The Final Move

by Victoria Denault

  “It’s so great that you got such a big network show,” Donna says. I know she doesn’t really know much about what I do but she’s trying. I really appreciate that. “Wyatt showed me your name on the Internet on a list and you’re one of the youngest to have such a high-up job.”

  “What?” I’m confused.

  “I was goofing around on the Internet Movie Database,” Wyatt explains a little sheepishly. “I searched your show, you know, thought it would be fun to see your name up there. And then I just started searching other shows for fun. Didn’t matter which show I went to, none of the costume designers on any of the other shows were as young as you.”

  “What Wyatt is trying to say is he’s as proud of you as he was of Jordy for leading the league in shorthanded goals,” Donna says with a chuckle. “I am too, honey.”

  Wyatt’s eyes shine with pride as they catch mine in the rearview mirror. I smile back at him. God, I love these two. They are the perfect parents, even when they aren’t technically someone’s parents.

  “How was your day with Conner?” I ask, changing the subject because I’ve never been that comfortable with attention like this.

  Donna lights up again and gives me a detailed report of how great Conner is getting at skating and how after his skating lesson was over, they went to the Museum of Natural History, where Conner was obsessed with the butterfly exhibit.

  We pull into the small lot reserved for players and VIPs and Wyatt puts the car in park. “We invited Ashleigh to join us tonight but she said it was best if she stayed home. She thought she would throw Devin’s game off.”

  “Clearly, she hasn’t been watching the games lately,” I mutter as we all get out of the car. “She would know she’s already done that.”

  Donna gives me a quizzical look. “Devin told me I can’t talk about this but…do you know what happened? It seems like it has to be more than just Ashleigh being lonely.”

  “It is,” I assure her and then I give Wyatt a stern look. “And it’s not anything Devin could have controlled or avoided. He’s a complete victim here and that’s what is making this so hard on him. You know he’s always been the type of guy who controls his own fate. He fails at nothing. He had no control over this situation and can’t fix it and it’s killing him.”

  They don’t say anything but exchange worried glances as we head into the arena through the private entrance the players use, which takes us into the bowels of the arena. I know I’m being cryptic but even though I think Devin should sell Ashleigh out and tell them exactly what a monster she is, it’s not my place to do it for him. I have no choice but to talk around the real rift in their marriage.

  “You and I may have to stage a fight in the stands. Give the press something to talk about,” a familiar voice echoes off the concrete walls.

  I peer past Wyatt’s shoulder and see her—in a Winterhawks T-shirt and low-rise jeans—walking toward us with Jordan. I let out an excited squeal and charge her. My older sister Jessie opens her arms and we both start screaming as we hug each other and jump up and down at the same time. Some staff and trainers walk by and smile, amused. Jordan stands beside us and shrugs an apology at them as he hugs his parents in a much calmer manner.

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” I say to my older sister. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

  “I only decided last minute,” she responds as she pulls back from the hug and catches my eye. “Besides, apparently we don’t tell each other everything anymore.”

  She’s pissed I didn’t tell her about Devin. I roll my eyes to let her know she’s being ridiculous. Jordan clears his throat. “Don’t I get any love?”

  I glance up at Jordan in his pinstriped gray suit and sigh. “Yeah, hi, Big Bird.”

  “Stop pretending you don’t miss me terribly.” He reaches down and hugs me, lifting me right off my feet. I groan in mock protest, but willingly hug him back.

  “You better be making my sister happy,” I warn him.

  Jessie smiles and it’s as bright and beautiful as it has been since the minute they stopped being idiots and got back together.

  “Never been happier,” she assures me and I can’t help but smile. She turns to Wyatt and Donna and gives them both a quick hug. “We’ll meet you guys at the seats. I need some alone time with my little sister.”

  She hooks her arm through mine and leads me down the hall, away from her future husband and his parents. She asks me about my job for the first four questions and, God bless her, she actually pays attention to the answers. And I can tell she’s truly happy and excited for me. I can also tell she has other things she wants to talk about.

