Page 90 of Tempest

“But you should know that if you ever let her touch you again, you’ll be missing more teeth than Letty.”

“Noted,” he says with a huge grin.

27

Gavin

“She’s pretty fucking amazing, isn’t she? Or am I biased because I’m her dad?”

“No, she’s amazing,” Britton agrees.

It’s the spotlight that Odette arranged for all the students. Those graduating this year had a full runway show. Undergraduates were given space to set up something like a pop-up boutique to highlight what they’ve been working on. Tori’s little booth has been bustling all day. Instead of just setting up previous designs for people to inspect, she’s brought a sewing machine and a bunch of fabric so they can watch her process. Odette’s busy playing hostess, so I’m glad Britton came to keep me company.

She’s become family the past few months. Even though she moved out of Odette’s house shortly after Thanksgiving, she’s still been around for filming. Tori’s even calling her Auntie Britton now. Britt loves it, since she doesn’t have much of a family of her own.

Caroline and Brock are here, too. Other than a casual greeting before the event started, I haven’t seen them.

The relationship between me and my ex-wife has grown more distant and much healthier. We’re all happier for it, including Brock, who was silently struggling with the relationship Caroline and I had after the divorce. We’re in a good place now, though, and I still have all my teeth.

I donated all my navy-blue suits and let Odette fill my closet with new ones. The press loved that; I’m officially the best-dressed player in the league. Our team’s social media manager even created a second Instagram page just for “Vaughn’s Fits”.

It’s become a competition, of sorts, for the other guys, constantly trying to outdo me. They never can, but the fans love that they try. It’s also been a good segue to talk about Odette and her business, and Tori’s aspiring one. A way for me to support them in another way.

That’s something that is becoming increasingly important to me now that my NHL career is coming to a close. It’s not over yet, we’ve made it to the playoffs. I have one last run at the Stanley Cup.

With the school year coming to an end, Ode has offered to dress all the guys for our playoff games. And she’s designed the wags’ playoff jackets.

The team has fully embraced her as part of the family. It’s nice, since I already consider her mine.

She still hasn’t said she loves me. Not in words, anyway. I’ve been patient, because I know how she feels. I know she loves me as much as I love her. We only became official just before Thanksgiving, it’s April now, that’s not that long. It’s not as if she’s been making me wait for decades.

Every day she shows me how much she loves me by being invested in my life. Throwing herself into hockey so that she understands what’s happening with my days and keep up with conversations regarding my career. She hired a masseuse to teach her how to best ease my muscles, not caring that the team has hired professionals for that. Her sauna has been repaired and she added a home gym so I wouldn’t have to leave for workouts when I stay over.

Which is a lot. I’ll be moving into her crazy cult house permanently after playoffs. The place has grown on me, and I understand now why she bought it. Plus, you can’t beat the view, especially when it’s the backdrop to her naked body as I fuck her up against the windows.

Odette is always looking for ways to make my life easier, when really, all I need is her to be with me at the end of every day.

I appreciate her efforts, though, and repay her in kind. She’s only had a couple more flare-ups, and I stayed by her side while she battled through the exhaustion of them. For the most part, she’s handling her disease in stride, and I support every new thing she tries to mitigate the symptoms that crop up. I even went with her to her last endocrinologist appointment so I could ask all my questions. I want to make her life as easy as she makes mine.

I still bake for her and together we’re learning how to cook more meals.

It’s been eye-opening. Caroline and I never had, in the nearly nineteen years we were married, what Odette and I have. I always wanted to take care of my ex-wife, but it was more like a job, an obligation, rather than a bone-deep need. It’s embedded in me to do whatever I can to care for Odette.

“Your daughter is a hit,” George says, walking up to Britton and me. Vanessa’s husband and I have also become friends. He isn’t around much, but when he is home, we try to have dinner with them. I have great respect for him because he understands my girlfriend and has never judged her. She didn’t have many close friends, and I think that’s why. The way she lived her life before moving to Seattle was what people expect of men, not women.

George is one of the few men who didn’t think her a home-wrecking whore.

“Tell me about it,” I say. “I’ve been trying to congratulate her for a solid thirty minutes, but I can’t squeeze through the crowd.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I heard a buyer from a major store talking about wanting the top on her front dress form.”

“Shit, she’d die,” I say, pride warming my chest.

I’m moving Tori into my house when I move to Odette’s. It will give her room to spread out and work in comfort, as opposed to the small apartment she’s been in this year.

It also gives her more room to entertain her boyfriend, Drake. I don’t love that aspect, but Odette assures me he’s a good kid.

Nobody is good enough for my daughter, though.

---