by A. K. Evans
Unfortunately, Lorenzo didn’t say anything else.
The silence stretched on so long and I knew he’d best me in a battle of patience.
“I’m sorry,” I rasped.
“It’s okay. I enjoyed it.”
“You enjoyed what?”
“Our first real disagreement,” he clarified.
My eyes rounded. “You enjoyed having a fight with me?”
He shook his head. “Baby, trust me when I say that what we just did was not even remotely close to having a fight. We had a discussion about something we clearly didn’t see eye to eye on. That said, even if you were setting yourself up for failure because that was a battle you weren’t going to win, it was fun to watch. You’re cute when you’re all riled up.”
My eyes narrowed at him. “I don’t find you very funny.”
“Are you ready to go?” he asked, changing the subject.
“I’m not sure I want to go anywhere with you right now,” I replied as I looked away, feeling downtrodden and doing my best to sulk.
“Jolie?” he called, his tone serious.
When my eyes came to his again, he obliterated me. “This was a huge moment for me. You were here being sassy and trying to throw your weight around. Instead of realizing that I was right to live in fear that I’d one day become my father by thinking that I had a right to put my hands on you for you even thinking you had a right to your opinion, I found you adorable. Can you give me this victory?”
Never.
Not once in the whole discussion, not before, during, or after, did the thought ever cross my mind that he was worried how he’d react to a disagreement with me. And not once did I ever feel fearful. I knew I had no reason to be, but it was clear he still needed some reassurance. If the way this played out between us gave him some peace about the person he was, then I could certainly stop sulking and give him this victory.
I stepped into him, pressed up on my toes, and touched my lips to his for a quick kiss. With my lips against his, I murmured, “I’m going to set the DVR for the game just in case we aren’t back on time. Then you can take me out to the truck and give me my gift.”
“Good idea. We definitely won’t be back here before the game starts.”
After I got the DVR set and started walking to the door so we could leave, Lorenzo reached out to me and gently tugged me toward him. “Thank you, baby.”
This meant a lot to him and it moved me to know that he struggled so much with something that I knew he’d never be capable of. And I knew I wasn’t the only one who could see that about him. Instead of telling him this, I gave him his victory by offering a small smile and a nod.
After that, Lorenzo and I locked up and left.
Once we were inside the truck, Lorenzo reached back behind my seat and presented me with a gift bag. Grinning at him, I took the bag and pulled the tissue paper out, tossing it away from the bag and letting it float through the air in the cabin of the truck. I looked down, saw the material and the colors, and my heart began racing.
Reaching inside, I clamped my hand around the material and pulled it out. When I let it fall open and I saw exactly what it was, I nearly broke down into tears. Lorenzo said this was a hint about what we were doing tonight. Realization dawned and I dropped my arms so I could look at him.
“Did you get me Rocco De Luca’s hockey jersey because you’re taking me to the game tonight?” I asked, my voice indicating I was on the verge of a breakdown.
Lorenzo dipped his chin in response.
I couldn’t help myself. I climbed across the center console and threw myself at him, crushing my mouth to his. We kissed a long time, our tongues tasting and teeth nibbling while our hands roamed.
Lorenzo eventually tore his mouth away and rested his forehead against mine. “I love it when you’re happy. I love how it makes me feel to see you so happy, especially when I know I’m the one that made you feel that way. And as much as I love how you’re expressing your happiness right now, if we don’t stop we are going to miss the game.”
He needed to say nothing else. I climbed back over to my side of the truck, pulled on the De Luca jersey, and asked, “How do I look?”
“You’re the most beautiful woman in the world,” he proclaimed.
Then, he started the truck and drove away.
We were fortunate enough to live so close to our home team. Thirty minutes later, Lorenzo and I were walking into the arena and I was bursting with excitement on the inside. We got through the security check-in and Lorenzo held my hand as we worked our way through the crowd of Wyoming Summits fans, who had already started chanting for their team. The atmosphere and vibe was unreal. I’d never experienced anything like it and I was so overjoyed I was having my first live game experience with Lorenzo.
