Home Ice (22 page)

Tori laughed. “Seriously? You just won the figure skating world championships.”

“It’s not the first time.” Kind of bragging but also true. She was still silly dancing inside.

“Oh sure. It’s no big deal to you now. You know there was a camera close-up of your reaction to the scores, right?”

“Okay, I’m jumping-out-of-my-skin excited, but I still want to hear about Andrew.” Lori opened the door to her dressing room, followed her sister inside, and closed it behind them.

The noise died away, and Tori dropped onto the couch lining the wall. “Well … he’s gay.”

“
What?
”

“Yeah. I was a beard, I guess. He said he was afraid to tell his parents, but after the first semester, he met someone and didn’t want to wait anymore. He apologized a lot for lying to me, but what can you do? I was disappointed, but I understood. I mean it’s not like I
made
him gay. Anyway, I’m dating a new guy. Paolo. He’s an art student from Spain, and he’s …” She sighed and leaned her head back, closing her eyes.

“Ahh. Well. Okay then. As long as you’re happy.”

“I am. And let’s talk about
your
hottie. Off-the-charts bod with a movie star face, and he’s polite. He really cares about you, too. I could see it in the way he looked at you and talked about you. You won the lottery, Lore. I’d say something about God giving with both hands, but you did all the work. You earned everything you’ve ever gotten, and you deserve it.”

New tears fell without warning, and she sniffed them back, but Tori was already up and hugging her. There was a time she’d thought her sister would hate her forever for her success. If not hate, then at least hold a grudge. Tori really was growing up. “Oh. What’s up with—”

“The pod people posing as Mom and Dad?”

“Yeah.” Lori stepped back laughing and slid a hand under her nose. “I wanted to ask you in Greensboro but didn’t get the chance.”

“Weird, isn’t it? After I left for New York, I guess they started seeing a counselor. After a month, they were like different people. Or I guess the people they used to be before life got in the way.”

“You mean me.”

“You don’t really think that, do you? Lore, they made choices. They let the space grow between them over the years. That’s not on you. Trust me. Every time I’ve gone home, I’ve heard all about their sessions with Dr. Bob. Against my will. They both take responsibility for the way things turned out, and they found their way back. Almost like a Nicholas Sparks story but with a happy ending.”

Could that be true? The evidence had been seeing her parents standing in front of the concession stand, holding hands and looking like newlyweds. The heavy shackle of guilt she’d carried since her early teens unclasped, and she leaned against the armchair for balance.

Tori rubbed her back. “I think your happy ending might be waiting back in Las Vegas.”

Dylan
. He felt more like a happy beginning, and she couldn’t wait to see him.

Tuesday, March 31st

Even though she was no stranger to traveling internationally, the time travel aspect of it still threw Lori for a loop. She’d left China at 6:00 a.m. on Monday, and with air time and layovers, landed in Vegas at 6:00 a.m. on Monday. Not sleeping on the long trip combined with jet lag and coming down from a winning high put Lori in a semi-coma for almost twenty hours. As much as she’d wanted to see Dylan right away, there was no point in him watching her sleep even though he’d offered happily. Setting a date for Tuesday night had been better, knowing he missed her just as much.

So she’d crashed two minutes after walking into her apartment, woke at four the next morning, and hit the gym for a few hours. The pull to stay in bed and nap on and off was strong, but she’d never get back into her regular routine if she didn’t force it, and the sooner the better. Sin City on Ice expected her back in the rink Wednesday night, and she didn’t want to miss a single day of training or at least conditioning.

But there was one more thing on her to-do list. It was just after eight when she showered and did the hair and makeup thing. Her personal skills were nowhere near Margo’s, but they’d do for a brief business meeting. The date later might call for an extra coat of mascara. Or a call to Margo, who would be ecstatic for the world championship victory and maybe equally excited that Lori was finally taking makeup seriously.

Finding Ron Byers’s office building wasn’t hard thanks to her GPS, but finding a parking space was another story. How many people worked for him? The glass-walled building with high ceilings and marble floors looked a lot like some of the hotels he owned. Very rich. Very Vegas. Not a lot of personality. Everyone wore suits that no doubt cost several hundred dollars, and suddenly her simple black Macy’s skirt, white T-shirt and casual blazer felt way underdressed.

