Off the Ice

by L. P. Dover

  “Then tell me … what would you want the love of your life to do if this was your situation.”

  Her lips pulled back in a sad smile. “In your heart, you already know. You’re a good man, Justin. And you have a kind heart, even if you have made some horrible decisions in your life. This is a choice you have to make on your own. As much as you love Meghan, I don’t think you’ll go wrong.”

  It was as if everything fell into place. I knew where I needed to be, and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Meghan

  By the time I reached Nags Head, my eyes were like sandpaper. I’d cried so much I didn’t think there was anything left in me. My family didn’t know I was coming in, and that was only because I couldn’t get my voice to sound normal from crying so much. A part of me wanted to turn back around and head back to Charlotte, but the other part knew it was the best decision I could’ve ever made. Getting the heartbreak over sooner was for the better. Not to mention, I missed Ellie. Seeing her would lessen the pain.

  I pulled into the driveway behind my mother’s rental car and hopped out. Splashes and screams of joy could be heard out back so I made my way around the house. Ellie and my nieces were in the pool, floating around on inflatable flamingos and kicking water at each other. My mom and my sister were in the gazebo, talking animatedly about something. Probably discussing Grey’s Anatomy since they loved to watch the seasons over and over.

  I watched Ellie for a few minutes, relieved to finally be near her again, but my heart still had a giant hole in it. Would it ever go away? I was afraid of the answer to that question.

  Ellie’s face lit up when she saw me. “Mommy!”

  Kimberly jumped up and took off her sunglasses, staring at me with a concerned look on her face as I walked over to the pool. She knew something was wrong. Ellie scrambled out of the water, and I knelt down to her level. She jumped in my arms with the biggest smile on her face. “You’re back! You’re back!”

  She drenched me, but I didn’t care. Tears fell down my cheeks, and I hugged her as tight as I could. “I’ve missed you so much.” Over and over, I kissed her wet cheek. I let her go and held out her arms. “I think you got bigger this summer. I bet you grew two inches.”

  She perked up. “Good. Maybe this year I’ll be taller than the boys.”

  My mom stood and waved me over. “Hey, sweetheart.”

  I kissed Ellie again and blew kisses at my nieces. “Go back in. I’ll change and play with you in a minute.”

  When I joined my mom and Kimberly in the gazebo, she hugged me hard. “Why didn’t you tell us you were coming in today?”

  My eyes burned, but I kept hugging her to keep her from looking at my face. “I wanted to surprise you.” I quickly turned to my sister and hugged her, hoping it gave me enough time to calm myself. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Off fishing. He’ll be back in a little bit.” She let me go, her brows furrowed as she looked at me. I shook my head, and quickly faced our mother.

  “Are you hungry?” my mom asked. “I can go in and heat you up some lasagna. You can eat it out here.”

  My stomach growled, but I didn’t know if I’d be able to eat. My throat felt too thick to be able to swallow anything. I plastered on a smile and nodded. “That’d be great.”

  Once she was in the house, I sat down across from my sister, who quickly moved her chair closer. “What the hell is going on? I watched Miranda get arrested for breaking into Justin’s house. He put a restraining order on her.”

  With a heavy sigh, I stared off toward the ocean. “She broke in so she could see who I was. She knew Justin was with someone else because a picture of us was leaked. Luckily, you couldn’t really see my face.”

  Kimberly shook her head. “What a psycho.”

  I scoffed. “You’re telling me.”

  “Are you afraid she’ll expose who you are?”

  “There’s nothing I can do if she does. It was a risk I took being with him,” I admitted truthfully. “As long as Ellie’s protected, I don’t care.”

  Honestly, I wasn’t necessarily afraid of myself being exposed. I cringed at the thought of Miranda spreading lies about me, but on the way here, I realized it didn’t matter if our relationship went public. I was proud to be with him for the time I had. All that mattered was that Ellie didn’t get brought in it.

