Gary tilts his head, taking in her concern. “All I can say is if you didn’t work with the Warriors, you wouldn’t have met Ty.”
“No, I wouldn’t have.”
“How’s it going between you and Ty?”
“Okay, I guess.” Eileen wipes a long strand of hair away from her face and tucks it behind her ear.
“He told me it’s going pretty well.”
“When did you talk to Ty?” she asks with growing suspicion.
“I talk to all the guys. But Ty came to talk to me and asked what I thought of him dating you.”
“Really?”
“He wanted to make sure I was okay with it.”
“I’m not marrying him!” She laughs.
“He likes you a lot. You know, Ty surprised me. He has a lot of respect. He’s a good guy. I thought it was nice of him, treating me like your father. . . .” He looks away. “I don’t normally consider one of the guys for my kids,” he says and glances at Elle. “He’s a good fit for you.”
Elle can’t help but grin slightly, trying not to show her emotions, even to her uncle, afraid of putting her heart out there and having it broken for everyone to see.
“You know, he got traded,” she says. “I have a dilemma. Ty was traded to L.A.”
“I know. What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know, really. He asked me to move with him,” she says. “I care for Ty a lot, but isn’t it too soon? We hardly know each other, but if I don’t go, it would be over between us.”
“You have nothing to lose, do you?”
“But L.A.?”
“I think you should follow your heart.”
“And chase Ty down?”
“He cares about you. I can see how he talks about you.”
“I know. . . . I care about him.”
“Then you should go with him.”
“Hmmm. When does he leave?”
“That all depends on when he’s due to start with the team. I’m not exactly sure. My guess is right away.”
“I don’t know how to make up my mind. Can I leave everything behind and start somewhere new?”
“Of course you can! Maybe not right away, but you are a smart woman. You’ll figure it out.”
Eileen says good-bye to her uncle, jumps into her car, and drives off, feeling desperate to see Ty. What will she say to him? What is her plan? Can they carry on a long-distance relationship? Would he want to?
She grips her steering wheel, thinking she was getting used to him making cocky remarks and telling her how she turns him on with her quick wit. He isn’t the typical guy she’s used to. He isn’t like other guys she’s met or gone out with, and he definitely isn’t Mario.
Eileen focuses on the road, convincing herself that she needs to know where they stand with each other. Is she going to be a pit stop when he comes to town, or is she more than that? If she gives up everything here, what does she have there? What does she want from him? That is a question that is hard to answer because there are lots of wants in her life, like a man who would be there for her and protect her when she needed reassuring. Eileen wants to one day get married and have children and teach her kids how to skate just like her dad taught her.
Eileen parks her car in visitor parking. Is this the right thing to do? Show up unannounced and expect him to take her in his arms and tell her that she’s the only one he wants? Why does Ty make her feel wanted and important when she has nothing to give?
Eileen alarms her car and walks apprehensively to the front door, fidgeting with her keys until she decides to throw them into the purse Brooke made for her. How did she and Ty get this far? From the beginning, she thought the relationship wouldn’t amount to anything—how could it? They have their own lives to live, even if the attraction is obvious. And now she can’t imagine being away from him.
“Here to see Mr. Caldwell?” the concierge asks Elle when she gets to the lobby doors.
She looks up at him in surprise. “Yes . . . yes, I am. Unless he’s already gone. I might have missed him, since he’s busy packing and moving. . . .”
“I’ll let him know that you’re here. I’m sorry—I can’t remember your name.”
“Eileen,” she tells him, recalling she never did introduce herself to him.
The gray-haired man turns around and picks up the outside phone. “You know what? I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here,” she says, shaking her head. “He’s busy. I’ll call him . . .” she stammers and saunters back to her car.
“Miss!” he yells. “Mr. Caldwell is home.”
She turns around. “Thanks. I’ll talk to him later.”
What is she doing here? What is she going to say that hasn’t been said? Seeing Ty will only make her hurt more, knowing she won’t see him again. How long can she go without seeing him?
Eileen unlocks her car door. She sits in the driver seat, unsure of what to do. She is numb with disappointment. Why couldn’t she make up her mind? Why is this so difficult for her? She knew he’d get traded eventually; it was always a risk getting involved with him.
“Elle!” a voice shouts as she closes her car door, and a hand stops her, forcing the door open. Elle looks up and her eyes meet Ty’s as though she just felt the first signs of spring. He inhales deeply, catching a breath.
“Hi,” he says. “What’s going on?”
Eileen doesn’t answer. Her eyes soften and she glances at the ground, trying to find the words that will help her explain her actions.
“I’m so confused,” she admits. Her misty eyes look up at him, and he takes her hand in his to pull her out of the car. She folds her arms to her chest, telling herself she can’t cry. This is the last of Ty Caldwell, she realizes.
“I didn’t think you cared,” he says.
“I do.”
His hair is messy. He’s wearing his favorite hat backwards, flip-flops, an old T-shirt, and board shorts. His healthy skin glows, and his facial expression shows a deeper sensation in his eyes.
