Mom folded her arms. “Sophie asked me to create her dress.”
“Shit,” I whispered.
“Roman.” Her eyes narrowed.
“Sorry.” I exhaled. Everything seemed to be hitting me at once. On the drive home from my session with Dr. Falcon, I thought about telling Sophie we should elope. I just wanted to make it official as soon as possible. We could take off for the weekend and honeymoon at the penthouse at the Pembroke Resort. But this? Was it a full-blown wedding?
“Could you tell her I’m upstairs when you’re done?” I asked.
“It’s going to be a while,” Mom explained. “We’ll be done in time for the launch.”
“Oh, right. What time are we leaving to head over to the Golden Page?”
“5:30,” she answered.
“Maybe I’ll head to the gym, then. Tell her I’ll be back later in time to drive you two.” I had already mowed the grass twice this week. I was running out of house projects.
Mom squeezed my forearm. “I’m so happy for you and Sophie, Roman.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
I walked through the laundry room and back to the garage. I could use some time in the weight room to clear my head. There were a lot of moving pieces right now. Sophie’s big launch was tonight for the literacy project. There was a wedding we had to plan. Mom and I were still dealing with the un-death of my father. I had to move my body and get the blood rushing.
The Penny Hill gym wasn’t much. There was more equipment in the Dire Wolves training facility than in this entire building. It was cool inside, but the temperature didn’t do anything to disguise the smell of sweat and pungent cleaning agents. I hesitated at the desk, considering jumping back in the car and driving to Nahalia and renting ice time instead. I missed the way the cold hit my nostrils. The clean sting with every inhale I took. The drive was just a little too far. I didn’t have long pants or a sweatshirt in the car. I wasn’t in the mood to buy another outfit just to skate. I nodded at the girl at the gym counter while she penciled in my ID number and buzzed me through the doors.
I rotated through every machine and set of weights twice. I even spent time on the treadmill. Sophie would laugh at that one. She could never get me to go running with her in the mornings. There wasn’t enough prodding to make me lace up sneakers and run around town. I would have laced up skates if she’d asked me.
I slammed the locker and hauled my bag onto my shoulder. By the time my two-hour workout was finished, it was dark.
The summer nights were still light, but the colors had changed just enough to announce that fall was on its heels. Fall meant training camp. Fall meant pre-season games. Travel. Focus. Upending the rhythm of the life Sophie had invited me into here.
Fall meant leaving Penny Hill.
I slung the bag into the back seat and thought about picking up dinner on the way home from Lee’s uncle’s restaurant. We could eat before heading over to the Golden Page for Sophie’s unveiling tonight.
I had my hand on my phone to text Sophie and Mom to get their orders when a car pulled up behind me, tires screeching, barely missing my bumper.
“What in the hell?” I spun around.
It was a black car with tinted windows. I gritted my teeth. I knew exactly who was inside.
A long leg extended from the driver’s side. He held open the back door.
“Get in,” he said quickly.
I lumbered toward the car, shoving my phone in my pocket.
I ducked into the backseat.
“Feliks.” Our eyes locked on each other. I hoped he felt the hatred seeping through my pores. Because it was there, mixed with the sweat. I had nothing but hate for the man in the air-conditioned leather seat.
29
Sophie
Every time I scanned the room for Roman’s face and didn’t see it, my stomach seized with a tiny hug. Not the good kind, but an uncomfortable squeeze that made me groan each time. Ruby grinned at me from the front row. I appreciated her support, but she couldn’t make up for the fact that Roman had gone MIA for over five hours. Neither of us had been able to reach him.
A black crepe dress cinched at my waist. It was sleeveless with a cowl neck. Ruby had hemmed it to hit just above my knees. I wanted to look professional, but I hadn’t decided if I could pull off tea-length. I had accepted her offer when I'd walked down the stairs with a frown on my face.
I smoothed my palms into the sides of my thighs, realizing my hands were sweating.