She found his office on the fourth floor and stopped in front of his assistant’s desk. The nameplate said Coreena Ellers. The woman paused in typing and looked up. Lori brought out her friendliest smile. “Hi. I don’t have an appointment, but I’m Lorelai Kelly, the figure skater? Mr. Byers sponsors me. If he has a minute, I just wanted to stop by and say thank you.”

Coreena stared for a half-second then glanced down at the open day planner on the desk and nodded. “His first appointment isn’t until nine. Let me check.” She picked up the phone and hit a button. “Mr. Byers? You’ve got a Lorelai Kelly out here to see you. Says it’ll only be a minute. Yes, sir.” She set the phone back in the cradle and resumed typing. “You can go on in.”

Why did this feel like going to see the wizard? Lori squared her shoulders and walked into Oz. This one lacked a yellow brick road, but there was a yellow-gold brick paperweight on the man’s desk. It was probably real, too. “Mr. Byers, it’s nice to meet you in person.”

“Ron. Call me Ron. Lorelai Kelly. World champ. To what do I owe the pleasure?” He came around the desk to shake her hand and clasp her elbow before gesturing for her to take a seat. His cologne smelled top-of-the-line. Elite. Like everything else in his orbit. “Can I offer you a drink?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I can’t really stay, but I wanted to thank you personally.” She hovered by the door for an easy exit. She was grateful for his sponsorship, but the man was kind of … slimy.

“Thank me?” Even though she’d turned down the drink, he poured himself a glass of bourbon. Michter’s didn’t sound familiar, but it probably cost more than a night in one of his casino hotel rooms. And that was saying something.

“Yes. For staying my sponsor after Nationals. It wasn’t my best performance, and I wouldn’t have blamed you for dropping me. It means a lot that you had faith and let me get my bearings so I could keep training and go to worlds. And it paid off. I’d be happy to do a promotional spot for you. Maybe an appearance at one of your hotels.”

“Ah.” He took a sip of bourbon like it was water, not even the smallest wince. His liver was most likely solid as a rock. “An appearance. I definitely think that could be mutually beneficial. Las Vegas’s skating superstar signing autographs exclusively in my lobby. Tell you what, you should invite your boyfriend, too. Make it a really big event. After all, he deserves the real thanks.”

“My boyfriend?”

Ron’s excitement tempered, and he looked like he might hedge but sighed instead. “I have to be honest. I’m a straightforward man, and I take my accolades when I earn them, but I’m afraid I haven’t earned this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean my name may still be on the sponsorship, but I haven’t been sponsoring.”

Her mouth went dry, her heartbeat sped up, and she rocked back on her heels. “Dylan has?”

“He wanted to keep it under wraps, but hell, he deserves the credit. Our man Dylan Cole. Savior of the NHL, guardian angel to his girlfriend, and all-around good guy. I understand you had your reasons for not wanting him to sponsor, but look at it this way. He must care about you an awful lot to go through all this trouble. To be frank, I was ready to break off our arrangement and invest elsewhere, but he stepped in with this offer. And like you said, it paid off. He’s the one who deserves your thanks.”

Dylan deserved something, but it didn’t come close to thanks. She should be angry. Hurt. Disappointed. And all those things were somewhere inside for sure, but at the moment, numb beat them all out. “I see.”

“Look, for me it wasn’t personal. Just business. For him it
is
personal. Don’t go too hard on him.”

It was personal for her, too. She’d said no, but he’d still found a way to go behind her back. And he’d lied to her face.

Tuesday night

I can’t wait to see her
.

That singular thought had run through Dylan’s mind a hundred times since breakfast. If he’d had his way, he’d have picked her up from the airport, brought her home, and fixed her a meal, but she’d stressed the necessity of sleep and claimed she was “gross from the planes.” Even if Lori Kelly fell in a sewer, she could never be gross, but he knew better than to argue.