“Are you here to tell me you’re not coming with me?” he asks.
She presses her lips together. “I can’t,” she says in a mere whisper.
“Why not?”
“I have jobs,” she says as though he needs reminding.
He sighs. “Come on, this is the perfect time to quit. You can open your own hockey school in L.A.”
“Where would I live? Realistically I would have to find a place. It would be a new life, Ty, and I can’t just move with nothing.” Her body aches; her eyes close. The realization is clear.
“But you wouldn’t have nothing,” he says. “You would have me.” He grabs for her hands.
“Ty,” she says, looking at him as though trying to knock some sense into him.
“You’re on the road a lot. How is that possible?” She squeezes his hand.
Silence hugs the moment, and their eyes drift everywhere but at each other, hoping to find answers in the sky, down the road, on the rosebush in the parking lot. . . .
“Can we go upstairs and talk?” he whispers.
She doesn’t know what that would accomplish; however, she follows him up to his place. They barely say a word until they’re in his suite.
“You move quickly,” she says when she walks through the door, noting the stack of boxes.
“I’ll be in L.A. before my furniture.”
“Looks that way,” she says and walks into the open kitchen that is adjacent to the entranceway.
“I can’t even offer you a seat—the couch is covered up with moving blankets. I do have a kitchen stool; it’s in the other room.”
“Don’t worry about it, I don’t mind standing. Besides, I won’t be here long. I just wanted to clear something up,” she says, bracing her hands together.
Ty stands with his hands on his hips like he is posing for a clothing ad.
“I don’t want to come between you and your job, so I think it’s best to just pretend nothing happened and we go our separate ways.”
&nb
sp; Ty moves closer to her and searches her eyes. “What? That’s impossible for me. My feelings for you are stronger than ever.”
“How can that be? We’ve only been together for a short time.”
“I think we have something and I don’t want to ignore what we have. I’m sorry that I have to move cities, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue with us.” He points to her and then himself.
“How? Really, Ty, how is that possible?” She can feel the fear and disappointment rise in her chest.
Finally, Eileen meets a guy she cares enough about, and he is leaving her. What happens now? Is it foolish to think she will ever find happiness with someone else? Is this the way her life is supposed to be played out? Being single, belonging to those singles clubs that go out every Friday night dancing together and then it evolves into dinner and then vacationing together on a singles’ cruise? Eileen wants more than that. She wants a man home every night, a house that is well lived in, a hallway dedicated to family pictures, and children sitting at the kitchen table doing their homework after school. Would she ever live that life? It seems so foreign to think about.
As she sits pondering her thoughts, Ty gently asks, “What’s stopping you from moving?”
“I have my skating school, and Brooke and Kelly.” Is that all she has? She realizes that she doesn’t have a lot. Eileen looks up to see his eyes and asks in a loving but sincere tone, “What would I do in L.A.?”
Her life is here, in Vancouver.
“I don’t know,” he answers honestly, dropping his face to stare at his bare feet. “I thought about that too.”
“That’s just it. I have my life here,” she pleads.
He lifts his head, letting himself fall back against the couch. “Can you hire someone to take your place at the rink and open a new skating school in L.A.?”
“I wish it were that easy. It’s a lot of work. It has taken me years to build up my credentials to get this far.”
His mouth comes together like he’s processing what she’s saying.
“Let’s be realistic,” she says. “We both have our own careers.... That’s just the way it is, and if we want to work around our schedules, then that’s what we’ll have to do. Otherwise . . .” She pauses and bows her head so that she doesn’t have to look at him when she says, “We know nothing will come of this, not the way it is right now. I mean, we’re in different cities, different countries. We’d be kidding ourselves if we think this can work out.”
“Kidding ourselves?” Ty asks, falling back against the kitchen counter. His eyebrows lift in confusion. “What are you talking about, Elle? I thought you felt the same way I do.”
“I do, I just don’t like the way this is going,” she admits. “You know . . . me . . . you . . . this whole thought of us,” Eileen says with caution. Could they really consider themselves a couple? They’ve been together for such a short time, so what were they? Just two people, attracted to each other? “Would it really work?”
“Damn it, Elle! Of course it can! Why can’t it? Why don’t you believe in us?”
She walks past him, going to the window for a change of scenery. “Because . . . you know how it’s going, and how can we sustain what we have?”
“It takes two people who are dedicated to making it the way they both want it.”
“We’re not talking marriage,” she says softly.
He puts his hands on his hips. “I know. . . . Of course we’re not. We’re talking about moving in together so that we can see each other more,” he says. “This can work, I know it can . . . unless you don’t want it to.”
“No! I want it to work, but we aren’t twenty years old with nothing,” she reminds him. “We’re both established in our careers, and I’m not giving that up for a chance that this could or couldn’t work. It’s a gamble. A huge gamble for me.” This is when she misses her mom, times like these when she needs advice. What would her mom say if she were alive?
“Look, I was leery about us dating—you know that. I was afraid that it would turn out this way, and now look where it’s gotten us.”
