Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64493 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64493 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 258(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
I huffed in amusement and reclaimed my seat. “Maybe so.”
“She mentioned Vinnie a few times. That was…interesting,” he added conversationally.
“He coached the team to a win, so…not really.”
Ronnie sipped his coffee. “Hmm. Call me crazy, but I think she was trying to tell you she knows you’re still head over heels for Vin.”
I gaped in shock, then pushed my cup aside and slumped forward in defeat. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yup.”
Fuck. “He’ll be gone soon. It’s—it’ll be fine.”
“You’ve been telling yourself that for a long time. Since we were kids,” he commented.
“That’s embarrassing.” I sighed, reaching for my cup again.
“No, it’s not. It’s a great story.” Huh? “And you never know…it just might work out.”
I didn’t know how to respond, so I said the first thing that popped into my mind. “That would require some serious alignment in the stars.”
“Don’t give up on him, Nol.” He drained his mug and stood. “I need to stop by the rink before I pick up the kiddo. Love you, bro.”
I wanted to ask what the hell he meant, but I was too stunned to go after him. How much did he know about us? Had they all known? Even Dad?
Geez, that was an odd one to wrap my head around. My family had always been tight-knit and supportive. I might have doubted myself, but I’d never doubted them. And even though my dad had been gone for seven years, I could feel his presence.
He’d been the sort of man who wasn’t easy to ignore. He’d done everything big. His footsteps had creaked loudest on the stairs, his voice had boomed, his laughter had reverberated through walls.
“That’s the damnedest thing about life, son. You can’t make someone do anything they aren’t ready to do on their own. Sometimes you have to let go and send out a prayer it will work out all right.”
The lump in my throat was a bowling ball now. It was a sobering thing to be surrounded by so much love and yet feel so adrift. I could be patient and vigilant, but my dreams were unrealistic.
I had no choice but to let go.
Again.
15
VINNIE
“Elmwood is very…quaint.”
I poured a cup of coffee, grunting unintelligibly as Sienna opened my sliding glass door and strode onto the deck. This felt like the first time we’d been alone since she’d shown up out of the blue in Pinecrest. I hadn’t wanted to hash out her Miami expectations in front of an audience last night, so I’d suggested coming here. She’d fallen asleep on my sofa before I’d had a chance to ask what she was up to and had woken up disgruntled and confused.
She didn’t belong here. At all. Sienna stood out like a red rose in a field of sunflowers—too fragile, too elegant to last. I followed her outside, giving her a sideways glance when she lit a cigarette, lifting her chin skyward to blow a stream of smoke.
“Hmm. Those things will kill you,” I commented, leaning on the railing.
“I need this. Yesterday was a long day, and today will be too. I had no idea how long it took to get here. I flew into New York, hopped a second plane to Burlington, then drove three hours, and got lost twice on the way to Pineconeville.”
“Pinecrest.”
Sienna puffed her cigarette and raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say. You can do the driving this morning. Our flight is at noon, so we should leave at—”
“I’m not going with you, Sienna.”
She whirled toward me indignantly. “You promised.”
“I did, but your event is next weekend, not tomorrow. I’m not going to Miami to hang out to be seen or…whatever.”
“Oh, come on, Vin, it’ll be fun,” she cajoled. “I’m here giving you supportive girlfriend press, so it only makes sense for you to join me immediately in Miami. You did your kid hockey good deed, spent time with the natives. Now you can get back to the real world.”
The real world.
“Right.”
“What’s wrong? Summer is over, babe. It’s time to move on.”
That was pretty much exactly what Nolan had said. I took another sip and stared out at the pond. Fuck, my head was a mess. I wanted to be angry with him for pulling the rug out from under me, but Sienna’s presence signaled change. The glamorous model and the pro hockey hero went together like peanut butter and jelly. It didn’t matter that we weren’t a real couple. We were pretty enough to make headlines, and that had been enough.
It wasn’t enough anymore.
“Sienna, I have moved on. This is where I want to be. Here.”
“Here? I know it’s home for you, but there’s nothing here, honey,” she replied with a conspiratorial laugh. “What would you do with yourself? There’s no pro team nearby and you’re not close to any major broadcasting networks. You’d have to commute by helicopter to get to the airport, and that might be fun the first few times, but it’ll get old fast.”