  “Miranda didn’t scare you off, did she?”

  “No,” I answered, sounding unsure. “I don’t know. The crap she said was stuff I already knew. Justin’s famous, and I’m a nobody. It would never work.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Seriously?” I huffed, turning to her. “Celebrity relationships don’t last long. Just take a look in the tabloids.”

  She shook her head like she didn’t believe a word I said. Hell, deep down I didn’t believe it. Justin and I had something real, we just didn’t live on the same side of the country.

  Kimberly raised her hands in the air and shrugged. “Hey, from what I know about your relationship, it seemed pretty serious. What did Justin say when you told him you were leaving?”

  My chest tightened, and I froze. When I didn’t answer, she smacked my arms. “Please tell me you didn’t just up and leave behind his back?”

  Feeling even more miserable, I nodded. “I freaked out.”

  Judging by the expression on her face, she disapproved. “I can’t believe you left him like that. What’s the real reason you left?” My eyes instantly found Ellie, and my chest tightened. Kimberly followed my line of sight and sighed. “Ah, I see. Worried about your little girl?”

  “She’s everything to me, Kim. What happens if Ellie grows to love Justin, and then one day he says he doesn’t want to be with me anymore? Can you imagine how heartbroken she’d be? Not to mention, it’d hurt me twice as much to see in her pain.”

  Kimberly looked over at our girls swimming in the pool. “There are a lot of ifs there, sis. What you fail to realize is that we have to make ourselves happy as well. If you don’t, you’ll be miserable for the rest of your life. Have you even talked to him about meeting Ellie?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter. Even if he wanted to meet her, he’s not going to be around once hockey starts. What’s the point? It’ll only confuse her.”

  She snorted. “Please. Ellie’s going to be nine this December. Not to mention, she’s smart as hell. Don’t underestimate her.” Kimberly reached over and grabbed my hand. “Look at me.” I did as she said and met her gaze. “Ellie would want you to be happy. If she knew her mother was dating the famous Justin Davis, she’d be over-the-moon excited. The girl wants to be an actress when she grows up.”

  I rested my head on the table and groaned. “If she only knew how corrupted that lifestyle could be.”

  “It’s a choice she’ll have to make on her own when the time comes. You can’t protect her forever.” She tapped my shoulder, and I lifted my head. “If you really care about Justin, and he about you, you’ll make it work. Why don’t you call him and be honest with him?”

  Our mother walked out the door, carrying a plate of lasagna in one hand and a salad in the other. “I’ll think about it,” I replied, wishing I had the courage to pick up the phone. I felt horrible for leaving the way I did.

  My mother set the food down in front of me and handed me a fork. “Eat up.”

  Kimberly’s phone rang, and she walked away to answer it. I watched her walk around the pool, her face a stony mask as she listened to whoever she was on the phone with. “It’s probably Jackson. He’s been calling a lot lately. I think he misses her and the girls,” my mom said.

  I took a bite of the lasagna. “About damn time.”

  My mother rubbed my shoulder. “I keep praying you find someone like Trey again. He was a good man.”

  The lump in my throat was back. I’d already found someone, but I let him go. “I do too, Momma. I do too.”

  It was getting late, but I didn’t
want to close my eyes just yet. My parents sat at the kitchen table, playing cards, while I stood by the patio door, watching the moon’s reflection in the ocean. I didn’t want to go to sleep after the day I had. Justin would no doubt be all I’d dream about.

  “Meghan, why don’t you come play cards with us?”

  I took one last look at the dark ocean water and sat down at the table with them. My father handed me the deck, and I cut it so he could finish shuffling. “What are we playing?” I asked, knowing full well what he wanted to play. It was his favorite game.

  Grinning wide, he dealt the cards. “Kings in the corner.”

  Kimberly was on the couch reading, but she kept looking down at her phone. “Want to play?” I called out.

  She shook her head. “I’m waiting on a phone call.”