That didn’t make waiting any easier. He’d watched her performances on TV, and they’d talked on the phone, but it wasn’t the same as being there to celebrate with her. And the NHL, his teammates, and most of all his scary coach demanded his presence in the States for the last few games leading up to the playoffs. Every game counted for the Sinners now, and whatever anyone said, that was on him. Since Jacey had taken over the team four years ago, they’d never struggled for a playoff spot. It was no coincidence that the one time they did, he had his first slump. There were only six games left in the regular season, and they needed to win two to secure their spot.

The oven beeped, and he paused in stirring the pasta sauce to take out the garlic bread. With the Tupperware already laid out on the island, it was just a matter of pouring, packing, and sealing. Ideally, he would have set the table, lit some candles, and had her over, but that was tough with a roommate who had a problem with boundaries and a roommate’s girlfriend who didn’t believe in them. No, he needed a night alone with Lori to show her how proud he was.

“Heading out?” Madden caught him on his way to the garage.

“Yeah.”

“Kitchen smells pretty good. You learned a few things from me after all.”

“The things I learned from you could fill a couple of books, but you probably don’t want to claim them all.”

“All right, smart guy. You can go now. Tell Lori hey.”

“Will do.” Dylan ducked out feeling lighter, like he’d just escaped an embarrassing lecture from his big brother. He jogged to his SUV and stacked dinner carefully on the floor of the passenger side. The feeling of freedom grew stronger as he drove out of the gated community and headed for Lori’s. Living with Madden had been great and what he needed over the last two years, but things were changing. Not in a bad way, but it was time to find his own place. If Saralynn said yes, she’d eventually move in, and if any one person could fill a space as big as Vaughn Manor, it was that girl.

Maybe … best not to get ahead of himself. One step at a time, and the step in front of him was a romantic dinner. He checked his phone at a red light. No messages. No word from her all day, which was out of character but understandable. That kind of jet lag would take longer than thirty-six hours to fix. Still, something felt off.

He parked next to her car in the lot, gathered the plastic containers, and headed for her apartment. With some creative balancing, he freed a hand to knock. No answer or sound of footsteps, so he knocked again. Just before he got out his phone, the door swung open, and the stony look on her face made his heart drop. “What happened?”

She slammed the door in his face.

Shock joined the anxiety spreading through him, and he set the food on the ground. “Lori?”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Could you say
something
? I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Yes, you do. In fact, this should be a very familiar conversation because we had it before.”

“Could we have it again without a couple of inches of steel between us? I swear I’m lost here.” There could only be one thing that would make her so angry, but she couldn’t know. It wasn’t possible.

The door swung open again so fast, had he been leaning on it, he’d have fallen at her feet. That might still happen, but for the moment, he just swayed forward. Lori looked outside like she might be afraid the neighbors were listening, and then she gestured him in but didn’t move any farther into the apartment.

Her face and eyes were red. No makeup except a streak of mascara across her cheek. “I’m a joke to you, aren’t I? A pathetic used-to-be who needs someone to take care of her because she can’t do it herself.” Her voice broke. He stepped forward and reached out, but she retreated with her arms folded across her chest, and it killed him.

“No, you’re not. I don’t think that. How could I?”

“I don’t know. How
could
you? After everything we talked about, how could you go behind my back and sponsor me and pretend it’s someone else? I talked to Ron Byers today. I wanted to thank him for having faith in me. He said I owed you that thanks. Don’t you understand how that makes me feel? The reason we worked so well, the reason we … fit so well together”—her face crumbled, but she sniffed back more tears—“is that we were equals. Athletes at the top of our sports with the same pressures and responsibilities and insecurities. Except one. You haven’t had to worry about money to do what you do. I have. But I’ve always managed. I’ve always kept going through my own effort, and I could have done that again. But you thought you knew better. Could do better.”

He stood in suspended animation, absorbing her words and trying to sort through them. No question, lying to her had been wrong. And seeing her so shattered tore him apart. “I’m sorry. I never meant to make you feel that way. I just knew that if he dropped you, you couldn’t go to worlds, and I couldn’t let that happen.”

“It wasn’t up to you to make it happen. How many times can I say this? I succeed or fail on my own. I never wanted you to save me. I just wanted you by my side and there for me. I can’t be with someone I can’t trust. And I can’t trust you.”