“We’re here,” he stated over the noise surrounding us.
He ushered me to the side and walked down the corridor. Opening a door, he stepped inside one of the exclusive club boxes.
“What are we doing here?” I wondered.
“This is where we’re watching the game from,” he replied.
“Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Next time we come to a game, we can get seats behind the goal if you want to be closer to the action.”
“Next time?” I asked. “Do you come to the games often?”
“As often as I can,” he answered, nonchalantly.
“This is my first live game,” I shared. “I’m so excited. Thank you so much for bringing me here.”
He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and curled me into his body before he pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “I wanted to bring you to the game because I knew you’d have a good time, but I had another motive,” he admitted.
I looked up at him, waiting for another explanation.
“Rocco’s looking forward to meeting you.”
My jaw dropped. “He knows about me?”
Lorenzo nodded.
I didn’t say anything for a long time as I processed the information that he’d spoken to his brother about me already. It wasn’t long before I noticed Lorenzo started to worry, so I quickly set his mind at ease.
“Do you think he’ll sign my jersey?” I wondered.
At that, my big guy burst out laughing. A couple hours later, we’d watched warm-ups, celebrated two goals, and were nearing the end of the second period.
But we were down by two.
I was pacing.
I was angry.
I was going to be absolutely devastated if my first experience at a live game ended in a loss.
Just then, I watched as Rocco got slashed on a breakaway toward the net. The ref missed it and I couldn’t control what came over me.
“Get off your knees ref, you’re blowing the game!!” I shouted.
I looked to Lorenzo and found him laughing. “Relax, baby. It’s okay.”
“What?” I shrieked in horror and disbelief. “Are you kidding me? These guys have missed half a dozen calls.”
“I know, but you’re so worked up. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until we get back to your place to do something about it.”
Thankfully, five minutes later, I’d mellowed out a touch because we scored. There was nothing like a Summits’ goal celebration. By the beginning of the third period, though, I was right back to feeling frustrated. Lorenzo knew it and came up behind me. His hands squeezed my shoulders, trying to relieve some of my tension. It helped a little having him close, but then the ref made another bad call, put the opposing team on the power play, and I lost it.
With each word I yelled, my voice got louder and louder. “I wonder if this ref’s wife knows he’s fucking us!” I shouted.
Lorenzo’s body shook with laughter behind me. He squeezed my shoulders in response and his mouth came to my ear. “Jolie, you’ve got a filthy mouth when you’re pissed.”
A whistle blew and I was shocked to find that a penalty was called on the opposing team. It was about time. We were
going to be on our first power play of the game, which was great for us. The Summits were second in the league on the power play, largely due to Rocco’s slapshot. He didn’t have the fastest one in the league, but he was precise. His accuracy was off the charts.
I couldn’t sit, but I couldn’t stand still either.
During the last ten seconds of the power play, Rocco got a killer pass from his defenseman and rocketed a shot to the back of the net. I jumped up in celebration and turned toward Lorenzo. Throwing my arms around his neck, we celebrated the goal along with the rest of the fans in the arena.
“He’s so good,” I gushed. “You’ve got to be so proud of him, boss.”
Grinning huge, Lorenzo replied, “I am.”
The third period ended in a tie, so we went to overtime. Nobody scored during the five-minute overtime, which meant the game ended up going to a shootout. Our goalie was one of the best in the league. He was a seasoned player and had been in his fair share of shootouts.
Two of our guys ended up scoring, one of those guys being Rocco, and we won the game. After a massive celebration in the arena, Lorenzo and I sat down to relax. Rocco was going to need some time before he’d be ready to come out and meet me, and it wasn’t like there was anywhere we could go with droves of people filing out. Since we were in the box and had food and refreshments at our disposal, Lorenzo and I ate while we waited.
