Back to Me

by Lindsay Paige

  The players skate onto the ice. Lizzy immediately shakes her head and bolts out of the room. Sylvia follows after her.

  Ooooooookay, then.

  My gaze returns to the ice, immediately finding that head of black hair. My favorite thing about Noah playing is the fact that he doesn’t wear a helmet during warmups. His hair flies back as he skates around the ice. A breathy sigh slips out when he starts to stretch. God, he looks ridiculously hot. Between his hair, the uniform, the stretching, how can anyone resist a hockey player? Especially my hockey player?

  Life is just so good right now. It can only get better and I have no doubt that even the bad days will be good if only for the fact that Noah is with me. We can get through anything at this point. I can’t wait to officially be Mrs. Noah Ramsey.

  Sylvia plops into the seat next to me right after the national anthem as well as Canada’s national anthem is sung.

  “Is that her?” I blurt out.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, where is she? Is she excited about meeting Marc?”

  Sylvia turns in her seat toward me. “As excited as she can be. She’s just outside. She’s not going to watch the game with us. She isn’t too thrilled about him being a hockey player. However, she’s still going to the bar with us afterward. I told Marc I wanted him to meet someone, so I’m hoping the sparks fly and this won’t be all for nothing.”

  There’s so many questions I want to ask, but something about Sylvia’s demeanor makes me bite my tongue. Instead, I ask a question off topic. “How are the girls?”

  “I regret watching Leo for you. The girls are begging Scott for a puppy. He wants to give in and get them one, but the twins are enough of a handful. I do not want to watch and take care of a puppy.”

  We talk about her girls and plan on a lunch date next week. I’m starting to get both excited and nervous about Marc meeting this woman. Hopefully, it goes well, but in the back of my mind, I keep hearing Sylvia say how she’s the opposite of Marc. I just can’t see him with someone who isn’t just like him. But what do I know? Maybe she’ll be perfect for him.

  The guys come out onto the ice flying. I can tell from that moment that this is going to be a good game, if only because they are ready to fight for the win. My attention swings back and forth between the game and Sylvia when she’s not talking to Theresa. She’s so hopeful this will work out between Marc and Lizzy. I hope so, too. Marc is going to be in a great mood after the game. He scored a goal and got a few assists along the way.

  Sylvia leaves when there’s a minute left to go. The Rebels have a healthy lead, and she’s deeming it safe enough to go. Plus, she wants to check on Lizzy. Once the buzzer has sounded to officially end the game, I’m right behind her, heading to the bar.

  I spot them easily enough, arriving at the same time as Theresa. Sylvia formally introduces me to Lizzy. The woman gives us a small smile and steadily sips from her drink. She doesn’t engage in conversation with us. She mostly stares at her drink and takes frequent sips. I don’t have a good feeling about her.

  Marc puts an arm around my shoulder and an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulder. “Ladies,” he grins. “Your favorite Rebel is here.” I laugh and shake my head while he plants a quick kiss on my cheek. Lizzy finally looks at him. “You I don’t know. What’s your name, beautiful?”

  Okay, so he thinks she’s beautiful. That’s good. Unless he’s just talking shit. I don’t think he is though because she is pretty. Unfortunately, she’s just staring at him.

  “Marc, this is Elizabeth,” Sylvia comes in to rescue her. “We call her Lizzy, though.”

  Lizzy is still staring at him. This is so going to blow up in his face. He leans in, whispering something in her ear before pulling away and waving a waitress over. He orders himself a beer and soon, my man is here. I know because he touches my lower back and gives me a quick kiss when I turn my head. Scott is also here and he introduces Lizzy to the other guys who have arrived. Sylvia can’t stop grinning. I’m not sure why, though. Lizzy doesn’t look thrilled.

  At all.

  I wish I could pull Marc away and tell him that she is obviously not someone he should go out with, but the waitress drops off his beer, causing him to remove his arm from my shoulders to hold it. Lizzy glances at Scott, who is laughing at Noah. I should probably pay more attention, but Marc has turned his focus to Lizzy, and it’s like a movie I can’t stop watching.