Lee scooted next to me. A few guests stood in corners drinking coffee and eating sugar cookies and pastries I had picked up at the grocery store. The empty seats had all been taken. The Golden Page was at full capacity. It had never looked like this before.
“Where’s Roman?” she asked.
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. He’s not answering texts or calls. He said he was going to the gym. That was hours ago.”
“Want me to run by there? I’ll give up my seat next to Ruby to one of the customers and drive past the gym if it helps.”
I shook my head. I didn’t believe he was working out for five hours. It wasn’t as if he had been committed to an intense regimen at any time during the summer.
“Could it be car trouble?” she suggested.
“No matter where he broke down in Penny Hill, he could have walked here by now.”
Lee looked at the ceiling, trying to come with a reason why my fiancée wasn’t at the literacy project launch. “What if it’s—”
I touched my fingers to her wrist. “I need to get started.” The minute hand on the clock over the register had already moved five minutes past where I'd said I would allow it. I couldn’t continue to wait.
“All right.” She nodded. “I’m front row.” She smiled.
I pulled my shoulders back and walked to the podium. The only space large enough in the store to gather this many chairs was the children’s reading area. Once the ribbon was cut on the door, the guests could filter in and out of the multi-purpose room. For now, I had corralled them in one space.
I shuffled the cards, shifting through my notes. I had written bullet points to cover on each one. I didn’t want to forget anything or anyone. It was easy to leave out details when I was nervous. And I was nervous. From the faces staring at me. From the expectations I had for the literacy project. From the fact that I didn’t want to admit where Roman might be—gone.
I cleared my throat. “Hi. Thank you for coming tonight, and welcome to the Golden Page.” I fiddled with the index cards.
Of course, there weren’t any first-timers here. I knew every pair of eyes on me. I saw the moms from the mommy play group. The women who knitted in wingback chairs on Tuesdays and listened to audio books. Lee had managed to drag Billy and his wife, too. They were familiar faces. My neighbors. Fellow downtown business owners. My spine stiffened when I saw Ray. I changed my posture. We hadn’t spoken since Russell had been arrested, but I had to assume Russell was the only reason Ray was here.
“I think most of you know that ever since I opened the Golden Page, it’s undergone a lot of changes and renovations. Actually, where you’re sitting right now was once a dentist’s office.” I grinned. “But I think we all know I’m not cut out for dental work.” They smiled along. “The children’s section is still one of my favorite parts of the shop. But I’ve always wanted to offer more opportunities for the community to gather. Spaces to spread out, or huddle together. To learn and to share. Mostly to read.” I cleared my throat. I searched for the card with the next point I wanted to make. My eyes lifted to the door behind the crowd. Nothing. No Roman.
“When I bought the building, to be honest, I didn’t know what I was going to do with it. If it wasn’t for Lee Lane, it wouldn’t be a bookstore. That I know.” Lee returned my smile. “It’s taken a few years for the Golden Page to find its place in Penny Hill, but I think it has.” I saw people nodding at me. The people I saw every day on the sidewalk. The same people who bought novels from the bestseller’s l
ist or ushered their children in to find a birthday present to take to a party.
“There was a lot of unfinished space in the building. If you’ve done a rehab, especially in an old building like this one, you know what I’m talking about. You can’t tackle it all at once. I had to bite off each section at a time.” I inhaled. “The last section is finally finished. And it’s the section I’m the proudest of. I want the Golden Page Literacy Project to be a place where you can connect with each other. Volunteer to read to a child. Or an adult,” I added. “Fill the calendar with book clubs. Study groups for your kids. Whatever you can visualize here, I think as a community we can make it happen.” I moved out from behind the podium. “If you’ll walk with me, we can cut the ribbon and pop some champagne.”
The chairs slid out of place as people stood. I didn’t want to use a pair of those oversized scissors for the event tonight; instead, I had a nice stainless steel and black pair in my hands. I walked behind the Peter Pan display, stopping in front of the red velvet ribbon Ruby had given me to tie in front of the door.
