Taking A Shot (42 page)

At the face-off, Jenna tensed and didn’t let go the entire time. The game was intense, a knuckle biter as the Ice and Denver went at it as if this was the last game either team was going to play. There were plenty of penalties, only this time Ty wasn’t involved. He stayed clean, though he did plenty of bumping. When he crashed up against the glass right in front of her, she wanted to leap up and smack the guy who’d thrown him there. But Ty concentrated on advancing the puck, and when he scored, she screamed until she was hoarse.

The Ice were up two goals by the end of the second period, and Jenna’s jaw hurt from clenching it. Defense had kicked ass so far, keeping Denver scoreless and their shots on goal unremarkable.

Ty had paid her no attention, hadn’t once glanced her way through the entire game. Not that she expected him to. She wanted him concentrating on the game and not thinking about her. She wanted the Ice to win.

And when they did, shutting out Denver, she and Liz hugged and cheered along with everyone else in the packed arena. They waited until the crowds thinned, then went to wait on Ty outside the locker room.

“He’s so mad at me,” Jenna said, chewing on a fingernail. “I don’t know if he’ll even talk to me.”

“You have to open the dialogue door somewhere. This is where you start.”

The media kept them awhile, so Jenna paced back and forth, distracting herself by talking to a few of the wives and girlfriends of the players. Renee had texted her and asked her to give Eddie a big congratulatory hug for her since she was working at the bar tonight and couldn’t be at the game. The two of them had recently become
exclusive, and Jenna was happy for both of them. They made a cute couple. So when Eddie came out of the locker room, she congratulated him and gave him Renee’s hug.

“I’m headed over to the bar now,” Eddie said with a wide grin. “Hope Malcolm’s got those steaks fired up.”

She laughed. “You know he will. And the first round for you guys is on me. I’ve already let my assistant manager know.”

Eddie kissed her cheek. “You’re awesome, Jenna.”

Eddie took off once Victor came out, and the trail of players coming through the door only made her more nervous, especially when she didn’t see Ty.

“He snuck out another way. He’s avoiding me.”

Liz rolled her eyes. “There is no other way. He didn’t sneak out. See? Here he is now.”

Oh, shit. He walked out the door and suddenly she had no idea what she was going to say. Fortunately, Liz got to him first, throwing her arms around him and hugging him.

“It’s a damn good thing you won tonight,” Liz told him. “I’ve got potential product endorsement deals on the line, so the further you go in the playoffs, the more deals and more money I can get for you.”

“Yeah, it’s the only thing on my mind when I take the ice,” he said.

“I’m sure it is.” She winked, then said, “Well, I’ve got to talk to the big boss for a few minutes, so if you two will excuse me.”

Liz made a discreet exit, leaving her alone with Ty, who leveled an expressionless stare her way.

It was her play.

“Great game tonight.”

“Thanks. Surprised to see you here.”

“Really? I don’t know why. I wanted to support you and the team.”

“Uh-huh.”

“And…I wanted a few minutes alone with you so we could talk.”

“I think we said it all the other night, Jenna. Not much to talk about. I’m tired after the game tonight.”

“I understand. We both said a lot of things the other night, but we need to talk. I need to tell you a few things.”

He laughed, the sarcasm clear. “There’s more than what you already said?”

“I deserved that. But it’s not what you think.”

“Okay. Spill it.”

“Not here. Come with me.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

She laid a hand on his arm. “Ty, please. I know you don’t owe me anything. Not after the way I acted the other night. But if you’ll just give me an hour…”

She hoped and prayed he wouldn’t judge her on the last words she’d said to him the other night, that he’d give her a chance.

“Fine. You’ve got an hour. I’ve got to grab my gear in the locker room and meet with my coach for a few minutes. I’ll meet you at your place when I’m done.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

She left and found Liz, who was chatting with the Ice owner, so she stayed in the background until she finished up.

“How did it go?” Liz asked as they made their way to the parking lot.

“He’s still angry with me. I can tell. But he did agree to give me an hour.”

“That’s because he loves you.”

Her heart squeezed. “Does he? His voice was so flat. No emotion in it at all.”

They got into the car and buckled their seatbelts and Liz drove
off in her usual crazy manner, but gave Jenna a quick glance. “Honey, you hurt him and men don’t take that well. They shove their emotions deep inside where you can’t hurt them again. In many ways they’re a lot like women, though they’d deny that.”

Jenna’s lips curved. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I am right. They like to pretend they’re tough and impervious to pain. Physically that might be true, but emotionally they can be hurt just like we can. Especially by someone they care about.”

“I hurt him. I know that. I have to fix it.”

Liz squeezed her hand. “Then go do that and win back your man. I need him in top shape for the playoffs.”

Liz dropped her off and she hurried to get ready, nervous as hell about what was going to happen.

When Ty pulled up in front of the condo, she ran outside.

He got out of the car, but she already had her keys in her hand.

He frowned. “What’s up?”

“We need to take a drive.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to show you something.”

“Jenna, I don’t have time for this.”

What he meant was he didn’t want to go. She had to convince him. This was make it or break it for her. “Make time. Please. It won’t take long.”

He shrugged. “Fine.”

He got into her car and she drove off. The silence was unnerving, but she knew idle conversation would be useless, so she used the time to prepare what she was going to say to him when they got there. She played it over and over in her head and by the time she pulled in front of the building, she thought she had it ready.

