Page 26 of Penalties and Proposals

Charlie leans against her dad’s shoulder. “I’m a goalie.”

Noah puts down his fork, leans back in his chair, and nods. “Well,I’mimpressed. You are quite the force to be reckoned with, Charlie. I can’t wait to see where you end up when you’re older.”

“I want to play for the United States national women’s ice hockey team,” she informs us, matter of factly. “The University of Wisconsin has a good women’s team, so my plan is to go there and then be selected.”

“Wow,” I say, jubilant for her. “You’ve got it all under control. I love it. You’re a firecracker!”

A flush of pink hits her cheeks. “It’s just that it makes sense to me, you know?”

Beside me, Noah shifts in his seat. When I glance his way, there’s a melancholy look on his face, but his green eyes sparkle. “Yeah, Charlie. I get it.”

The car ride back is quiet. I’m not sure if it’s our full bellies or the fact it’s pitch black outside and the back of the SUV is so warm, it’s almost like a sauna. Heat always makes me sleepy, but I can’t speak for Noah.

The driver pulls up in front of my hotel, expertly navigating so he can fit into one of the parking spots out front. The glass window that separates us from him suddenly begins to slide shut, giving Noah and me some privacy.

“Well, thank you for that,” I say, gathering my bag and getting ready to hop out. “That was unexpected and just what I needed.”

“Same,” Noah replies thoughtfully. “Funny how that happens.”

“What?”

“Sometimes you don’t know it, but the thing you need to hear, or the person you need to meet, appears in front of you and changes the course of your life.” He leans forward, putting his hands on his knees. “Sometimes forever.”

“Charlie had an impact, huh?”

There’s faint light illuminating the inside of the SUV from the street lamps outside. I can see the silhouette of Noah’s head as it bobs up and down in agreement.

“She’s got so much fire in her belly, and it’s all planned out. But the look of pride on Kurt’s face …” He turns to me and smiles, his face falling into a beam from the street lamps. “That’s his daughter he gets to watch conquer the world.”

“It was nice to see both Sarah and Kurt on the same page about Charlie’s future.”

“I didn’t have that when I was growing up,” Noah begins. “My dad was around, enough to belittle me and tell me I was worthless. At some point, he took off and left my mom to raise me. She was a nurse and worked a lot of shifts. After I got into trouble at school one day, she told me I had to find something to do after school. A club or activity that she could trust where I’d be safe or I’d have to have a babysitter.”

“You found hockey?”

“I found hockey.” He stares at his hands. If I’m not mistaken, the great Noah Beaumont seems a tad nervous. “I mean, it kind of found me. I started going to the local rink because my friends went. They were playing hockey, so I wanted to. I grew more confident on my skates, played a few games, and was spotted by a local coach who wanted some junior recruits for a men’s league. My career started from that moment.”

I place my bag down on the floor beside my feet and turn my attention to Noah. “Well, I bet your mother was proud to watch you and all of your accomplishments.”

“She was,” he says, his face blank. “She was around until I got out of college and signed with the first team I was in in the NHL. My second season, she was gone. Killed in a car accident.”

The space between us goes stone silent. I don’t know what to say. I open my mouth, wanting the right words to fall out, but I’ve got nothing. Thankfully, Noah takes me out of my misery.

“It’s fine,” he says, his hand resting on my knee as he squeezes it. “I’ve been through a lot of therapy so I can talk about it now without going off the handle. Rehab helped with that.”

A lightbulb goes on over my head. If we were in a cartoon, the whole back of this car would suddenly be lit up brighter than a Christmas tree. “Your drinking.”

“Yes.” He sighs, angling his body so he’s facing me fully. “That began a string of years I’d like to forget, all culminating inthe human who stumbled onto your photoshoot that day three years ago. I should have been hawking underwear; instead, I was hungover and, well…nervous.”

“Okay, hungover I get. But nervous?”

“The minute you marched up to me and told me I was a pain in your butt, I think I started to fall for you,” he murmurs, slowly dragging his eyes to meet mine.

“Oh.” That’s all I’ve got. Way with your words, Willa. What a charmer.

The electricity in the air actually snaps off around us, the space between Noah and me seems to be getting smaller and it’s like this moment in time has come to a full stop. Somewhere in the front of the SUV is a man sitting behind the steering wheel, probably waiting to get home to his family and here we are in the back seat staring at each other like lovesick teens.

Wait. Am I lovesick? The pounding in my heart tells me yes, but there’s a voice in my head that’s screaming “Slow down!”

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