  “How’d you get included in this group?” he asks her.

  “I’m an old friend of Scott and Sylvia’s,” she replies curtly.

  “Just in town visiting then?”

  Did Sylvia not tell him anything about her? Even I know before she says it that she lives here.

  “Then how come I’ve never seen your lovely face before?”

  It’s difficult to hold in my laugh. Lizzy isn’t impressed either.

  “Lovely? Really?” She downs the rest of her drink and Marc stops a waitress walking by, even though she’s not the waitress who has been tending to us, and orders her another drink.

  “You are quite possibly the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’ve seen a lot of beautiful women.”

  I can’t stop the giggles this time. Marc glares at me, but I can’t help it. This is the first time I’ve seen him try to charm a woman.

  “I’m guessing by her laugh, that’s another line,” Lizzy says in a flat tone.

  “Ignore Meredith. She doesn’t know anything.” The waitress drops off her drink and he says, “Tell me about yourself, Elizabeth.”

  “Lizzy. I’m a bank teller.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Quit being so nosy,” Noah whispers in my ear.

  “Ssh,” I shush him. He’s making me miss their conversation.

  “Don’t you want to go home?” He kisses my neck. “Poor Leo is at home all by himself. He needs a treat for being a good boy, and I need a treat for being a good hockey player and fiancé.”

  I roll my eyes, but Marc’s laugh pulls me back to his conversation.

  “Why do I need to smile?” Lizzy asks.

  “I want to know you’re capable. And if you can be this beautiful frowning, then I can’t imagine what you’d be like smiling.”

  “You’re full of shit,” Lizzy fires at him. “Anyone ever tell you that?”

  “And you’re a piece of work,” he easily replies.

  I poke his arm and he looks at me. “What are you doing?” I whisper, watching Lizzy attempt to remove his arm from her shoulders and he puts it right back.

  “Are you upset that I called her the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen? Are you getting jealous, Meredith? You hear this, Rams?” I laugh as he wiggles his eyebrows at me. “Your woman wants me.” He yelps and swivels to look at Lizzy, who is now smiling and laughing.

  “Are you sure you want him at our wedding?” Noah asks me.

  “Absolutely. We can’t not invite everyone’s favorite Rebel.”

  Noah shakes his head. “Mere, I love you, but the love fest with Marco has to stop.”

  I roll my eyes. “Don’t be jealous. You’re the one who gets to take me home and who gets to marry me. That means you’re extra special.”

  He grins, but then we’re distracted by the screech Lizzy’s chair makes as she scrambles out of it. If it wasn’t for Scott reaching out to steady her, she’d be on the floor right now. She looks angry as she says something to him, but I can’t hear what.

  Marc must, though, because he says, “Hey, I was just messin’ with you, Elizabeth. No need to get your panties in a bunch and leave.”

  She quickly glares at him. “It’s Lizzy!” she nearly shouts.

  The table falls silent at the commotion.

  “You’re one uptight woman, aren’t you?”

  Oh, my god! What is Marc doing? Why does he keep sticking his foot in his mouth? Lizzy’s jaw nearly hits the floor.

  “That’s enough, Marco,” Scott tells him.

  “Marco?” Lizzy asks, c
onfused much like I was when I first heard it.

  “His last name is Polinski, so they call him Marco Polo,” I say.

  It takes all of a second before she’s holding her stomach while she laughs. She’s definitely drunk. Maybe that’s why she’s a bit on the bitchy side? Or maybe she’s just too nervous? “Marco,” she laughs.

  “Polo,” Marc answers, sending her into hysterics again. He seems mesmerized by her. I don’t get it. They have obviously not hit it off. But he must see something I don’t. The moment she calms down, she starts laughing again after glancing at Marc. “Go on a date with me.”

  Lizzy immediately stops laughing. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Yes!” Sylvia shouts. “She says yes.”

  “I do not.” Lizzy shakes her head.

