His eyes widened, and his mouth drooped. His expressions were always so easy to read. “I’m really sorry about everything that happened. Not just that night when—you know, but the way I pressured you and tried to change you. It’s what I do to myself, and I felt like you were an extension of me.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. But you might want to get that looked at,” I suggested.
Jimmy nodded. “When you left, it was the playoffs and all this pressure—I finally spoke to the team sports psychologist. He sent me to talk to someone.” He looked over his shoulder; Ty and Mac had walked on without him. “Nobody knows, of course, but it helped.”
“That’s good. I’m glad for you.”
He smiled down at me. I was struck by the fact that while I still found him attractive, I wasn’t drawn to him in that insane way I used to be.
“Yeah, there were so many times I wished I could tell you about all the stuff I fixed. Your leaving was a big wake-up call.”
I was sure it shocked him to find out that something on the life list might have to be un-ticked. But I was beyond anger. “I’ve thought about everything that happened and realized I made mistakes too. I should have stood up for myself more. I think everyone was right—we were too young.”
“I can’t believe you’re taking responsibility. I figured you hated me.”
I laughed. “I try to move on.” I had been bitter and angry, but that was short-lived. Negativity wasn’t my default mode. “Well, it was good to see you again. I know you’re going to have a great series.”
He began as the thirteenth forward, but his ice time was already increasing. People were really noticing him.
As I turned to leave, he blurted, “Are you back with Phil?”
“Yes.” It sounded so simple in this context, but what would be the point of explaining the whole ballet Phil and I had done to find each other again?
His forehead creased. “I guess you wish you made a different decision way back in the summer.”
I considered this and then shook my head. “I know it ended badly, but still—you and I had some incredible times together.” Our love had been so intense and all consuming. Could it have lasted even without Jimmy cheating on me? Maybe it would have burnt out some other way.
I continued, “Besides, it sounds crazy, but I feel like when I got hurt so badly—well, it made me appreciate everything more.” I never took Phil’s consideration and support for granted. I knew exactly how lucky I was to have him in my life.
But my words had affected Jimmy. He looked really upset now. “I’ve worried so much. About how you are and what you’re doing. You don’t know how many times I wanted to erase that stupid night and what I did.”
I put a hand on his chest. “Stop, Jimmy. It’s okay. I’m fine now. Bad stuff happens and we learn from it. Clearly, we’re both better now.”
He put his hand over mine and squeezed. “You’re such a good person.”
“I’m not. I’m normal.” I pulled my hand away. I could see he was starting to idealize me again, and that wasn’t healthy. “It’s great that we saw each other and cleared things up. But I have to meet Deirdre now.”
“Yeah, I have to go too.” But he didn’t move an inch. He leaned down and kissed me on the forehead. “Thank you, Kelly. For everything.” He carefully emphasized each word.
“You’re welcome,” I replied. I had no idea if he meant my forgiveness or our time together, but I knew there was some hidden meaning. However Jimmy’s intense feelings weren’t something I had to worry about ever again, and that realization made me feel lighter.
“Bye, Jimmy.”
I headed towards the building without looking back.
* * *
“Get up, you lazybones. I didn’t take the day off to spend it watching you sleep.” Phil poked me in the side. We were lying in his king-sized bed.
“Want to sleep,” I muttered and buried my head in the pillow. Now that the Olympics were finally over, Betty had given me two days off. I had only worked every day for the past three months. But it was completely worth it. I had gotten more experience during the Olympics than most interns would get in two years. And I had made a number of media contacts for the future. My career possibilities were very bright.
“I know exactly what you need. Put on your running gear. We’re leaving in twenty minutes.”
I rolled over and opened one eye. Phil was sitting on the edge of the bed, and his naked torso was so attractive. I leaned over and kissed the nearest part of him. “Is there breakfast?”
“If you get up right now and get ready, I will make you breakfast,” he promised.