“What the fuck is this?”

What she couldn’t plan for was Ty’s response.

She got out of the car and keyed in the code she’d gotten from
the real estate manager she’d called yesterday. Just as Ty had done, she’d asked for privacy to look over the building, telling him she was Ty’s business partner and she wanted another look at the place. Okay, she lied, but it worked. She went inside, assuming he’d be curious enough to follow. If he wasn’t, if he stayed in the car, her plan to make this all up to him would be ruined.

And she didn’t have a Plan B. She probably should have come up with a Plan B.

She walked into the space and stood in the center, smiling as plans began to formulate. She’d made notes, started to set up floor plans, but none of it would make sense without Ty.

“Why did you bring me here?”

She turned to face him, her heart pounding so hard all she could hear was her own blood rushing in her ears. She took a deep breath to calm herself down, and prepared to face the music.

She took a step toward him, and stopped. “You were right. I like this place. It’s an ideal location, the square footage is perfect, and the price is in the range I can afford. You have a good eye for real estate. I like your vision of what the club could look like.”

He didn’t answer. He wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She didn’t deserve for it to be easy. Not after the terrible things she’d said to him, how she’d thrown his surprise back in his face.

“I’d like to put the stage over on this side, though. With the windows on the other side, it’ll let more light in the summer, and open up these walls to put a patio outside.”

Still no reply. His hands were jammed so far into his coat pockets she was surprised he hadn’t torn a hole in them.

“But I don’t want to do this alone.” She shuddered in her next breath, squeezing back the tears that threatened to fall. “I always thought I was tough and independent, that I could do everything alone. Turns out I’m not as tough as I’d like to think I am, and since I met you, being alone sucks.”

She waited, her legs shaking so hard she was afraid she was going to crumple to the ground.

“You don’t have to do it alone,” he finally said. “You didn’t have to do it alone. You were never alone and haven’t been since we met. Not once.”

The tears slipped out and ran down her cheeks. She nodded, taking another step toward him. “I know. I know that now. But I was afraid.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I sang in front of my parents and my brothers.”

He took a step toward her, a single step that made hope sing inside her.

“How did that go?”

“They loved my voice. I told them I wanted to open another Riley’s—a music club—and that I didn’t want to manage the sports bar anymore.”

“What did they say?”

“They said I should have told them about my dreams years ago. You were right. All I had to do was muster up a little courage.”

“There’s nothing you can’t do if you have a little faith in yourself.”

“I’m scared, Ty. You were right. I’m afraid to fail.”

He stopped in front of her. “It’s okay to be afraid to fail. Everyone is, and if they say they aren’t they’re full of shit. But just because you’re afraid doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try.”

She laid her hands on his chest, and the reassuring beat of his heart gave her the courage she needed. “I never wanted a hockey player, but by God I fell in love with one, and I’m not about to let him go no matter how afraid I am of love.”

He used his thumb to swipe at the tears on her cheek. “I’m afraid too, babe, and not much of anything scares me. Well, one thing does scare me.”

She sniffled. “Yeah? What’s that?”

“The thought of living without you.”

She sobbed and fell into his arms. He pulled her against him and held her, kissed her hair and rubbed her back as she cried.

“I love you, Jenna.”

That only made her cry harder. “I love you, too. I’m so sorry.” She pulled back so he could see her face. “I’m sorry for everything I said. I want you to push me when I need it. I want you by my side, and no, I don’t ever want to do this alone. I need you in my life, every step of the way. Without you I would never have gotten this far, would have never had the courage to go to that club and sing. I owe every step I’ve taken to you because you pushed me past the fear. God, I love you for that. And I hope you’ll forgive me.”

He kissed the tears on her cheeks, then brushed his lips across hers. “That’s what love is all about, babe. Forgiveness. I watched my parents make a lot of mistakes in their marriage, and I’m bound and determined to never make the same mistakes in mine.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“When I brought you here that first night, my intention was to show you the space, and if you liked it I was going to tell you I had put money down on it. I was going to buy it.”

“What?” she asked again.

“I want to marry you, Jenna. And marriage means a partnership. A partnership means we take the good and the bad. I’m going to push you to be the best singer you can be, to chase your dreams. And you’re going to push me to be the best hockey player I can be. Sometimes we’re going to fight, but we’re never going to give up on each other.”

She put her fingers to her lips. “You’re proposing to me.”

“Yeah. I didn’t buy you a ring, because in a partnership you should have what you want and I’m not presumptuous like that. We’ll pick one out together.”

Because he knew her. He really knew her.

“Just a wedding band would be nice. One of those pretty, slim ones with the diamonds.”

“Whatever you want. But does that mean you say yes?”

She nodded, unable to stop the flow of tears. “Yes. Oh, hell yes. I love you. Of course I’ll marry you. But are you sure you want to put up with me?”

He laughed. “’Til death do us part. And believe me when I tell you this, Jenna. When I walked out on you before, I was hurt and angry and needed some space, but I never had any intention of letting you go. I’m not my parents and I don’t give up that easily. I’m in this forever.”

She nodded. “So am I. I’ll fight for you—for us—no matter what. We Rileys never give up.”

Tyler had no idea love could feel like this—this overwhelming urge to protect, to want someone so badly they could hurt you. But he also knew he never had any intention of walking away from Jenna. If she hadn’t come to him, he would have gone to her in a few days and told her he wasn’t giving up on her.