  “Why didn’t you tell me about Devin?” she asks finally.

  “I couldn’t,” I reply honestly. “He didn’t want Jordan to know.”

  “You could have still told me,” Jessie argues and I give her a hard look.

  “You and Jordy don’t keep secrets from each other,” I remind her. “I’m not about to start asking you to.”

  “So you’ve just been living there with him the entire time? And he and Ashleigh are what? Separated?”

  “Yeah. I guess,” I say softly as we follow the curve of the hallway in no particular direction. “He had already moved out when I got here and he was a mess. He needed a friend.”

  “He needed his family too,” Jessie adds, slightly scornfully. “Jordan has been really worried about him. He sees how badly Dev’s playing. And I could have talked to Ashleigh. She probably needed a friend too.”

  “She doesn’t deserve a friend,” I snap and Jessie looks at me with surprise.

  “Callie, come on. I’m sure this isn’t all her fault,” Jessie tries to rationalize. “I mean when Jordy and I had issues it wasn’t totally his fault. I liked to think it was, but it wasn’t. I made it harder than it had to be too.”

  “She’s lonely. She hates the road trips and the hockey wife lifestyle. He can’t change that,” I explain. “She’s being selfish and ridiculous.”

  Jessie thinks about it for a minute as someone in a Winterhawks tracksuit walks by and waves at her. He’s too old to be a player, probably a trainer.

  “See, if you’d told me, I could have talked to her,” Jessie says finally. “I still can. I know it’s hard. I live it too. But it’s not impossible and…”

  “She cheated.”

  “WHAT?” She stops walking as her voice bounces off the cavernous cement hallway we’re in.

  I shush her loudly and she covers her mouth with her hand. “See! This is why I didn’t want to tell you. This and because if Jordan knows, Devin will go completely off the deep end. He’s pretty close as it is.”

  “She cheated?” Jessie repeats the words as if they are some foreign language she doesn’t understand. “Had sex with someone else? Someone other than Devin?”

  “That’s the definition, yes.” I nod solemnly. “But worse than that, she has feelings for someone else. She says she’s in love with this guy Andrew and with Devin. And that she kicked Devin out so she could have time alone to think.”

  “She can have the rest of her life to think, now that she destroyed her marriage, that cheating bitch,” Jessie seethes and I can’t hide my shock—or awe.

  “Jessica Caplan!” I say with a smile. “Since when are you the irate, protective sister?”

  “Since it involves someone hurting Devin and that precious little ray of sunshine he created,” Jessie responds and sighs. “Poor Conner and Devin. My God, of all the Garrison brothers to do this to, he’s the one that it might honestly kill.”

  “Oh, yeah, because if you cheated on Jordy he would bounce back.” I roll my eyes and give her a playful shove.

  “Jordan would be devastated, but he wouldn’t self-destruct,” Jessie admits as we continue walking again. “Devin is so proud and so scared of failure—because he’s never experienced it. No wonder he’s falling apart.”

  “You don’t know the half of it,” I whisper and Jessie catches my eye. I
open my mouth to tell her about the booze and the random hookup but someone calls her name from down the hall.

  “Jessie! Where’s your worse half? It’s almost time to hit the ice.”

  We both turn and see a guy walking toward us in workout shorts and a black dry weave T-shirt with the Winterhawks logo on the chest. His brown hair is tucked under a Winterhawks hat but there’s no mistaking his pale blue eyes. I grab Jessie’s hand and squeeze it—hard.

  She glances at me with stunned green eyes and then turns to him.

  “Hey, Seb. Jordan’s with his parents,” she says and uses the hand I’m not clutching to point to me. “This is my sister Callie.”

  Seb’s eyes lock with mine. His lips tug up in a soft smirk that makes me smile. I let go of Jessie and extend my hand to shake his. His grip is firm, which is a total turn-on. I can’t deal with guys who shake a girl’s hand limply because they’re afraid to hurt them.

