THAT RING

by Dodd, Jillian

  “Drive there while you talk. I want to see it.”

  He does as he was told, and when we pull up, I just know it’s the one. I haven’t stepped foot in it, but it’s love at first sight. The outside is dressed in cream-colored shakes with copper gutters adding contrast. Combined with the thick white trim around the windows, it reminds me of a house you might see in Nantucket. The kind of beach house generations visit year after year.

  “All right,” Erik says. “We got the okay to check it out.”

  “Are there any other offers?”

  “Not right now.”

  “Good, because I’m going to buy this house today.”

  He chuckles. “Let’s go see the inside before we write up an offer.”

  He unlocks the house, and I follow him in.

  “Not a very spectacular entrance,” he says. “Interesting how the staircase is on the back side.”

  But all I see is beauty. Thick white crown molding, gorgeous wainscoting, beautiful hand-hewn wood floor, lots of light, and comfortable furnishings. It reminds me a little of my room at Jadyn’s house. Cozy. Perfect.

  The rest of the house doesn’t disappoint. From the large white kitchen and informal living area to the master bedroom with private balcony. There’s an awesome hangout space at the top of the stairs for kids, a home theater, billiards room, wine cellar, and private gym.

  “Still like it?” Erik asks as I wander around in a daze littered with the dream of filling this place with kids, family, and friends. And a dog. I’m definitely getting a dog someday.

  “Let’s go outside,” I say, not verbally committing just yet. “Oh my.”

  I take in the cerulean-blue infinity pool and spa with an amazing one-hundred-eighty-degree view of hills and ocean. There’s grass for children to run around, an outdoor kitchen and pool house, and what might be my favorite spot of all, a large deck on the cliff with glass railings set with couches and chairs like an outdoor living room. I can see why they put it here. It has the most panoramic vista of the lot.

  “I’ll take it. I’d like it as is. Fully furnished. Whatever it costs. All-cash offer. Monday morning closing.”

  “As your agent, I can’t let you pay full price for this. It’s been on the market for eighty days. We’ll offer ninety percent of the list price, including the furniture.”

  “Do your thing, but I want to close on Monday.”

  “What’s the rush?”

  “I have somewhere else I need to be after that.”

  “All righty. Let me make another call.”

  He paces across the grass, talking and gesturing. I just feel at peace. Like I finally have a place in the world.

  But yet, there’s something in my brain that is telling me that I need to go home.

  And I just realized home is not in California anymore.

  It is wherever Danny is.

  “He accepted our offer,” Erik says to me. He hands me a card with an address written on the back. “Meet me here on Monday morning at eight.”

  I throw myself at him, give him a hug, and then start crying. “Thank you.”

  Once I’m back at the hotel, I try to reach Danny, but he doesn’t answer his phone.

  November 12th

  Jennifer

  This morning, I call one of my old friends. Rachel stood beside me after Troy’s first stint in rehab and gave me some tough-love advice about him, and when I didn’t listen, we grew apart.

  She agreed to have brunch with me, and I’m so incredibly happy about it. About life really right now.

  I’m on my way to meet her when I get a text from Jason.

  Jason: You were supposed to say anything necessary to get him to go to rehab. I thought we were on the same page.

  Me: He told me that he was checking into rehab yesterday. That he let you think he wasn’t going to even though he was, so you would convince me to go talk to him.

  Jason: Yeah, well, he didn’t check in. Says he proposed, you said no, and he doesn’t care anymore. That he’s ruined his life.

  Me: At least he’s finally accepting responsibility for it.

  Jason: That’s a little cold.

  Me: That’s the truth. I’m done, Jason. Please don’t text me again.

  When my phone rings in my hand, I assume it’s Jason, but I’m excited to see Danny’s name.

  “Hi,” he says.

  “Hi to you,” I reply. “I tried to call you back last night, but you didn’t answer.”

  “I was traveling to D.C. for our game today and had team meetings and all that. Look, I just need to know before I go out on the field. Why couldn’t you talk to me? Are we through?”

  “Oh gosh, Danny. Absolutely not. And I’ve been so excited to talk to you! I found a house! I’m closing on it tomorrow morning.”

  “Closing? I thought you were going to lease? Like, until we figured things out?”

  “This is going to maybe sound silly to you, but maybe not since you love where you live. I need a place to call home. I hope with all my heart that you and I work out, but I lost myself when I was with Troy. You told me you didn’t want that to happen to me with you. That you didn’t want me to give up my career for you because you don’t ever want me to hold that against you.

  “I didn’t like any of the places I saw. They felt temporary, and I’m tired of temporary. I want roots. Because of my career, I have to have at least some of my roots here.” I pause for a moment, not sure how much of this to tell him. Be brave, Jennifer. “The house I bought is like a dream. I’m dying for you to see it. It’s big enough that friends and family could stay with us when we are here. It’s got a backyard where kids can play. It’s cozy and comfortable, and I am so in love with it. Just like I’m in love with you.”

  “You love me?”

  “I know it’s crazy.”

  “I feel the same way, Jennifer.”