  “You said if there was a spark, you’d let me set you up,” Sylvia says.

  “There’s no spark,” Lizzy insists. There’s something going on for Marc to ask her out. I don’t think he’s even been on a date since I met him. “There’s not!” Lizzy exclaims. She looks to Scott for help. He says something to her, I can’t make out what, but after some back and forth, she turns to Marc. “Okay.” To Scott, she says, “Now take me home.”

  “I’ll take you,” Marc quickly says.

  “She’d love that,” Sylvia answers for her once again.

  “He’s been drinking,” Lizzy replies.

  Marc grins, says, “Haven’t touched it,” and lifts his beer to prove it.

  After a moment, Lizzy gives in. “Fine.”

  Marc puts his arm around her shoulders again and says, “See you guys later,” as he begins to lead her away.

  “Did he pay for his beer?” Noah asks the waitress as she brings him another water since he has to drive home. She shakes her head and he hands her some cash to cover it.

  “Aw, you’re such a good friend,” I tell him.

  “He’ll just have to buy me a beer when he eventually takes us out to dinner. You ready to go?”

  I want to discuss Lizzy with Sylvia some more, but Noah has never asked if I was ready to leave before, so I’m assuming he’s tired and ready to go. “Sure,” I answer. Poor Leo is probably ready for us to be home, too.

  The ride home seems to take too long. I start yawning and realize I’m tired too. We’re completely surprised to find Marc’s truck pulling into an empty parking space on the other side of my car. What is he doing here?

  “What’s up?” Noah asks once we’re all out of our vehicles.

  “I found her,” Marc answers.

  “What? Who is she?” Noah asks, like he knows what’s going on.

  Well, I don’t! “Who are we talking about?”

  “It’s Elizabeth,” Marc says.

  Okay, that tells me nothing.

  “No shit. Really?” Noah seems surprised, and I do not like being the only one who is clueless.

  “Can someone please fill me in?” My question is more of a demand than anything.

  “Let’s go inside,” Noah says. As we walk to the elevators, he starts explaining things to me. “Marco met someone at the Halloween party, had sex with her in his truck, but she ran away. He asked a few of the guys about her, but no one remembered seeing her. He’s been obsessively thinking about her ever since. Turns out, the girl from the party is Lizzy. You’re all caught up.”

  “Oh.” So, Marc has already met Lizzy, and he likes her? We step off the elevator.

  “What’s with the lackluster oh?” Marc asks.

  “Well, Sylvia told me a while back she wanted to set you up with someone, and that it would take a lot of convincing for whomever it was and that she was hoping the whole opposites attract thing would work. I can’t imagine you with someone like Lizzy based on what Sylvia said and how she was tonight.”

  Noah unlocks the door. I go straight to Leo. I’d rather stay and get more details, but Leo needs to go out. I excuse myself, hoping I can wrap my mind around what I’ve learned by the time I return. If Marc wants to go after Lizzy, then we need to be supportive. I just can’t believe he hit it off with her, especially since she didn’t reciprocate that at all. The most I can do is wish them luck, and hope if they do start dating, that she doesn’t break Marco’s heart.

  When I make it back to the apartment, Marc is about to leave. He kisses my cheek and makes his escape. I look at Noah who shrugs before going to sit on the couch.

  “Don’t shrug at me,” I say as I unhook Leo’s leash from his collar.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Tell me what was said while I was outside with Leo.” I plop down onto the couch next to him.

  “Marco has his hands full with this girl. That’s pretty much all that was said.”

  I already figured as much. “Think she’ll be Marc’s date to our wedding?”

  “If Marc has anything to say about it, yeah.”

  “Who’s coming to our wedding anyway?” I reach over and grab the legal pad off the end table as well as a pen. I flip to a clean page and write ‘Guest List’ at the top.

  Noah reaches over, plucks the paper and pen out of my hand and tosses them both behind the couch.

  “What—?”