It was only then that I started feeling some nerves about meeting Lorenzo’s brother. Today had proved to be such a wonderful day and I didn’t want anything happening to mess with it.
Not quite an hour later, the door to our club room box opened and in walked Rocco. He walked right up to Lorenzo and pulled him in for a hug as Lorenzo congratulated him.
“Rocky, this is my girl, Jolie. Jolie, this is Rocco.”
I held my hand out to him. “It’s so nice to meet you,” I said. “Great game. Congratulations on the win.”
“Thanks,” he replied. “With the calls being made tonight, it was no easy feat.”
Lorenzo’s laughter filled the room. “You have no idea. Don’t let her ladylike disposition fool you. This woman was livid with the refs throughout the game, shouting obscenities at them.”
Rocco’s disbelieving eyes came to mine. The corners of his mouth twitched before he hinted, “Well, it must have worked because we finally got that call at the end.”
I offered a goofy grin in return.
“Jolie was hoping you’d sign her new jersey for her.”
“Absolutely,” he responded. “I’ll get you a signed stick before you leave, too.”
“Are you serious? I’m going to cry.”
For the next ten minutes Lorenzo, Rocco, and I hung out and made small talk. That all changed, though, when Lorenzo excused himself to use the restroom.
The second he walked out of earshot, Rocco leaned in. “I hope you’ll take no offense to this, but my brother’s put himself through hell for me, so I feel it’s my job to do this now. In just the short phone call I had with him a couple weeks ago and seeing the two of you together now, I know where his head is with you. I also know how he’s lived his life up until now. I’m thrilled that he’s finally opened himself up to love, but I’m worried how he’ll cope if this doesn’t end well.”
I was caught off guard, but I understood Rocco’s mindset. “I don’t know what to say,” I started. “I can’t say where this will end up, but I really like your brother. A lot. He makes me happy, happier than I’ve been in a long time, and I’d like to think I do the same for him. Regardless, I know what he’s been through—what you’ve both been through—and I wouldn’t go into this lightly. This isn’t just a passing fling for me. I really do care about him.”
Rocco dipped his chin. “I can respect that. It just worried me a bit when he told me you weren’t ready to tell your family.”
“My sister knows,” I immediately put in. “I just didn’t want to tell the rest of my family yet. My brother’s wife just had two babies about a month ago and I don’t want to do anything to cause him any stress or worry. I don’t believe there’s anything for him to worry about, but he’s my brother and that’s just the way he is.”
“I’ve met Dom. I understand it,” he assured me. “To that end, and this is the last I’ll say on it, I don’t want to see Enzo fall hard for you and then have his heart broken. This was a huge step for him. Please don’t make him regret opening his heart to you.”
I jerked my head back in surprise. I really hadn’t expected this conversation at all. Initially, I understood it, but now I wasn’t so sure how I felt about it. I really liked Lorenzo and knew we were well on our way to a much deeper connection. But I couldn’t make predictions about the future. I couldn’t know for sure that things would turn out the way any one person wanted. As much as I might have wanted to give Rocco that guarantee that his brother and I would go the distance, I couldn’t. I did know, though, that I’d never intentionally set out to hurt Lorenzo and that I absolutely hoped we’d go the distance.
I was caught up in my thoughts over what Rocco said that I never saw Lorenzo approach. I also didn’t see his face change when he noted the look on my own.
“I was gone not even three minutes,” he announced. “Why does my woman look like she’s lost inside her own head worrying about something?”
“Enzo—” Rocco started, but I cut him off.
“I’m fine,” I insisted. “Rocco and I were just chatting. It’s all good.”
“Bullshit, Jolie. What did he say to you?”
I didn’t want to start trouble between them, but I knew Lorenzo was not going to stand for me staying silent. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry too long about how to share the conversation Rocco and I had because Rocco chimed in.
“I was doing my job and looking out for you, Enzo. I know what we went through and I know how you’ve handled it. I’m ecstatic you’ve got her in your life now; I just don’t want to see things go south between the two of you and then you end up not living again.”