“You have to take chances, Elle. Had you not taken the job with the Warriors, we wouldn’t have met.”
“You’re right and I don’t know where this will lead, but I can’t move with you. This is probably a good time for us to go our separate ways,” she says, guarded in her tone of voice. She tries not to choke on the words when she continues, “It would be best for both of us, don’t you think?” She eyes his messy do and two-day-old facial hair. “You have your life, I have mine. We’re that odd couple. One wants one thing; the other person wants something entirely different.” She tries to find a reasonable excuse, but she’s not sure she has one.
Ty shakes his head. “I don’t agree with you.”
“No?”
“No, I don’t. I thought things were good between us. I thought this is what you wanted,” he says, pacing, rubbing his forehead, trying to figure out this situation they got themselves into. “This is what I want. Is breaking up really what you want?” He takes her hand and rubs the top of her hand with his thumb. The soothing, coaxing rhythm of his touch makes it harder to move on.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with what I want. It’s how it is, and how it’s going to be when we’re both living in different countries,” she says, softly. “You have a busy career and are never around anyway during hockey season, and what am I going to do, keep doing what I’m doing and hope that I’ll see you the next time you’re in town? I don’t want that. Besides, people change,” she says, having a flashback of how much Mario has changed. “We’ll hardly see each other.”
For a moment, silence hushes their thoughts. He looks away as though ashamed. Neither one of them could have predicted their feelings and how much they both wanted to be together, but they are stubborn and neither one wants to give in.
“Come with me,” he says, pulling her into him. “I mean it, move to L.A. with me,” he begs, putting his arm around her. Their bodies are fully embraced.
“And live, where? In a city where I don’t know anyone?” she cries into his chest.
“Think of it as a mini-adventure, a new city, a new job, a new life. . . .”
“That’s a lot to ask of someone.”
“That depends on how they feel.”
Eileen looks up to meet his eyes. “It would be different if I had nothing to lose.” Did she though? “Besides, as soon as your plane lands, you’ll forget about us and move on.”
“You think so?” he asks sternly.
“That’s how it is,” she says, trying to convince herself.
“You’re wrong.” He holds her firmly.
“Okay, then, what happens if you’re only there for a year? Then what happens?”
“We pack up and move again. There’s no foundation, you know that.”
“You are on the road a lot. When would we see each other? You would have your place, I would have mine.”
“You know, Elle, even if I wasn’t traded, I’d still consider what we have.”
She closes her eyes, trying to stop the tears.
“I just know we’re meant to be together,” he says. “Are you scared?”
“Of what?”
“Of me cheating, doing what Mario did to you?” he asks softly.
She closes her eyes again. This time she can’t help the tears that are welling up, blurring her vision. But it’s not why she’s crying. She’s crying because she realizes that she’s going to lose another person in her life that she loves.
Eileen feels his hand on her back, rubbing it as though soothing her worries. “I’m not Mario, and I would never do what he did, I promise. You have my word.” His voice is calm and reassuring.
A rush of tender emotions comes over her. She believes him.
Ty pecks her on the forehead and then brushes his nose against her earlobe, and he takes her head in his hands and kisses her deeply. His hands roll down her arms. He strokes her hair. “I love
you,” Ty says, bringing her chin up so he can see her eyes. “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before.” His voice fades into a whisper; he clears his throat as though trying not to choke up.
Eileen fears more than anything that they will go their separate ways and he will find someone else to fulfill him.
“Where does this lead us?” she whispers, breaking away from him, searching his eyes for clarity. “Visit whenever you are in Vancouver? But even then they are very short visits, since the flight is less than three hours. I’m sure you’ll go home the same night.”
“You can visit me.”
“How often? You only play here maybe three times a season.”
“When I’m playing at home, you can spend the weekend.”
“I suppose.”
As much as she doesn’t care about venturing off to see different places, the thought of spending time with Ty makes it seem exciting and fun.
She smiles at him, enjoying the thought, imagining what it would be like hanging out at the best tourist destinations and waking up beside him every morning.
“I guess I should leave so that you can finish up,” she says, taking a small step backwards.
“I want you to consider us, consider what we have. You don’t have to give me an answer now. It’s a lot to take in, I understand.” He glances at his watch and then looks at her. “I’m expecting a call from my agent. Darrel should be calling with the details. I’ll be able to tell you where I’m staying.”
He takes her hands in his. “We’ll see each other before you know it.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so,” he says gently as he stares into her eyes. “I guess this is it.”
“I guess so,” Eileen says, not wanting to let go of his hands.
“I want you to promise you’ll visit me,” he says.
“I will.”
“And I’ll call you when I know where I’ll be.”
Eileen relaxes her shoulders, tilts her head slightly to one side, and gazes at him, lost in a moment of doubt.
“When I find a place—hopefully it won’t take me long—I’ll call you to let you know where I am,” he says, following her to the door. “I’ll give you Darrel’s phone number, just in case, for some reason, we can’t connect and you need to reach me.”
His Game, Her Rules Page 24