Play to Win

by Kelly Jamieson

  I freeze in shock at seeing Théo’s brother.

  “Uh…JP. Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  “Théo’s not here.”

  “I know. He’s in Vegas.”

  “How’d you know that?”

  “Everyone knows that. I saw him on TV last night.”

  I saw him on TV too, looking so handsome and professional in his suit and tie.

  “Can I come in? I need to talk to you.”

  “Why me?” I stare at him as I move aside to let him enter the condo.

  He walks in. “Because you know Théo. You know what’s going on with him.”

  “Uh…yeah.” I’m not sure what he’s talking about. I move around him and lead the way to the living room, gesturing at the couch. “Have a seat. Can I get you anything? Coffee?”

  “Nah. I’m good. This is a great place.” He crosses to the big couch.

  “It is.” I sit in an armchair. “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “Did he tell you about…Emma and me? What happened?”

  “You mean when you both betrayed him and stabbed him in the back?” I narrow my eyes at him. “Yes. He told me.”

  He winces. “I need to know something.”

  I chew on my bottom lip. “What?”

  “What did Théo tell you about Emma? About how things ended?”

  I think back. “He said he found her cheating on him with you. He said…you were staying with him last summer. Visiting Vegas for a while. He came home early and found you two on the couch…”

  JP hangs his head, nodding. “Did he tell you that he’d already broken up with her before that happened?”

  I frown. “No.” I squint at him. “I don’t think that makes it much better frankly, if you’re looking for forgiveness.”

  He shakes his head. “That’s not what I’m looking for. I know I fucked up. Big-time.”

  “Yep.” I nod firmly. “But in any case, no…they were still together when that happened.” I pause. “Weren’t they?”

  “Emma told me they weren’t. She told me she’d ended things with him, because she had feelings for me. We’d been hanging around for a couple of weeks, mostly with Théo, but sometimes just she and I would do things…chill at the pool, or go to a show when he was busy. There was an…attraction between us.” He swipes a hand over his face and looks away. “I was at Théo’s place when she showed up. She said she came to get some of her things she’d left there. I know I shouldn’t have hooked up with her, regardless, but it was hard to resist when she was right there coming on to me, and she’s really hot and she was telling me how great I was compared to Théo…who’s always, always been better than me at everything.”

  My eyes fly open wide. I stare at him. Then I slowly stand and move over to the couch to sit next to him, my heart swelling with sympathy. I can imagine Théo was a hard older brother to live up to—not only athletically talented, but brilliant. And insanely gorgeous. But I say, “I’m sure that’s not true.”

  “It’s true. And I lost my mind.” He shakes his head. “It’s okay, this has all just proved that point. He is better than me.” His tone is laced with bitterness.

  I actually do feel sorry for him, even though he did a terrible thing and hurt Théo. “Backing up, though…” I say slowly. “Emma lied to you about ending things with Théo.”

  “Apparently. Théo didn’t exactly want to have a conversation about it. He kicked us both out. We drove back to L.A. together. He wouldn’t talk to me about it.”

  “Do you blame him?” I level an incredulous stare on him.

  “No.” He sighs. “I get it. But…I just found out that Emma recently told him the same thing…that we’d broken up.”

  “Ohhh.” I nibble my bottom lip. “How did you find out about that?”

  “Everly.”

  I suck in a long, slow breath and let it out. Well, I never told her that was a secret, and she was talking about trying to help JP and Théo get past this. I don’t know if Everly told him she heard it from me, though. “I see.”

  “She wanted to get back with him.”

  I nod. “Yeah. He told me.”

  “Oh. Okay. Wow. That’s…great.”

  “Why is that great?”

  “Obviously you two have a strong relationship if he can be that honest with you.”

  “Oh. Yeah. Théo is an honest person.”

  “Yeah. He is. Of course he is.”

  Annoyance flares inside me. “You know, Théo hasn’t exactly had things easy his whole life.”

  JP looks up at me. “You mean his injury.”

  “Well, yeah, that was a pretty big blow. Especially to a guy people didn’t believe could play professional hockey.”

  “Everyone always knew he’d play in the NHL. He’s a Wynn.”

  “They didn’t always know that,” I say quietly. “He didn’t always know that. I guess you didn’t know about the kids that made fun of him when he was young. Or the hockey coaches who didn’t want him on their teams.”

  “What?” He frowns. “Didn’t want him on their teams?”

  I nod. “Yes. Your parents probably sheltered you from that.”

  “Shit.” His eyebrows pull together. “I did know about the bullying. I stuck up for him when kids called him names and made fun of him. I was two years younger though, and some of those kids were big. Once I got in an actual fistfight.” He grimaces. “I took a shit kicking.”

  “You did that for Théo?” I gaze at him in awe.

  “Yeah. He’s my brother.”

  I press a hand to my heart, my eyes brimming with tears. “You two really need to talk.”

  “You think?” He meets my eyes. “I had to find out…if it was true or not that Emma had ended things with him. Because then she lied to me…twice.”

