Stephen holds out his hand, palm facing up. “Give me your phone.”
I dig into my crossbody bag and unlock my phone before handing it to him. He saves his number, and presses the phone to his ear, waiting until he hears several rings before hanging up.
I take it back and hold it out to Chance. He didn’t ask, and it’s a bold assumption, but I blink up at him and wait nonetheless.
And he makes me wait.
Stephen scoffs. “Just give her your number, shithead. Stop acting like you don’t want it.”
Chance snatches my phone, angrily thumbs his number onto the screen, and hands it back to me. But he doesn’t call his own phone the way Stephen did, leaving the ball in my court. Then he turns and disappears through the crowd.
Stephen leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Talk soon, pretty girl.”
Warmth envelops my chest, sending little tingles out to the rest of my body. I have to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from grinning like a loon.
Dominique squeals and drags me by my elbow to Jeff’s car. “Bitch, you better start talking.”
I slide into the back seat, and heave a sigh while we wait for Jeff as he talks with grabby-hands-Andrew outside.
My head falls back against the headrest. “Remember how I told you I was with two men in college?”
Dominique spins around in the passenger seat to look at me. “Thosewere the two men?”
I nod and squeeze my eyes shut.
“Holy shit. You banged not one but two professional hockey players?”
“They weren’t professional hockey players at the time.”
“What was with the tall, dark, and broody one?” she asks, arching a brow.
A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “He’s mad at me.”
“What did you do?”
I scrub my hands down my face. “When I got the call about Allie’s accident, I dropped out of school and moved to New Jersey to be with the kids.”
She nods, already knowing this part of the story.
I grimace. “I didn’t tell the boys what happened, or where I was going. I kind of just...left.”
She gasps. “Presley! Why?”
“What was the point? They were about to get drafted into the NHL, and it’s not like we would’ve been together after college.” I hike a shoulder and let it fall. “I had to let them go, and cold turkey was the only way for me to do it.”
I was devastated over the loss of my sister, and terrified at the thought of raising two kids on my own. I couldn’t ask the boys to stick by my side through all of that. Not when they were at the cusp of major success. They deserved to achieve their dreams.
And look at them now. I couldn’t be prouder.
Jeff gets into the car, and twists around to look at me. “I’m so sorry about Andrew.”
I wave him off. “It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”
His eyes flick between me and his wife. “Did I miss the whole conversation about what happened with those hockey players back there?”
Dominique pats him on the shoulder before tugging on her seatbelt. “I’ll fill you in later, baby.”
“Didyou have fun at the game?”