  “Callie,” he says my name. “You are Luc’s girlfriend?”

  “The French Disaster? God, no!” I blurt out, and Jessie laughs.

  “That’s Rosie, our youngest sister,” Jessie explains.

  “I’m one hundred percent single,” I proclaim, and he chuckles at that.

  “Good to know,” he says before adding, “I hope to see you after the game.”

  He continues down the hall. I turn my head to watch him go. Jessie is watching me with a raised eyebrow. I grin at her. “I want that.”

  “Oh my God.” Jessie giggles and tugs me toward a door that leads to a staircase. “I don’t know if he can handle you.”

  “Can we find out? Please?”

  We head up the stairs to the main level, where our seats are located. “Well, Jordan wants to go out after. I’m sure Sebastian will be there and you’re obviously welcome to come with us.”

  I’m excited now. But as we hit the bustling concourse, reality sets in and I grab her hand again and pull her close. “Jessie, Donna and Wyatt don’t know what Ashleigh did,” I explain in a hushed voice. “Devin will tell them and Jordan when he’s ready, and we shouldn’t do it for him, okay?”

  Jessie nods. “I won’t tell them.”

  Chapter 15

  Devin

  We’ve only been at the bar twenty minutes and I’m already more stressed and angry than I was on the ice. It’s fucking stupid. My team won. I should be just as happy as Larue and Loops, who are clinking their celebratory beers together. But I know, despite the win, Jordan outplayed me. And worse, I know he knows it. He’s not saying it—yet. He’s just laughing with his teammates about something. He brought his buddy Sebastian Deveau, his goalie Chooch and some rookie named Kennedy with him. They are nice enough guys but I am so not in the mood for a big group tonight.

  I head to the bar and notice Seb is over by the pool tables playing a game with Callie. Well, they’re holding pool cues, but the balls look untouched and he’s leaning in pretty close to her as she says something to him. He smiles and she laughs, tipping her head back, her long, wavy brown hair tumbling over her shoulders in sexy waves.

  My shoulders get tighter. I order a drink and turn to find Jordan standing right behind me. He must have followed me from the table.

  “Don’t let your little French Canadian Casanova get any ideas about Callie,” I warn Jordan sharply.

  He glances over at Callie and Seb and snorts. “Please, I’m more worried about Seb than Callie. Callie will have him begging for mercy.”

  “Whatever.” I shake my head, throw some money on the bar and grab my drink. Jordan isn’t moving out of my way. I glare at him.

  “Can we talk for a second?” Jordan asks quietly.

  “If you’re just going to brag about the fucking face-off wins, then no.”

  He rolls his eyes. “Actually, I wanted to know how you’re doing. Why are you in your own place?”

  “Because my wife is a horrible bitch,” I snap and move to get around him.

  He grabs my elbow lightly. “Dev…come on,” he chastises me softly. “Don’t talk like that. You love Ashleigh.”

  “I thought I did,” I reply, and it stings somewhere deep in my chest where my heart used to be.

  “Is this just because she’s hesitating about more kids?” Jordan rolls his eyes again and I want to punch him. “She’ll come around. Let Jessie talk to her tomorrow. She’s got the whole hockey wife thing down already.”

  He looks so proud and so happy and so in love. And even though I know how immature it is, I fucking hate him for it.

  “You win face-offs and you pick the perfect woman. Gee, Jordy, is there anything you can’t fucking do?” I hiss and storm off.

  He follows me, of course. Jordan never backs down—not even when he should. I get to the table and before I can sit down, his hand clamps down on my shoulder. I spin to face him. Our body language must be completely confrontational because his buddies Chooch and Kennedy stop talking with Jessie and stare up at us.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

  “Nothing.” I glance over to the pool tables again. The balls remain untouched. Deveau is leaning forward, his hand on Callie’s shoulder, whispering something in her ear. Whatever it is, she looks like she likes it.

  “Is your teammate always such a manwhore?” I snipe and drop my drink on the table and head toward them.