  “Are you in love with her?” My heart beats faster, hoping he’s not, because damn, this woman has really messed things up for two brothers who really love each other.

  He closes his eyes and exhales sharply. “I don’t know.”

  I set a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry. It hurts.”

  The door opens and Théo walks in.

  He stops short at seeing us. His face goes stiff, his mouth a harsh line. “What the hell is going on here?”

  I jump up. “Théo! You’re not supposed to be here.”

  He scowls. “I can’t fucking believe this.” He glares at his brother. “What the fuck, JP?”

  JP stands. “Théo.”

  “Why are you back?” I rush over to hug him, happy to see him but confused.

  He shakes his head, his face rigid, his expression forbidding. He steps back from me.

  I stop, my heart lurching. “What’s wrong?”

  “What’s wrong?” He waves a hand at me, then JP. “What’s wrong?” This comes out as a near bellow.

  Oh. Oh no. He doesn’t think…oh my God. “No, no, Théo.” I grab his arm. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Where have I heard that before?” he snaps. “Fuck this.” He turns and heads back to the door.

  “Wait! Théo, wait, seriously, this isn’t anything.”

  “Get back here and talk to us,” JP calls. “Bro, you’re being a dumbass.”

  Théo stops, then turns his head and says over his shoulder, “Yeah, I sure as hell am.”

  Then he grabs his suitcase and slams out the door.

  After a shocked beat, I run after Théo, my feet bare, out onto the sidewalk. The sand there is cool beneath my soles and I skid in it, nearly falling. I parked Théo’s car on the street when I got home, and he’s already there, tossing his case into the trunk and yanking open his door. “Théo! Stop!”

  He shakes his head. “Got a
flight to catch.”

  I watch him drive away, my mouth open, my eyes wide. What the hell?

  I turn back to JP, who followed me to the door.

  “Well, shit,” he says. “Does he seriously think we were screwing around on him?”

  “He can’t possibly think that. If he does, he’s an idiot.” I well know he’s not an idiot, but sometimes very smart people can be kind of clueless. I roll my eyes. “I’ll call him and explain things.”

  “Okay. Shit.” He presses his thumb and fingertips to his forehead. “What the hell is he doing showing up?”

  “Uh, he lives here.” Never mind I had the same reaction. “You can understand why he’d be freaked out.”

  “Yeah, but this is different.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him that you’re ready to…apologize to him.” I study him. “You are, right?”

  “Yeah,” he mutters.

  I nod. “Okay.”

  He nods glumly. “Sorry to cause problems. I just came here to…I don’t know. I wanted to confirm I’m right about Emma and I was right to tell her I never want to see her again.”

  “You told her that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, good.” I blow out a breath. “Okay, when Théo gets back from Vancouver, we’ll all get together and sort things out. It’ll be fine.”

  JP leaves and I sink down onto the couch. My heart hurts that Théo could actually think I would do something like that—cheat on him. Cheat on him with his own brother. I hate that he’s hurting. But I’ll explain things, and it’ll be fine.

  I go grab my phone out of my purse and call him, but it goes to voicemail. I leave a message. “Hey, it’s me. You are being a dumbass. Call me back; we need to talk.”

  By the time I have to leave for work, he still hasn’t called. Okay, he’s probably on a plane and can’t. I send him a text that he’ll get when he lands. JP came to talk to me about Emma. He knows she’s a bitch who lied to you both and they broke up and he’s ready to apologize to u. U 2 need to talk.

  I hit send.

  Then I type more. And if u think I was cheating on u with ur brother, u really are a dumbass. Send.

  I still haven’t gotten a reply by the time I’m done working at nine.

  Now I’m getting pissed.

  Chapter 24

  Lacey

  “Whoa. What the hell?”

  “What?”

  I just opened the envelope that has my Vegas apartment as the return address and now hold in my hands a check for a thousand dollars.

  I show it to Taylor. “From Chris.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “I know.” I shake my head. “Where did he get this money? Oh jeez.” My stomach cramps. “He must be still gambling.”

  She makes a face, looking anxious.

  “Ugh. Where’s my phone? I have to call him. Even though he probably won’t answer.” I tap his number in my contacts and it rings. To my surprise, he answers. “Hey, Lace.”

  “Chris.” I hesitate. I’m so surprised he answered, and so happy to hear his voice my heart squeezes. “How are you?”

  “Not bad. How are you?”

  “Okay. I, uh, got your check today in the mail.”

  “Oh. Good.” I hesitate. “Chris…where did you get the money?”

  “Don’t worry, I didn’t steal it. Or win it. I earned it.” He pauses. “I got a job.”

  “Uuuh…wow. That’s great.”

  “Yeah. It’s kind of a crap job, but the pay is pretty good. I’m working for a filter manufacturer, doing assembly work.”

  I don’t even know what to say. “That’s awesome, Chris.”

  “So I sent you that. I know it doesn’t repay you for everything you did, but…it’s a start.”

  “You don’t have to repay me.” I suck in a quick breath and let it out. I said that automatically, but maybe I shouldn’t be so forgiving. It’s hard though, especially when he’s making an effort.

