“That’s the guy who came that night…”
“Mmmhmm.” Remi scooped grounds into the filter, brushed off her fingertips and pressed the button to start the coffee. She needed coffee.
“So you and him…”
Remi smiled, leaned against the counter. “Yes. Me and him.”
“Oh.”
“What are you doing here, Jas?”
“Oh. Yeah. I needed to talk to you about something.”
Jason sauntered into the kitchen in his boxers and T-shirt. Remi rolled her lips in, even as she admired his long muscular legs and broad chest.
Jasmine’s eyes widened.
“Hi. You must be Jasmine.” Jason held out a hand and speared her with his charming smile.
Jasmine made a noise and shook his hand.
“We met before, but only briefly. I’m Jason.”
“Uh. Yeah. I remember. Hi.”
Remi put her fingers to her mouth. “Jasmine apparently dropped by to talk to me about something. So, what is it, Jasmine?”
“Maybe I should come back later.” She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off Jason.
Remi almost laughed. “No, don’t be silly. What is it?”
Jasmine looked back and forth between them, watching Jason cross the kitchen and kiss Remi’s forehead. Remi smiled up at him.
“I gotta go,” he said regretfully. “To take my parents to the airport.”
“Oh yeah. Okay.” She went on her toes and he lifted her against him for a long, sweet kiss.
Jason kissed Remi, smiled at her sister then headed back to her bedroom to get dressed.
See, this was the problem. His suit and shirt were wrinkled from lying in a heap on the floor where he’d left them last night and he had nothing else to wear. Saturday morning he did not feel like putting on a suit. He’d have to rush back to his place, change and then get to the hotel to pick his parents up. Everything would be easier if they lived together.
He waited for the familiar panicky feeling to claw inside him at the thought of committing like that, but it didn’t come. He buttoned his shirt with fingers that didn’t tremble. Huh. It was kinda weird, but they’d figure it all out later.
Remi followed him to her front door, holding her coffee mug. He bent and kissed her mouth. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
“Okay.”
He patted her cute butt under the silky robe, drawing a smile from her, and then he left, locking her door behind him. The early April morning held hints of spring, the breeze softer, the sun warmer as he strode down the sidewalk to his Jeep, parked at the curb.
It felt like a beginning.
As he drove downtown and thought about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, an expansive feeling of well-being rose inside him. He smiled as he drove. They’d made the playoffs. Yeah, there was still a long road to the Stanley Cup ahead of them, but they’d done it after a long season that had handed them lots of challenges—injuries, trades, talk of financial problems with the team.
He winced a bit, remembering that Tag hadn’t made it. But that was life.
His parents had been there, had been proud of him, had seen him play better than Tag. He didn’t like to gloat, but he couldn’t help a tiny feeling of satisfaction at that. It had been a long time coming.
Remi had been there and she’d been proud of him too. He loved that. And he liked knowing his parents had met her and liked her and now…the M word even popped into his head and didn’t cause a panic attack.
In his apartment, he quickly showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, threw on his jacket and headed out again, over to the hotel.
Marriage.
He could see being married to Remi one day. Moving in together was a big step, marriage would really be rushing it, but the idea of one day taking that leap didn’t scare the shit out of him. He grinned. Maybe he was growing up.
Or maybe he’d just found the right woman.
Maybe he’d been wrong when he said that to Brianne—maybe it was her. Maybe the reason all the hints about marriage and weddings had scratched away at his nerves was because he knew she wasn’t the one for him.
Which could only mean Remi was the one.
He paused in the lobby of the luxe hotel. Put a hand to his chest. His heart beat normally.
It was okay. It was really okay.
Wow. He laughed out loud.
His parents and Matt sat on couches arranged in a grouping on one side of the lobby, their luggage sitting on the floor beside them. They were all looking at him as if he’d walked in wearing his skates and equipment. He laughed again.
“Feeling pretty good today, huh?” his dad said to him, standing as he approached them across the expanse of gleaming granite floor tile.
“Yeah.”
“You haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet.”
“I know.”
As they walked out to his Jeep, his mom took hold of his arm.
“Jason.”
“Mmm?”
She looked a little flustered, like she wanted to say something, but was afraid. “Are you and Remi…serious?”
“Did you like her, Mom?”
The two of them paused on the sidewalk while Matt and his dad loaded suitcases into the vehicle.
“Well, I just met her, but she seems very sweet. You looked so happy with her.”
He nodded, throat constricted. “Yeah.”
“She’s um…different…than other girls you’ve gone out with.”
He hesitated. He knew what she meant, but wasn’t sure how to express it. “I know. She’s…real.”
His mom smiled. “Yes. She is.”
He nodded, glad he’d somehow made his mom happy, even more glad that Remi was in his life, but he felt like a big dumb jock because he didn’t have the words to express all that.
After seeing them off at O’Hare, he drove to the Metro Center where their practice had been moved to the afternoon for a change. The physical workout felt good. Much as they all wanted to take it easy to celebrate their win the night before, they also knew they had a lot of work to do. The playoffs were a whole new season. Mentally they had to get into a different place. Physically they needed to be at their peak.
He debated going straight to Remi’s place after the practice, but glanced at his watch. It was early. She had things to do too. He’d go home, call her, they’d figure out what they were going to do tonight. They could have a nice celebration dinner, just the two of them, somewhere quiet and casual, then go back to her place and…
Well. Yeah.
In his apartment, he sat down in front of his computer and started going through emails, some things from his agent to look at, some stuff from his financial guy about his investments. He was glad he’d been smart with his money. His parents had drilled that into him over the years. His career could end tomorrow with a bad check or a puck in the face, so he had to be prepared for anything.
The security buzzer announced someone at the front door. He frowned, spun around on the chair, then went to the security system. Had Remi decided to come over instead of waiting for him to call?
But the security camera showed Brianne standing there. Huh? What the hell was she doing there? He paused, his finger on the button to let her in. She buzzed again.
With a sigh, he picked up the phone. “Brianne? What are you doing here?”
She looked into the camera. “I need to talk to you, Jase.” She hugged a big purse to her like it was a security blanket or something. His frown deepened.
“What about?”
She glanced around, then looked pleadingly back at the camera. “Just let me in, Jase. We have to talk.”
Hell. He buzzed her in, shoved a hand through his hair and paced while he waited for her to come up in the elevator. What the fuck was this about? If she was going to beg him to get back together, she’d picked the wrong time, with him just figuring out he wanted to spend his life with Remi. His gut still clenched, though, at the thought of having to tell Brianne that.