  “You do? Oh my gosh. This sucks!”

  “It sucks that I love you?”

  “No. I never should have told you over the phone! I want to kiss you. I want to see your face when you hear me say it.”

  “I’m thrilled you told me. I’ve had a shitty couple of days, wondering what was happening. That’s why I called you. I just needed to know before I went out to play.”

  “Danny! I’m so sorry. I’ve just been so busy. And I went up to Asher Vineyards.”

  “To see Keatyn and Aiden Arrington?”

  “Yes. I needed to see for myself how they juggle work and family and not living in LA. And when you called yesterday, I was with my realtor, and I just didn’t want him to know who I was talking to. Like, I would love to shout it from the mountaintop that I’m going to Kansas City next week and that you wanted me to move in with you, but I wanted to be respectful of you and your kids, so I just sort of cut you off. I’m so sorry.”

  “When are you coming to Kansas City? This week is my bye week, so we’d have a lot of time to spend together.”

  “I’ll be there on Tuesday. And hopefully, I will be coming in Kansas City.”

  “Ah, you’re naughty. I have to go warm up.”

  “And I’m going to watch your game. Win for me.”

  “I might have to test you to see how closely you watch the game.”

  “How’s that?”

  “Maybe I’ll give you a sign.”

  “Uh, okay. I’ll watch closely. I love you, Danny Diamond.”

  “And I love you.”

  I’m practically giddy when I see my friend Rachel in the restaurant.

  “How are you?” she says, pulling me into a hug. “It’s been too long. I’m sorry for everything you’ve been going through.”

  “No, you’re not,” I say back. “You know as well as I do that I brought it on myself.”

  She looks up at the ceiling. “While that is true, I would never wish heartbreak on you.” She studies me. “Wait. What’s going on? You’re, like, beaming.”

  “I left Troy for good, and I just bought a house. And I’m kind of
seeing someone who makes me very, very happy.”

  “Wait, what? Were you cheating on Troy? Not that he didn’t deserve it, but you are just so darn honest. I can’t believe—”

  “I wasn’t cheating on him. Remember that guy I met a really long time ago? Like fourteen-ish years ago?”

  “The married guy you thought was your soul mate but you wouldn’t tell me who he was?” she asks, sliding her sunglasses atop her head in a way that pushes back her auburn hair.

  “Yes.”

  “And?”

  “I’m happy because of him.”

  “No way! Ohmigawd. Wait. We should order mimosas first. Then, you have to tell me everything.” She raises her hand and waves for a waiter. Three come running. Rachel is quite beautiful. “Two of your bottomless mimosas, please.” She looks up at me. “Pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream still your favorite?”

  “I can’t believe you remember that.”

  “We had brunch here many a time. Many good times. I’m so glad you’re back in my life.” She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand and then quickly orders our meal.

  “You are?” I ask, trying to hold back my tears.

  “Yes, and I have a lot to tell you, too.”

  The waiter brings back our mimosas, and I raise my glass toward her. “To old friends who love you even when you’re dumb.”

  “I kind of abandoned you. Probably when you needed me. But I just couldn’t watch it. I’d watched my mom do it.”

  “I know. Water under the bridge. Tell me what’s exciting in your life. Not work. I’ve seen all the movies you’ve made since we last talked. You were a great superhero, just saying.”

  “Thank you. That was quite the big break, for sure. My life. Regardless of what the tabloids say, I’m still with Derrick. In fact”—she lowers her voice and discreetly flashes her left hand in my direction—“we’re getting married. Shh. It happened this weekend, and we aren’t telling anyone yet. He just signed a franchise contract, meaning he’ll be pitching for LA until he retires, so we’re in escrow on a new home. Oh, Jennifer, you should see it. It’s up in Pacific Palisades. Has a gorgeous view of the ocean. Remember all the fun we used to have, hanging out at your house in Malibu? Is that where you bought?”

  I laugh. “My house is in Pacific Palisades, too.”

  “Are you serious? What’s the address?”

  I tell it to her.

  “We are literally on the same street. We’re going to be neighbors. I’m dying here. How does that happen? It’s so fate. Tell me about the guy. Can you finally tell me who he is?”

  “I probably shouldn’t just yet. He’s still going through a divorce, although somehow, they have kept it out of the press.”

  “So, he’s famous?” she says with a gleam in her eye.

  I nod.

  “Actor?” she guesses.

  “No.”

  “Model?”

  “No. He’s a professional athlete.”

  She lets out a little scream. “Ahh! That’s even better. He and Derrick will get along perfectly. Wait. Does he play baseball?”

  “No.”

  “Is he located in the area?”

  “No.”

  “Kids?”

  “Two.”

  “Do you like them? Do they like you? Derrick’s kids are ten and twelve now. They like me, but they have to act like they don’t because of their mother.”

  “I really like them.”

  “Are his kids there full-time?”

  “Yes. I don’t know the details, but it sounds like he gave his wife more than they had agreed in their prenuptial agreement in order to get custody. That was the most important thing to him.”

  She smiles at me. “He sounds like a good man.”