“And you thought it was wise to ambush her when I wasn’t here to have her back?” Lorenzo scoffed. “You know I love you, Rocky, but don’t ever fucking do that to her again.”
Rocco grinned at Lorenzo, which I thought was not a wise move on his part, before he simply stated, “Protector. Always have been, always will be.”
Something flashed in Lorenzo’s face.
If I understood what happened correctly, Rocco purposely made me uncomfortable to get his brother to see the truth behind the kind of person he was. Rocco knew, as much as I did, that Lorenzo wouldn’t stand for anyone ‘ambushing’ me or hurting me, so he did what he had to do to make sure Lorenzo could see it too. For that reason, Rocco earned a spot on my Christmas card list.
To break up the tension, I wondered, “Alright, so what’s a girl got to do to get a signed jersey around here?”
Their eyes came to me. Lorenzo saw that I was no longer distressed, so he relaxed and Rocco knew that I wasn’t holding anything against him. Any lingering friction between the brothers vanished and Rocco saw to it that I got my jersey signed.
I also managed to snag a signed stick.
Before we left, Lorenzo and I made plans with Rocco for the next game we wanted to come and watch. After seeing me in action tonight, Lorenzo thought it might be better for us to have the privacy of a box again, but I really wanted to be close to the action. He begrudgingly gave in and Rocco assured us he’d get us great seats.
We said goodbye to him and left.
That night, cuddled up in my bed with him, I found myself falling just a little bit harder for Lorenzo. He’d given me a truly unforgettable day. I thought he should know what it meant to me.
“Boss?” I called, unsure if he had fallen asleep.
“Right here, baby.”
“Thank you for today.”
His hand, which had been wrapped around mine on top of his chest, lifted mine and brought it to his lips. He kissed my knuckles before
placing my hand back over his heart.
“No. Thank you.”
I shifted my body a little closer to his and gave him a squeeze.
“Good night, Lorenzo.”
“Good night, Jolie.”
A few minutes later, we both succumbed to the exhaustion from our fun-filled night.
The morning started out similar to the one I experienced the first time Lorenzo and I had gotten together. I had woken up early and snuck out of bed to make some coffee. I figured I’d make the coffee and take an extra cup back upstairs to the bedroom for Lorenzo.
While I waited for the coffee to brew, there was a light tap at the door. It was early and I wasn’t expecting anyone, so when I approached the door I asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Jojo,” the familiar voice answered.
Oh. Crap.
I couldn’t pretend to not be home now. I couldn’t even pretend to be sleeping.
What was I going to do?
I disabled the alarm, took in a deep breath, and opened the door.
“Morning, Jojo,” my brother greeted me as he pressed a kiss to my cheek and walked in.
“Good morning, Dom,” I replied, staring at the empty space where he once stood.
After I closed the door, I followed him to the kitchen. He had plopped down onto one of the stools. The moment his eyes came to mine, he pleaded, “I need your help.”
Instantly, my body went alert. “What’s wrong? Are the babies okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. They’re fine,” he assured me. “I had to run an errand for Ekko but needed to talk to you about something. Since I was in the area, I figured it was easiest to just stop by. Next week is Ekko’s birthday. I want to take her out for a few hours to get her out of the house. She needs a break and I figure her birthday is the perfect excuse. Unfortunately, if I don’t have a plan in place, there is no way she’ll agree to anything.”
“Okay, do you want me to watch Hank and Gracie for you?” I wondered.
His head, which had been looking down at the counter, slowly lifted and he answered, “Yes.”
“Sure.”
“You really don’t mind? It’s a lot. With Mom and Dad being away next week, I couldn’t ask them. I know Colton and Memphis would never let anything harm them, but I’m not sure how they’d manage on diaper duty. I haven’t talked to Kendall, but I’m not sure if she’s working at the hospital. I’ll reach out to her and see if she’s able to stop in then, too.”
