“I’m just saying, your imagination is not my problem.”
Liam huffed. “I’m getting nachos.”
I tweaked his cheek before he stood up. “You do that, baby.” Play started again as he was scooting in front of me and I grabbed his wrist. “Wait.”
Owen had a breakaway. I stood, gripped Liam’s bicep, and slapped his forearm with my other hand. Owen deked a few times, then oh-so-elegantly slipped the puck right through Nashville’s goalie’s five hole.
“That’s my boy!” Liam shouted, while I just screamed nonsense. High fives were exchanged around our suite.
4-3. Only down by one and with a fighting chance. I was way too charged up to sit, so I went with Liam up into the box. I high-fived Jeanine, Mara, and Violet when I got there.
Play resumed. I grabbed a drink and stood next to Jeanine.
“Crazy that he might be in L.A. next year,” Jeanine said.
“Who?” I asked.
“Royce?” She peered over at me and grimaced. “Oh, shit. Dylan talked to Obi, and yeah, I guess he probably wasn’tsupposed to say anything. I just . . . assumed he would have told you.”
I waved a hand. “It’s no big deal,” I croaked, but any fool could tell I was lying. “That’s exciting for him.”
Jeanine put her arm around me and squeezed my shoulder. “You guys have had a lot going on. I’m sure there’s a good reason he didn’t tell you.”
We tied it up right before overtime, and I exchanged all the requisite high-fives and hugs. But I felt numb. Harlan and I had always communicated well. He knew I wasn’t interested in secrets, so it hurt that he’d kept this from me.
Jeanine was right. He probably had a good reason. But I wouldn’t know for sure until I talked to him about it.
I wasquiet as we headed back to our hotel room. It was hard for me to feel warm and fuzzy.
The door clicked shut behind us and I pressed my back against it.
Harlan looked over me, concerned. “What’s going on?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you might be going to L.A.?”
Harlan slumped his shoulder into the door and ran a hand through his hair. “Fuck.”
“I mean, I hope you have a good reason. Because I hope you wouldn’t lie to me.”
“No. Not at all. I was waiting until Liam graduated, and now we’re deep in the playoffs. I didn’t want to change the focus. And I didn’t want to upset you or make it about me.”
I nodded and sniffed. “I get it. How long have you known?”
He threaded his fingers into his hair, holding the back of his head with his elbows forward. “Since the shutout. The day after.”
“When I said I love you.” I hated that my eyes filled with tears. “I’m happy for you. Really, I am. It’s a great opportunity.”
“Emma, I’m sorry.” Harlan’s arms wrapped around me and I cried harder. His hand cupped the back of my head and he held me closer.
“I’m crying but really, truly, I’m so happy for you. Los Angeles is a great city. A huge market. And they’d probably pay you more.” I hiccuped and Harlan kissed the top of my head.
“Em.”
“They have so many good restaurants,” I tried. “The grocery stores . . .”
“Emma.”
My fingers curled into his jacket. “I wish I still hated you,” I warbled.