Page 36 of Penalties and Proposals

CHAPTER 15

NOAH

The lobbyof The Regent’s Hotel is bursting with people when I arrive. This joint is almost too fancy; it actually makes me feel out of place. I mean, the Hawk River Lodge isn’t any kind of luxury resort, but it’s got what I need. A bed and a bathroom. Boom, done.

I’m clutching a bright bouquet of flowers I found at a local grocery store tightly in one hand and a small wrapped package in the other. I punch the up button on the elevator and step inside, an older couple walking in behind me.

As the doors slide shut, I pull the flowers close and inspect them. “Hmm. I hope she likes bright pink.” Sticking my nose into the bouquet, I huff one of the carnations, only to get a tickle in my nose and start sneezing. “Great,” I mutter out loud, only to realize … I’m talking to myself and I’m not alone. First, Murray, which was thankfully in the private sector of the locker room but now here, in a very public spot?

Closing my eyes, I slowly turn to face the couple beside me, who are both watching with smirks on their faces.

The older woman leans in close to me. “Whoever she is, she must be very special.”

Smiling, I nod, feeling my cheeks flush. “She is.”

The doors open on my floor. I incline my head, saying goodbye, and within seconds I’m standing outside Willa’s door. I’ve had the best twenty-four hours and I cannot wait to share it all with her.

I knock on the door a few times, nervous butterflies dancing inside of me. How crazy to think that this woman makes me so happy. When I think of her, Willa makes me smile. Sometimes my cheeks hurt because my grin is that wide and that intense.

Willa opens the door, standing back to allow me room to come inside. When I lean in to kiss her cheek, I sense her body stiffen. Stepping back, my eyes narrow as I look at her. There’s sadness on her face, and I want to know why.

“For you,” I say, holding out the bouquet. “Sorry it’s all carnations and baby’s breath. Apparently, there used to be a flower shop in town but it closed, so one of the employees at the grocery store puts bouquets together once a week.”

“Thanks,” she says, a tiny smile breaking as she takes them from my hand.

“But, there’s more,” I say, wiggling my eyebrows and holding out the colorfully wrapped package, trying not to laugh. “For you, m’lady.”

Willa stares at it. “Did you really wrap it in ‘Yay, It’s a Girl!’ wrapping paper?”

“Small town,” I say with a shrug. “It was all they had on the shelf.”

Chuckling, she perches on the end of her bed and rips into the package. Grabbing a chair from her table for two in the corner of the room, I plant myself in front of her.

She looks at the present inside, pulling it out and holding it up for me to see.

“Your jersey,” she says, holding it close to her.

“I hope it fits,” I whisper. I reach out and arrange it against her body like I’m some kind of stylist who knows fashion, but really I want any reason to touch her right now. She may be right in front of me, but she’s never felt so distant.

“I think it will.” She folds it neatly and places it on the bed next to her, patting it. “Thank you, Noah. That’s a sweet gift.”

“I’m hoping you’ll wear it to one of the games?”

“I hope so,” she says, her eyes meeting mine.

“I’ve got news,” I say. “You know I met with Travis last night about that Canadian team?”

She nods.

“They want me to start as soon as I can, mid-season is fine with them. Everything is good. Money is perfect, I get some time off in between seasons during the holidays, but the downside is that I’ll have to really dig in next year and be on call for all the games, which means no time for events or any kind of special one-offs like this one.”

Willa is listening to me, nodding along. I kind of expected her to be a little happier for me, but maybe she’s not feeling great right now.

“No time for one-offs, huh?” She crosses her arms in front of her chest. “What about the camp, Noah?”

“Oh.” In truth, I hadn’t asked yet. I don’t know much about women’s intuition, but I’m guessing she already knows that.

“I know you’ve been working hard to get back to this place, but what’s going on, Noah? You’ve been telling me for about a month now how you want to do things differently, do them your way. You wanted to lead that camp, stay on a team that will let you do whatyouwant to do so you have a life alongside hockey.” She tosses her hands in the air. “What gives?”

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