  “What the fuck?” I hear Jessie whisper loudly but I keep walking.

  Chapter 16

  Callie

  Seb and I are totally hitting it off. He’s quiet, and at first I thought he might be shy, but he’s all about the body contact—touching my arm, my shoulder, my hip—and he talks easily in his totally hot French accent about the game, his team, living in Seattle and growing up in Quebec.

  “You are younger than Jessie?” he asks and I nod. “You seem more mature.”

  “I am,” I reply easily. “But she’s more mature than she appears. Jordan brings out the lovesick kid in her. That’s okay. She deserves it. We had a rough childhood.”

  “It’s hard to be immature when you didn’t get to do it as a kid when everyone else did,” he murmurs and our eyes lock.

  He gets it. I wonder why. It makes me want to do more than stick my tongue down his throat and that worries me. I try to get us back on track. I move to the pool table, where we racked the balls but never bothered to break them. I lean forward and pause before taking the shot so he can admire my butt.

  “You have beautiful eyes,” he tells me right after I break the balls on the table.

  I smile softly. He was so not looking at my eyes.

  “And your smile…makes it look like you might be thinking dirty things,” he says and winks.

  “What can I say? Between those biceps and that accent”—I lean against the table—“I can’t seem to keep my mind out of the gutter.”

  He stands directly in front of me—inches from me. He leans in and I feel his lips brush my ear. “Maybe you and I can do something about those dirty thoughts.”

  “Callie.”

  Seb and I both turn our heads to find Devin standing at the end of the pool table glaring at us like an angry parent. Seb doesn’t say anything; he just takes a big step back from me and walks around the table to the side farthest from Devin and starts to line up a shot.

  “Yes, Dad?” I say snarkily. “Is it past curfew?”

  He doesn’t even smile at my joke. He puts a hand on the small of my back and moves me out of Seb’s earshot.

  “What?” I ask, trying not to sound quite as annoyed as I am.

  I know that he’s going through a lot and I want to be supportive. I have been supportive, so I deserve a ride on Sebastian Deveau as a reward.

  “Just forgot to mention the ground rules when you moved in,” he tells me, his eyebrows pinched together in an angry frown. “No random hookups in my house.”

  “You’re joking, right?” I can’t believe he would dare to do this. “You had a random hookup just last week!”

  That comment seems to w
ind him for a second but he recovers instantly and turns condescending eyes on me. “You seriously want to sleep with him?”

  “Yes, Devin. He’s what a sane woman would call a hot piece of ass.” I give him a look like he’s a moron. He gives me one back like I’m insane.

  “That’s your type?” He looks disgusted.

  “Yes. Good looking, well built and sexy as all hell with bedroom eyes is my type,” I snap and put my hands on my hips. “And before you go slamming the type of guy I like to fuck, remember you are one of them.”

  I storm back to Seb without looking back.

  Chapter 17

  Devin

  Before I can follow her, Jordan is in my face again.

  “Would you fucking talk to me?” he demands, his voice soft and urgent. “I want to help you.”

  “I don’t need your help, Jordan,” I snap. “Just go back to Seattle and your perfect little world with the love of your life and all that crap.”

  “I’m the first one to admit my world is far from perfect,” Jordan replies. “I have no problem admitting that it was a whole lot of luck that brought Jessie back in my life. But it’s a whole lot of work that is going to keep her there forever. I would never give up on us. What are you afraid of—the work? Why are you giving up on Ashleigh?”

  I take a step toward him. We’re literally toe-to-toe now, breathing in each other’s faces. My shoulders are so tense they ache and my fists are balled up at my sides, ready to strike. I have never punched Jordan, but right now it’s all I want to do. Jessie appears next to him and touches Jordan’s waist. It just makes me angrier to see her concern for him. Did Ashleigh ever have concern like that for me?

  “It’s my fault? You think I just walked away because she didn’t want another kid or because marriage requires work? That’s how fucking shallow I am?”