  “I probably can’t pay you back everything,” he says. “But part of the program is trying to make amends.”

  “Program?” I meet Taylor’s eyes which are curious but soft. I sit down at the dining table.

  “I’m going to a gambling addiction program. It’s like Alcoholics Anonymous.”

  “Oh. Chris.” I close my eyes as tears sting them, my throat constricting. “I’m so glad.”

  “I’m sorry for all the shit I caused. And I’m really sorry for using you to try to appease those fucking criminals.”

  “Have you…dealt with them?”

  “Um, yeah. I now have a large loan at the bank, but I’m out of debt. I had to get a job first before they’d give me a loan, and it’ll take a while to repay it. Sometimes it feels like it’ll take forever.” He gives a harsh chuckle. “But I just need to focus on right now.”

  “Yeah.” I want to offer to help, but I fight back the words. He needs to do this himself.

  “You said you’d come back when I got my shit together. But…you’re married now. Your dude seems like a straight-up guy.”

  I cock my head. “What? How do you know?”

  “He came to see me the other day.”

  My lungs compress painfully and I can’t breathe. “He did?”

  “Yeah. He was tough, but it’s okay. He’s looking out for you. You totally deserve someone like that, Lace.”

  I blink rapidly, my eyes prickling again. “Well, it’s not what it seems, actually.” I don’t really want to tell him the whole story right now.

  I’m so hurt by Théo’s silence and refusal to talk about what happened. I know he has to focus on business. The draft is a big thing and he has all kinds of meetings, plus he was sitting in a hockey arena last night for the first picks and again all day today. I watched it on TV, anxiously looking for any glimpse of him, then staring at the TV when he got up on the stage to make their picks, so proud of him and impressed and admiring. But he could take a minute just to message me back. I’ve told him the truth about what happened and if he doesn’t believe me…

  He doesn’t believe me.

  I guess that’s pretty obvious from his silence.

  Well, fuck him then.

  My chest aches and pressure burns behind my eyes and cheekbones. I draw air into my lungs, slowly, shakily, and expel it out. “I’m coming home,” I whisper to Chris.

  Taylor’s eyes nearly pop out of her head. “What?” she mouths.

  “What?” Chris says.

  “I’m coming home.” I say it louder. Stronger.

  “What about your husband?”

  “It’s a long story. I’ll tell you when I’m there. I’ll text you when I know when I’ll be there.”

  “Okay,” he says slowly. “Are you okay, Lace?”

  “Sure! I’ll s-see you soon.” I end the call.

  “What are you doing?” Taylor demands.

  I sigh. “Théo’s pissed at me and apparently not speaking to me.”

  “Uh…why? Did you leave the lid off the toothpaste again?”

  “Ha ha. No.” I tell her the story of what happened when he came home from Vegas. “He’s such an idiot.”

  “Uh, yeah. How could he think that?”

  “Déjà vu, I guess.” I shake my head. “I’ve texted him and left voicemails for him and he’s not answering. Clearly he doesn’t believe me and I’m not staying with someone who doesn’t trust me.”

  “No.” Taylor shakes her head. “No, you’re not leaving.”

  “I am.” My voice is thready. “I can’t stay here if Théo really thinks I would cheat on him with his brother.”

  “You need to talk to him.”

  “Tell him that.” I’m already loo
king up flights. This money Chris sent me will come in handy. I can leave tomorrow morning and be back in Vegas by noon. Perfect. “He’s the one who won’t talk.”

  “At least wait till he gets home.” She flattens her hands on the table and leans forward.

  I shake my head, my heart heavy and hurt. “No. I can’t do this anymore. I love him.” My voice fractures. I close my eyes. A fist squeezes my throat while another one twists my guts up painfully. “I shouldn’t have let myself fall for him, but I did. I knew I needed to look out for myself. Nobody else will. So that’s what I’m doing.” I lift my chin. “Chris seems to be turning things around. I don’t need to hide here anymore. I can go home and go back to my regular life and…” My regular life wasn’t all that great, to be honest. There’s so much I’m going to miss from here…the ocean, the beach, the people. Especially Taylor and Everly. And Byron. “And start again.”

  “I’m going to miss you,” Taylor whispers, her eyes shiny.

  I reach across to grab her hands. “I’m going to miss you too.”

  Théo

  The moment when I announce our first draft pick up on the stage in the Rogers Arena in Vancouver is an emotional one—of course it brings back memories of that day not so long ago when it was my name being called, me getting up there on the stage and pulling on the Penguins jersey, me with my whole hockey life ahead of me.

  It hasn’t turned out how I envisioned it that day, but it’s still been pretty damn fantastic. I love this sport. And I’m thrilled to be picking Edvin Rintala from Finland on behalf of the California Condors. This kid is amazing and has the potential to be a marquee player.

  I’m having a helluva time focusing on business, but since that’s all I have, I better fucking do it. Succeeding at this job, managing this team, turning it from a losing team into a winner and a moneymaker…that’s all I have. All I am. The numbers guy. I have to be the best numbers guy…or I’m nothing.