Page 153 of One Night with Number Nineteen

She leans closer, tucks herself under my arm as Ollie and Faye run around the back yard. “We’ll be okay.”

“I know that too.”

The cameras are up and the blind spots have been eliminated, and Gray and the others even installed several on his property, just to make sure nothing slips through.

Now the guys have gone home for naps and pregame prep and…

I’m having a hard time making myself walk out the door.

“I’m not trying to control you, Pages. I swear, I’m not. And I won’t tell you what to do.” I tug at a curl, brush my lips over hers. “I’d just feel better knowing that you and Ollie were in a public place with twenty thousand witnesses until we get something concrete from the detective.”

Her face softens. “I know, handsome.”

I take a breath. Then another. “But if you want to stay here, I’ll deal with it.”

“God, I love you,” she murmurs, brushing her lips over mine. “We’ll come to the game.”

“You don’t⁠—”

“Shh, handsome.” Her mouth quirks, and she wraps her arms around my waist. “I’m giving in for a change. Accept your victory.”

I cup her face in my hands, kiss her lightly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She leans against me. “Do you need to talk about what happened with your mom?”

My heart convulses. “No, Pages. I’m confused and a bit bewildered and I guess…hopeful.”

“Me too,” she murmurs. “Now,” she says, tone turning businesslike. “Sort those tickets so you can get your ass to the rink. I’m going to watch my handsome hockey-player boyfriend kick some Hawks butt tonight.”

“Let’s go, motherfuckers!” Smitty calls, tapping his stick on the boards and leading us out onto the ice for warmups.

I follow behind him, skating into the brightly lit arena.

It’s only a third full, the puck drop still a bit away, but I see Ollie and Lainey (and Faye) just a few heartbeats later.

Grinning, I skate over to them, waving through the glass.

They wave back and then I focus, moving through my warmup. Though, I do pause more frequently than normal—once to toss a puck over to Ollie, once to blow a kiss at Lainey, several more times to reassure myself that they’re still there.

Then it’s time to get off the ice, time to get officially ready for puck drop.

Coach gives the starting lineup. The anthem plays.

And then we’re lining up for the puck drop and…

The game is underway.

I look over at Lainey and Ollie more often than I probably should be, considering my job is supposed to be focused on the ice.

But we’re doing all right—I’m doing all right.

I get a goal at the end of the first, get a front-row seat of her and Ollie cheering for me.

I look over several times during the second and they’re right where they should be, same as when I come out for the third and final period. Which is the point I finally relax.

Just in time for the Grizzlies to pull ahead less than a minute in.

Only when I look over, Ollie is sitting next to Faye, grinning and cheering and…Lainey’s not there.