  “He is. He’s actually playing today.” I glance at my watch. “I told him I loved him over the phone just before I got here.”

  “Jennifer! That’s huge.”

  “I know! And I have to watch the whole game because he said he’s going to, I don’t know, give me some sort of sign.”

  She narrows her eyes at me. “Oh. So, he’s a football player?”

  “Yes.”

  “What time does the game start?”

  “Four o’clock Eastern, so one o’clock here.”

  She glances at her phone. “That’s in, like, forty minutes. Why don’t you come to my house to watch it? Derrick will have the game on, I’m sure.”

  “You just want to try to figure out who he is,” I tease.

  “Damn right I do.”

  “I could just tell you.”

  “No, it will be more fun this way. Hurry up and finish your pancakes and down your mimosa. We need to hit the road.”

  Once we’re at her house and settled in for the game, I’m sitting on the edge of my seat next to her husband while she’s scrolling through both the Kansas City and Washington rosters, narrowing down her options based on age.

  The game feels like it goes on forever, mostly because it seems to be more of a defensive battle with neither offense proving to be very effective due to the start of the city’s first snow of the season causing a slippery field.

  I started out trying to cheer for both teams so as not to show my hand, but by the end of the first quarter, I can’t stop myself.

  “Kansas City player, for sure,” Rachel says, crossing half of her list off one side of her paper. “We’re down to five possibilities.”

  “They sure aren’t passing it very much,” I note, wishing Danny would just air it out and score already.

  The game is currently tied six-six with only a few minutes left in the fourth quarter.

  “With the weather conditions,” Derrick explains, “it’s a safer strategy to run the ball. But I am surprised Kansas City hasn’t passed a bit more. Danny Diamond is quite an accurate thrower.”

  “Seems like it,” I try to say noncommittally, but I can’t hide my smile.

  Rachel narrows her eyes at me, causing her husband to laugh.

  “What?” she asks.

  “You don’t need that list,” Derrick says, shaking his head. “I figured it out as soon as you guys got here.”

  “How did you do that?” she asks him.

  “Because you said they met over ten years ago at a party thrown by Keatyn and Aiden Arrington. There’s only one guy on the field who, as a rookie, would have been invited to something like that. It’s—”

  “Don’t you dare say it!” she says, threatening him with a long, manicured finger. “I’m going to figure it out on my own.”

  She grabs an iPad, enters her remaining five candidates, and is pulling up photos of them along with their marital status and trying to determine if they look like my type.

  I’m about to ask what she thinks my type is when Danny throws a gorgeous, long bomb halfway down the field. “Go!” I yell at the receiver, who is racing through the snow on his way to the end zone.

  “Finally, a touchdown,” Derrick says. “About time. All the points so far have been field goals. That means Kansas City will take a seven-point lead with only a minute and a half to go, providing they make the extra point.”

  “Looks like they are going for two instead,” Rachel says, looking up from the iPad.

  “Gutsy,” Derrick says. “If they don’t make it and Washington goes down and scores, an extra point could win the game.”

  I watch with anticipation as Danny lines up under center, calls the play, and then rolls out like he’s going to pass. Which is just long enough to open a hole for him to run the ball straight up the middle and into the end zone.

  I jump up and scream. Derrick cheers.

  The television shows Danny in the end zone. He looks at the camera, forms a heart with his hands, and puts it in front of his chest.

  I start crying, and Rachel goes, “Ohmigawd, was that for you? Danny Diamond? Really? He’s totally your type, but I ruled him out right away because he has the perfect family! I was just reading articles about them. Wha
t happened?”

  Putting my hand up in the air, I watch the last minute tick off the clock. Washington quickly moves the ball with passes down the sidelines before stepping out of bounds. Another pass allows them to score.

  With two seconds left on the clock and neither team with a time-out, Washington goes for two to tie the game.

  Their quarterback drops back and passes the ball to the corner of the end zone, where he has a receiver literally standing there, waiting for the ball to drop into his arms, when, all of a sudden, a Kansas City defender flies across the air in front of him, snatching the ball and intercepting it.

  The KC players rush onto the field to congratulate him on sealing their victory.

  “All right. They won already. Explain,” Rachel says.

  “His ex was having an affair and left him for that guy. It’s been about six months, so he seems like he’s in a good place. They have agreed and signed everything, but the divorce won’t be final until mid-December. After I close on the house tomorrow, I’m going to stay with him. Well, next door at his friend’s house because I just don’t want to be sleeping with him in his house with his kids there until we have some kind of commitment. Or at least, until the divorce is final.”

  “He’s really hot.” Rachel fans her face.

  Derrick, who I thought was engrossed in the after-game interviews, grabs her and kisses her. “Is that so?”

  “Not as hot as you, baby,” she says, grinning.

  November 13th

  Jennifer

  I wake up early, go to the closing, and then take Rachel to see the new house. She loves it, but I’m dying to show Jadyn. She will be a better litmus test as to if Danny will like it. I want to believe that he would love anything that I chose, but I just want to be sure she thinks he will be comfortable here. And she knows him better than anyone.