  And just then, her phone rang, and she jumped off the couch. She smiled and hurried down the stairs to the main level of the house. My parents had designed the three-level house to have the master bedroom, living room, and kitchen on the top floor. The middle floor was all bedrooms, and the lower level had more bedrooms and the game room. It was huge. When they’d had it built, they’d hoped they’d have a lot more grandchildren to occupy the rooms.

  My father gently touched my wrist. “Pumpkin, you okay?”

  It took me a few seconds to focus on what he said. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking.”

  His brows furrowed. “About what? You look sad.” My mother agreed with a nod.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Kimberly’s footsteps thumped on the stairs, and she came back into the room, biting her lip nervously. She held out her hand to someone I couldn’t see, and I figured it’d be Jackson, but the person who turned the corner wasn’t him at all.

  “Justin,” I choked.

  Kimberly let his hand go and nudged him toward us. There was sadness all over his face, no smile to be seen. I wasn’t used to seeing hm so upset. Maybe he felt just as horrible as I did. Justin walked over and held a hand out to my father. “Hi, sir. My name’s Justin.”

  Kimberly cut in and waved a hand between my parents. “Justin, these are our parents, Roger and Denise.”

  Mouth gaping, my mother fanned herself so fast I could barely see her hands. My father looked over at her like she’d lost her mind. “What are you doing?” he asked her.

  She stood and rushed over to Justin, taking his hand away from my father, and shaking it excitedly. “I don’t know why you’re here, but this is the best early birthday present ever.”

  My father looked lost, and turned to me. “Do you know what’s going on?”

  Trying my best to keep the tears at bay, I nodded. “He’s Justin Davis, Dad. Center forward for the Charlotte Strikers, and last season’s bachelor on the Rich and Single. You’ve seen him on TV before.”

  It was his turn to be shocked. “Oh.” His eyes widened, and he gasped. “Oh, that guy.” He stood quickly and shook Justin’s hand. “Sorry, son. I’m more of a golf man, not hockey.”

  Justin let his hand go, and tried his best to smile. “So I’ve heard. Meghan told me you loved golf.”

  I waited for my parents to ask why he was there, and that did it. They both turned to me, their faces full of surprise. My mother broke from the trance, and glanced back and forth between me and Justin. “Sorry, but how do you two know each other?”

  Justin waited on me to answer. My heart pounded so hard and fast, it started to hurt. “It’s actually a funny story,” I began, “but to sum it all up, Justin and I have been seeing each other the past few weeks. He bought the Southfork Ranch. It’s because of him I was able to get the fence and barn done at home.”

  The room fell silent. They could obviously tell there was some tension between us. Kimberly reached for their hands and pulled them away. “Why don’t we let Justin and Meghan talk before you ask more questions.”

  Both my parents seemed to still be in shock, but they backed away. Kimberly nodded toward the stairs, and I took Justin’s hand. “Let’s go take a walk.”

  Justin gripped onto my hand, and it only broke my heart more. I’d only been away from him for several hours, and I missed his touch. How was I ever going to let him go again? We quietly made it down the stairs to the bottom floor and out the back door to the wooden walkway. It led right down to the beach, where the waves crashed against the shore. As soon as we hit the sand, he pulled me into his arms.

  “Holy fuck, angel. I thought maybe I’d never get to hold you like this again.”

  Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I didn’t want to leave you,” I cried. “I felt like I had no choice.” He held me so tight that I couldn’t move. I didn’t want to. I wanted him to hold me for as long as he could. Voice shaking, I buried my head against his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

  “I’m sorry too, for not keeping you safe in my own home. You have to believe that my life isn’t crazy like that all the time.”

  He let me go, and I stared up at him. There were tears in his eyes, and it broke my heart. “How did you find me?”

  His fingers caressed my cheek. “I figured you’d come to Nags Head. I just didn’t know what house. My private investigator found you and gave me your sister’s number.”