I lifted my voice so the people gathered in the back could hear me. “So, it’s official. The Golden Page Literacy Project is now open.” I ran the blades over the velvet, and the ribbon curled to the sides of the door. Lee clapped, and Billy whistled loudly.
I took the first steps inside as everyone filed in after me. I didn’t need to give any more words. The room could speak for itself. I stood in the corner, clutching a cold glass of champagne, and watched the moment unfold in front of me.
* * *
“Is there anything else I can do?” Lee asked, dragging a trash can across the room. She had walked around and collected leftover paper plates coated in frosting and cake crumbs. We were the only two left in the shop.
“No.” I shook my head, folding the tablecloths borrowed from Ruby. “I can get the rest tomorrow when I’m at work.”
“You had an amazing turnout.”
“Yes. It was great. I think the space is going to get a lot of use.”
“What’s the first book club you had sign up?” she asked.
I huffed. “I didn’t even look.”
“Oh.” She threw a few plastic champagne flutes on top of the recycling bin. “Do you think the new girl you hired is going to be able to handle the calendar for you?”
“It shouldn’t be too hard.”
“That’s good. Maybe you can add her full-time before the holidays.”
“She’s picking it up quickly.” Morgan was young, but a quick-study. I enjoyed having her in the shop. We talked about new releases, our favorite titles, and she even had great ideas to market the Golden Page to tourists driving past Penny Hill on their way to the mountain resorts.
Lee was trying to keep me talking and distracted. It was one thing to power through the project launch and ribbon cutting while half the town was under my roof. Idle chit-chat with my best friend wasn’t possible.
I sat on the couch, picking at the fuzz on my dress.
“He just left, Lee,” I whispered. “He left me again.”
She rushed next to me. “You don’t know that.”
“Neither do you.” I didn’t mean to snap at her.
“There has to be a reason. A real reason,” she argued.
The tears were so hot they stung my eyes as if I had been pinched. “Ruby said the same thing. And she looked worried. Genuinely worried.”
“See? She’s got that mama bear instinct thing.”
“But she wouldn’t tell me what it was. So I keep going back to what I know. History. Roman’s history.” I bit my lip. “The best indicator of future behavior is past behavior.”
“You read that in a psych book.”
“I did. And it’s true. This is what he does. He gets close. Big gestures. Big declarations. And then when he saw that we were planning my wedding dress today, he flipped the fuck out and bailed. Because it was finally real to him when he saw fabric all over his mom’s dining room.” I stared at her. “I don’t think I’m angry at him. I don’t think he can help it. He’s not really built for more.” I tossed the fuzz from my dress , and it floated, landing on the top of my high heels.
“What can I do?” she pleaded. “Sleepover at my place? Cramped, but cozy.” She smiled.
I shook my head. “I think I’ll stay here.”
“I thought you blacklisted your apartment.”
I patted the couch. “No, here. Downstairs in the center.”
She blinked.
“What? There’s a bathroom, and I think I’m okay to take a shower upstairs. Russell’s nowhere near here. I’m safe.”
“I saw Ray,” she said. “Did you two talk?”
“Only for a few minutes. He wanted to apologize for Russell.”
Lee looked confused. “Why should he apologize? He was as shocked as the rest of us. He fired him as soon as he heard he’d been arrested.”
“Well, the thing is, Ray wasn’t as shocked as everyone else. He said he knew Russell talked about me a lot when he was at work. He said the comments weren’t always polite. And he wished he had shut him down instead of just looking the other way.”
“Oh.” She was quiet.
I nodded. “He didn’t know how bad it was, but he’s talked to his staff. Changed some policies about how they talk about women on his property.”
“Holy shit. Ray said all that?”
“It does sound monumental when I say it back.”