Twenty minutes, later we were on the road. I was drinking tea and munching on a toasted bagel, but I was wide-awake.
“Where are we going?”
“Home,” he replied. I realized we were headed towards the North Shore.
“I’m not exactly ready to see Greta,” I complained, pulling down the visor mirror of the VW Tiguan. I had on running gear and a ball cap, and I hadn’t even showered. Greta was back to full health now and as domineering as ever. Except now that I knew her marshmallow core, I wasn’t scared of her anymore. However, I wouldn’t mind dropping in on my parents, and I knew my mom would be delighted if Phil came by as well.
“I meant home in the general sense. The area we grew up in.”
“Speak for yourself, I haven’t grown up yet.”
He laughed and pulled down my ball cap.
“Kelly, I got some news from work. I’m heading back to Calgary at the end of the next month. We will have wrapped up all the conversions from the Olympics by then and there’s lots of work back there.”
“Oh no,” I said. The sunny day suddenly felt dark. “I’m going to miss you so much.”
Phil patted my hand. “I’m really going to miss you too. But we discussed all this before.” We were going to date long distance until we could find the right match for our jobs. I wasn’t in a position to move until I had at least finished my internship. The flight to Calgary was only ninety minutes, so we could spend weekends together.
He drove up the mountain until we got to Rice Lake. The weather was incredibly mild for February, something that the snowmakers had been complaining about all during the Olympics. We ran around the lake five times, and then Phil wanted to stop and sit down.
“I can’t believe you’re quitting. You’re always the one who wants to run for ages while I’m sweating and dying.”
“Are you sweating and dying now?” he asked.
“No. I feel fantastic.” Despite the bad news, I did feel great.
“It’s the magic cure for a tired Tanaka: exercise and fresh air.”
I grinned; he was totally right. I took a drink from my water bottle and leaned over and kissed him. “You know me so well.”
“Years of experience.”
We sat in silence for a bit. I was enjoying the calm after the hectic pace of the Olympics. I already felt less ripped up about Phil leaving. It would be a challenge, but we’d get through it. We had gotten through so much already. I leaned against his firm shoulder. Might as well get all the physical contact we could while he was here. Phil smiled down at me. “Remember when we got back together, I pledged I’d show you every day how much you meant to me?”
I smiled at him. The greatest pleasure was to love someone who needed you, but gave you so much as well. “You have. And I appreciate everything. I love you, Phil.”
“I’ve loved you for so long. Will you marry me?”
Everything spun for a moment. Marriage, already? But what else did we need? We’d known each other for so long, and right now things were perfect.
“Sure,” I replied.
Phil looked shocked. “Wow, that was easier than I thought.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box.
“You have a ring? Did you plan this whole thing?”
“I’ve been carrying it around for a while.” He put his arm around my shoulder. “Yo
u’re so adorable, and I wanted things to be perfect. But you had so much on with work, I didn’t want to ask when you were stressed out.”
“See, that’s why stress is bad for you. It wards off proposals.”
“I figured you were the last person in the world who would want a proposal.”
“I don’t want them from just anyone.” I put my arms around his neck and kissed him.
He fumbled uncharacteristically with the box but finally pulled out the ring. It sparkled blue and white.
“It’s so different,” I said. He slipped it on my finger, and I held out my hand to look. The setting was very simple, and the ring had diamonds and a beautiful dark blue stone.
“It’s a sapphire,” he explained, lifting my hand in his palm. “I wanted something that was one of a kind. I worked with this jewellery designer and came up with a ring that looked like you.”
It did. The ring was beautiful, and it would go with jeans or even—a wedding gown. A wedding gown? That was a scary thought.
I swallowed. “I love it. But we’re not getting married for ages, right?”
Phil laughed. “Now this is the reaction I was expecting. Obviously we can’t get married until we actually have jobs in the same city. But somebody smart told me that an engagement ring kept guys from hitting on her. So I figured that I’d take that precaution before I left town.”