  “We’ll do it tomorrow,” he interrupts, grabbing my hand and pulling me into his lap. “I let you have your way and we talked wedding details last time. This time, I’m having my way.” His hands glide up my arms until they cup the back of my neck. He pulls me closer, my forehead resting against his. “I’m glad you came back to me,” he tells me quietly.

  “Best decision I ever made.”

  Noah flashes a grin before kissing me. Definitely the best thing I ever did.

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  Acknowledgements

  THANK YOU, KRISTALYN Thornock. You have been so helpful and I don’t know what I would do without you. Best friend and best helper a girl could ask for!

  Thank you, Heidi Grubb. I’m so grateful that you take the time to beta read for me!

  Thank you, Shannon Page. You are such a pleasure to work with and you do a great job.

  Thank you, Robin from Wicked by Design. You always work with me and give me a cover I love. I’m also super in love with the logo.

  Thank you, Julie from JT Formatting. You’re simply the best! I love working with you and you’re simply awesome.

  Thank you, reader. I’m excited about returning to hockey romance with the Carolina Rebels series and I hope you’ll enjoy this new adventure with me! Thank you for your support. I couldn’t do this without you!

  LINDSAY PAIGE IS the author of multiple Young Adult, New Adult, and Sports romances. She has also coauthored sports romances with Mary Smith. Along with writing, she loves reading, watching hockey, especially the Pittsburgh Penguins, and finding funny terrible puns and recipes on Pinterest. All the while, she is also focused on completing college.

  Lindsay resides in North Carolina and is inspired by the world around her and the people in it. She is currently working on numerous solo works.

  If you would like to hear news before anyone else, interact with Lindsay, and have a place to discuss her book with fellow fans, join Lindsay’s League on Facebook.

  Author Links:

  Website: lindsaypaige.com

  Twitter: twitter.com/lindsaypaige11

  Facebook: facebook.com/authorlindsaypaige

  Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorlindsay/

  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorlindsaypaige/

  Lindsay has written the following books/series:

  Bending Under Pressure

  Bold as Love series

  Bracing for Love series

  Carolina Rebels series

  Don’t Panic

  Sanity series

  Without a Doubt

  You Before Me

  She has co-written t
he following series:

  The Penalty Kill trilogy

  Oh Captain, My Captain series

  The Ninth Inning series

  Here’s a sneak peek of Because It’s You, which includes a prologue and the first chapter. Please note that this is not the final version. There may be changes/differences between this and what is included in the final version of Because It’s You.

  THIS IS UTTERLY ridiculous. How did I let Sylvia talk me into this? She’s given me space, but I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. All I’ve done so far is stand at the bar, order drinks, and drink them. Well, I keep pulling my dress down too. It shouldn’t even be called a dress.

  Sylvia’s bright idea was to put me in a piece of green cloth that starts across my breasts and ends two inches from my ass. I feel like either a nipple or cheek is about to pop out and flash everyone at any second. My dress is layered with green leaves and vines. I’m wearing green fish net stockings, a red pair of stilettos, or hooker heels as I deemed them, and a mask over my eyes that has leaves over it. I’m even wearing a red wig. I’m supposed to be Poison Ivy from one of the Batman movies, but I feel like a pile of leaves with a touch of Christmas with all the red going on.

  It’s bad enough she wants me to start dating again, but to insist I come to this Halloween party hosted by one of Scott’s friends is crossing the line! No, the line was crossed when she dressed me in this...this...thing! Sure, my boobs look good, but that’s what happens when you’re wearing a lacy push up bra, because yes, she even bought my undergarments. My face had to be as red as the wig on my head when I saw that was included in the bag. On top of everything else, the wig is making me hot. It seems hot in here anyway. The last thing I need is to start sweating.

  My dear sister-in-law is out of her mind. She said she just wants me to look great and have fun, but she’s hoping I get laid.

  Fat chance of that happening.

  She couldn’t pay me to have sex with someone. How many times does she need to hear, “I’m not ready,” before it gets through that thick skull of hers? Apparently, more times than I feel like saying it.