  Gasping, I stepped back. “She knew you were coming?”

  He nodded. “I was going to anyway, but I knew she was aware of our relationship. I had to make sure I was welcome here first. And,” he began with a sigh, “I wanted to come at a time I knew Ellie would be in bed. That way, if you don’t want me here, you don’t run the risk of her seeing me.”

  “Justin, I—”

  He placed a finger on my lips. “Wait. Before you tell me to go, you need to hear this.” Sliding his hands up arms, he brought them to my face and cupped my cheeks. “I know you’re afraid of me meeting Ellie. Callie told me what you said about if I were to ever leave you, I wouldn’t only be breaking your heart, but Ellie’s as well.” He stepped closer, his body melded against mine. “I’m here to tell you that’s not going to happen.”

  I shook my head. “How do you know that?”

  His lips closed over mine, and I shut my eyes, enjoying the feel of him. My heart was so full it felt like it was going to explode. After we broke from the kiss, he rested his forehead to mine. “I love you, Meghan. That’s how I know I won’t break your heart.”

  The breath whooshed out of my lungs, and I gasped. “What?”

  A sad smile spread across his face. “I said, I love you.”

  It was all I wanted to hear from the very beginning. Lips trembling, I covered his hands with mine and squeezed. “I love you too. So much it hurts.”

  He kissed me again, this time more urgent than before. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve wanted to hear you say that?”

  We kissed again, and I smiled as the tears came tumbling down. “Just as much as I wanted to hear it from you.”

  “I want to be a part of your life and Ellie’s. If you don’t want that, I’ll go. I understand if you don’t think I’ll be a good father figure, but I want you more than I’ve wanted anything in this world. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy and to keep you with me.”

  He wiped the tears off my face, and I shook my head. “We have two weeks, Justin. After that, you go back to your life, and I go back to mine. How will it ever work?”

  Eyes full of raw heat, he held me tighter. “We’ll make it work. But in order to do that, you have to be willing to be with me. No secrets. No hiding out from the press. I know you want to stay hidden, but in reality, that won’t last long.”

  “It’s okay,” I murmured truthfully. “I’m fine with people knowing who I am. I just want Ellie to be protected.”

  “I’ll protect her with everything I have. All I’m asking for is a chance. Don’t push me away.”

  Taking a deep breath, I let it out slow. I didn’t even have to think twice. I knew what my heart wanted, and I was a fool for trying to deny it. “All right,” I said. “I’m willing to m
ake this work.”

  Chuckling, Justin picked me up and swung me around. “This makes me so damn happy.”

  “Hey, you still have to meet Ellie. If she doesn’t like you, all deals are off.”

  His eyes twinkled. “Oh, she’s going to love me. I’ll make sure of it.”

  Wrapping my arms around his neck, I smiled up at him. “One more thing.”

  “What?” he said, holding me around the waist.

  “What are we going to say to Ellie if she asks if you’re my boyfriend?”

  That dashing smile of his was back. “We tell her yes. I’m yours, and you’re mine. And in another sense, I’m hers too … if she wants me.”

  “She’ll love you, just like I do.”

  Justin glanced back at the house, and then out at the ocean. “Want to take a walk?”

  I shook my head, and slowly slid my hand down his shorts. “Actually, I have a better idea.”

  His cock twitched and hardened in my grasp. “I’m all up for that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Justin

  By the time we’d gotten back to the house last night, everyone had gone to sleep. I made sure to leave Meghan’s bed early in case Ellie decided to crawl in with her like Meghan said she was known to do. I had to admit, I was nervous as hell to meet her. What if she didn’t like me? My relationship with Meghan depended on mine and Ellie’s.

  Everything was quiet in the house. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. I sat on the edge of the couch, watching the sky slowly lighten over the horizon. The door to the master bedroom opened, and Meghan’s father walked out, wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white T-shirt. He saw me and waved.