“Hey, what about you? You’re not wearing an engagement ring.” All Phil had was one of those engineering rings. “How do women know you’re taken?”
“Doesn’t seem fair, does it? All I have is this complete blindness to every other female on the planet.”
“You better. Or I’m making up t-shirts that say ‘Property of Kelly Tanaka.’” I wasn’t really worried. Phil and I had confidence in each other. We’d both dated enough to know that what we had was the real thing. He didn’t get jealous anymore, and I laughed off the girls who tried to hit on him.
We were sitting side-by-side on the ground, and Phil’s arm was wrapped around me. To be outside in the fresh air with a view of the serene lake was wonderful. I took a deep breath in.
“It’s beautiful. Everything today is beautiful.” Then something twigged. “Hey, isn’t this the place where you kissed me for the first time?”
Phil scowled at me. “What? All this time you didn’t even remember? It was eight years ago—almost to the day. I planned this whole thing.” He shook his head in disgust. “Sometimes I wonder if you even have a romantic bone in your body.”
I wormed my way in front of him and kissed him on the nose. “Only when we’re having sex.”
He thought for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly. He smiled at me, his face relaxed and content. These days, he looked happy all the time.
“Of course, I remember kissing you. My very first kiss.” I punctuated that statement with a quick kiss on his lips. “Probably your billionth kiss.”
“Nope. My first kiss too.”
“Awww, that’s sweet.” I had assumed that Phil was more experienced from the beginning. I put my arms around his neck and kissed him for real. His lips were soft, and the pressure of his mouth was perfect. When he kissed me, I felt a little dizzy and a lot happy. Good thing too, because this was the guy I’d have to kiss for the rest of my life.
The End
Afterword
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the book. Please visit my website or join my mailing list to get advance notice of new works and bonus stories.
Recommending books you have enjoyed is how writers can flourish. If you liked the Hockey Is My Boyfriend series, I hope you will consider leaving an honest review wherever you find your book recommendations.
Acknowledgments
First off, I’d like to thank my lovely readers. Everyone who read Parts One and Two, then sent emails and compliments—you helped me to power through the long process of writing Part Three. I tried to make the best book I could, because you deserved that.
Secondly, I’d like to thank my writing friends who help me by reading, suggesting, and rolling their eyes when necessary. Kate Willoughby, for her humour and encouragement, as well as her terrible memory which makes every reading like the first time. Jaymee Jacobs, my partner in crime from the beginning, and a source of calm for me when I’m freaking out. Zoe York, who is my stealth marketing guru. I say stealth, because she doesn’t even know. I write down everything she advises in our writers chatroom and then do it. Please check out their books, all contemporary romance and many with hockey.
And thanks always to Daisy. She reads my drafts and reacts with laughter, tears and praise. That’s very motivating.
About the Author
Melanie Ting is a maker of lethal margaritas, a wrangler of cats, and a fan of hockey. You can find her dodging raindrops in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia, where most of her books are set.
You can also find me at:
@MelTing21
www.melanieting.blogspot.com
[email protected]
Also by Melanie Ting
How the Cookie Crumbles
She’s champagne and cupcakes. He’s beer and burgers.
Frankie Taylor has a perfectly organized life—including a checklist for her ideal man. Just when she thinks her dream boyfriend is going to propose, he dumps her instead. Heartbroken, she impulsively flees across the country. She lands in a small town where her only romantic prospect is unshaven, unsophisticated, and definitely not her type.
Jake Cookson likes living large. After the grind of playing hockey eight months of the year, he wants to party in the off-season. And while he doesn’t do commitment, he’s more than willing to have a summer fling with the curvy brunette who’s new in town. To his surprise, she’s unimpressed by his NHL fame, money, and athletic prowess.
Can Frankie throw away her plans for the future and appreciate what’s in front of her now? And can Jake even pronounce the word relationship?
Hockey Is My Boyfriend: Part Three Page 44