Total pages in book: 129
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 124005 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Essie gives her an understanding smile. “You’re marrying a professional hockey player who adores you. He’ll want to order a ten-layer cake to make sure you get all your favorites.”
“This is accurate,” Shilpa says.
“I seriously love the way he loves you,” Dred says with a smile.
“This,” I agree.
“My top three are the banana cream, double chocolate fudge, and the lemon curd. How about you, Hemi?” Hammer asks.
“Probably the double vanilla, the German chocolate, and the peach custard. But I think Dallas would go for the carrot cake.”
“Have you talked about dates yet? I think we’re looking at early June next year, but I want to make sure we don’t conflict with yours,” Rix says.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll probably wait until the summer after.” I hate how easy the lies come these days. I want to love this the way she does. I want to share her excitement. But the fear that I’ll never catch up to Dallas sits heavy on my shoulders, and so does the worry that one day, he’ll change his mind. And then where will we be?
CHAPTER 38
DALLAS
Wills is tucked into my side, legs crossed, with her foot hooked behind my calf. My arm is slung over her shoulder, and I rub my thumb back and forth along the exposed skin of her arm. Her hand rests on my thigh, and every so often she digs her nails into my skin through my pants. Because she knows I love it. I press a kiss to her temple, and she smiles, side-eyeing me. Next week training camp starts, and our schedules are about to get busy as hell.
We both have a soft spot for The Hip. I have several playlists with their music, so she bought us tickets when they announced a date at an intimate outdoor venue and invited Ash and Shilpa to join us. I’m a huge fan of double dates with our best friends. The Practically Hip, a Tragically Hip cover band, finishes their first set, and we clap and cheer.
“Why don’t we grab another round before they start the second set?” I say to Ash. “You want the same thing, Wills?” I tap her empty glass.
She tips her head up. “Please.”
Her lips are too tempting to resist, so I bend to kiss her before Ash and I head to the bar.
“You and Hemi seem good,” Ash says.
“Yeah.” On the surface, everything seems perfect. Last week, she was a little off after Rix and Tristan announced their engagement. We both were. It was hard to see them so over the moon with real happiness. I want us to match. But we don’t. And it hurts more than I’d like. I want it to get easier, for her to feel about me the way I feel about her. She’s not there yet though, and it’s a raw wound. I keep telling myself she just needs time.
She’s stayed at my place the last few nights, and things have been explosive in the bedroom, so I’m taking that as a good sign.
We reach the bar and order drinks.
“You ready for the start of the season?” he asks.
“It’s bittersweet with this being Roman’s last one and Hollis’s final contract year, you know?”
Ash nods. “Yeah. But they’re in a good place about it. And it’s great that they get to finish out their careers with Hammer working in-house.”
“I hope Wills and Hammer travel with the team some this season.” The idea of being away from her for longer stretches isn’t appealing. I’d ask her to move in with me now if I thought she was ready.
Ash snorts. “You’re such a goner for that woman.”
“Yeah. I know.”
He claps me on the shoulder. “I need to hit the bathroom.”
I nod as the bartender sets our drinks in front of us, and I hand over my card. “I’ll take these to the girls.”
“You want to wait and I’ll give you a hand?”
“Nah, I got it.”
Ash heads for the bathroom, and I carry the drinks to our table. Shilpa and Wills’s backs are to me, so they don’t see me coming.
“Are you in love with him?” Shilpa asks.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” She sighs and rubs her fingers over her lips. “I feel like I’m still trying to reconcile the past with the present. I know he’s not that guy who laughed when my dress was covered in smoothie in grade nine. But this thing between us still doesn’t feel completely real. His feelings for me are so certain, but for how long? It all feels a little lopsided.”
“Does Dallas know you’re struggling with this?”
She shakes her head and traces a heart carved into the top of the picnic table. “I don’t want to upset him. So many things about being with Dallas are great. Truly. We have the most unreal chemistry, Shilps. The way we connect.” She sighs and drops her head. “But then Tristan and Rix got engaged. I’m so happy for them, but their happiness… It shines a light on how excited I should be about my own engagement.”