She rubbed my shoulder. “Wow. For that, you should be proud. If you hadn’t decided to go forward with the charges, think of all the things that wouldn’t have been set in motion. That’s the perfect example. No more slut-shaming at Ray’s, huh?”
“No more.” I hadn’t had a chance to process what he told me before he congratulated me on the project and left for the evening. It was odd that he had come to the Golden Page. But I understood why.
“Should I try to negotiate a lifetime of free oil changes for you?” she teased.
“Ha. I don’t think Ray is that generous.”
“I still don’t think you should stay here. Come with me, come on.”
I shook her off. “No. I’ll grab my sheets and blankets from my room upstairs and bunk down here tonight. I’ll be fine. I’m so exhausted from the launch I’ll be asleep in five minutes.”
“Sophie, that’s crazy. Ruby would want you at her house.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can face the pity. Okay?” I stood to give her a hug. “Thank you for tonight. You did more than you had to do, as usual.”
Her arms were still around me. “If you change your mind and you get spooked, call me. Or 9-1-1.”
I laughed. “I will. I swear.” As soon as the laughter stopped, it was replaced with a hollow pit in my stomach.
She stood back. “Congratulations. It’s a beautiful space. A beautiful night.”
“Thank you.” I walked her to the back door and watched as she climbed in her car before I locked the doors.
30
Roman
It was the same room. The one Penny Hill claimed as its premier suite. Why had he brought me to the place where I’d had one of the happiest nights of my life? Did he know? Was he despicable enough to try to squeeze the only rays of light I had out of my life?
I sat on the blue polyester couch. It was nearly midnight. The guard in front of the door wasn’t letting me out until my father gave the word with the click of his finger. I didn’t want to look at that man standing in the same place where I had pinned Sophie and undressed her with my teeth.
“What I don’t understand, Romanov, is why you disregarded me. It’s blatant disrespect. An insult. You should be ashamed.”
“Fuck,” I growled. “We’ve been here seven hours? Eight hours?” I threw my hands in the air. “Do you need me to tell you the same thing over and over?” I stared at him. The conversation had not progressed. I had missed the launch. Sophie was likely hurt, angry, or both.
His fingertips touch
ed each other, forming a tent between his hands. “Your uncle says you haven’t called him to make the arrangements.”
“I wired you the money just like I promised. Mom’s debt is cleared. There are no other arrangements to make.” I was exhausted. The repetition had started to wear me down like a file sawing over a fingernail until the finger began to bleed.
“Ruby’s debt is clear. I’m not here to talk about your mother.”
I closed my eyes. “I can’t go to Russia. I can’t break my contract with the Dire Wolves. It’s not anything I could make happen even if I wanted to.” I breathed through my teeth. “I don’t know how long you plan on holding me here, but it won’t make a difference, Feliks.” He especially hated it when I called him by his first name. “What exactly are you going to do if I walk out of here? Have your bodyguard shoot me? You’d kill your own son over a business threat in Russia?”
His eyes beaded. “Don’t test me.”
“So you would? I guess that 'family first' mantra isn’t everything you said it was.”
I rose from the couch to stretch my legs. I walked to the window. I’d seen the gun strapped to the bodyguard, and I wasn’t at the point where I was willing to jump him and see if I survived without a bullet wound.
“You could be taking this second chance you have and drinking tequila on an island. Start your life over. The bad guys think you’re dead. Go find a girlfriend. Run a poker ring or something in a tiki bar. Why tie yourself to a life that obviously wasn’t a happy one?” I rotated to face him.
“What do you know about happiness, son?” He marched toward me. “This coming from the boy who lost in front of the world. The boy everyone knows couldn’t deliver when it mattered. You forget I’m your father. My blood runs through your veins. You aren’t happy. You aren’t happy unless you win. Right now, the world knows you’re a loser,” he hissed. “I am ashamed of you.”
My jaw clenched. I raised my hand to strike him, but I heard the click of the safety on the gun across the room and lowered my fist.
Cold As Puck: A Cold Love Series Novel Page 16