers, and for us to be together as much as possible until I have to go.”
“I know, but I have to talk to Connie because we always spend Christmas together, you know? And Alex looks forward to me coming.”
He sighed. “Connie has a fiancé and two kids and her own family. While I appreciate your loyalty to her, you have your own life. And frankly, why would you want to spend Christmas with Craig?” He wrinkled his nose distastefully at the mention of his name.
We chuckled together.
“Let me talk to Connie, okay?”
“Okay.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “So, is this where I ask if you want to get naked?”
“If it is, this is where I tell you that you don’t have to ask.”
“And where I respond that I’ll always ask because it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“I love it when you talk gentleman to me.”
* * *
The trip was great, and the only bummer was the whole Christmas situation. Connie would probably be hurt if I didn’t spend the holidays with her, mostly because I was buffer for her and Craig, who tended to drink too much. And this year, none of us had any money. Part of me felt guilty, because I had the opportunity to be with the greatest guy I’d ever known, much less dated, and spend the holidays eating, drinking, and being merry while Connie would probably spend most of it tending to the kids and trying to put together a meal on almost no budget.
We hadn’t talked in a couple of days, so I was surprised when Connie showed up at the arena with the kids on Friday afternoon while I was getting the concession stand stocked and ready for the Friday night high school game. Based on how red and puffy her eyes were, Connie had been crying, which meant she and Craig been fighting, and I just wanted to throat-punch him. He wasn’t a bad guy, but he was lazy, uninspired, and simply not the right guy for Connie. She deserved someone who’d truly love and respect her, and now she had two kids with two different guys, neither of which did much to take care of her.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her as I handed Alexander a bag of cookies.
“Craig has a job interview at the garland factory,” she said. “So we all came. I figured I could see you and maybe do a little bit of shopping. Mr. Allston usually has a good clearance rack at his shop and there might be something for the kids.”
“You think you guys will move back to Garland Grove?”
“If he gets the job, yes, because commuting forty minutes each way in winter sucks, and his truck is on its last leg.”
“I hope he gets it.”
“He’s been really stressed about it. He didn’t get it the last time he applied, but we heard through the grapevine there was an opening so he just showed up, hoping to get an interview on the spot. It’s been kind of stressful.”
“The holidays are stressful,” I murmured, trying not to say anything negative about Craig. “But is everything okay?”
“Not really. It’s always the same, you know? No money, no job, no nothing. Christmas is going to suck, we had to turn off the cable, and if things don’t pick up, Internet will be next.”