Room for You (27 page)

“Relax,” I said in my mom tone as I walked up behind them. “We’re going to sit nice in here and not break or ruin anything. Got it?”

They didn’t hear a word I said but nodded anyway as I pulled the limo door open and they climbed inside. Once they were in, I bent down to climb in myself and stopped when I saw the red rose petals sprinkled all over the floor of the limo. I sat down on the bench opposite Lucy and Piper and looked at Brody apologetically when he joined me, knowing this wasn’t the way he wanted the night to start out.

He shrugged it off and delivered his smile that could make all my troubles disappear. “I wanted you to feel like a princess tonight.” He nodded across at the girls who were excitedly pushing and spinning every knob and button they could find. “Now I have three princesses.” He leaned over to drop a kiss on my forehead, but I was done hiding things from the girls. I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck and redirected his mouth onto mine, meeting in a sweet, wonderful kiss.

No tongue—I wasn’t anywhere near ready to teach the girls about all that yet.

Brody asked the chauffeur to drive up and down the main road off our driveway for the next ten minutes. The girls either didn’t notice or didn’t care that we were driving in a big circle, they were too fascinated with the TV in the car, then the radio in the car, then the fridge in the car where they discovered bottled water they just
had
to have.

We dropped the girls off with Mom and we were on our way. Brody slid the cover off the built-in cooler in the limo and pulled out a bottle of Cristal. “Glad they didn’t find the good stuff.” He said, winking at me as he pulled out two champagne flutes and poured us each a glass.

I took the glass from him as he leaned over and kissed me softly.

“Here’s to a night we’ll never forget.”

Truer words were never spoken
.

Our limo crawled to a stop at the curb of the Prescott Pavilion, and I was shocked at the chaotic scene of fancy cars, security guards and photographers.

“
This
is a charity dinner?” I asked, staring incredulously out the window. I don’t know what I had expected to see, but this definitely wasn’t it.

“Yep, this is it.” He squeezed my hand. “You ready?”

An attendant dressed in a crisp white shirt with a black tie and black pants rushed over and opened the door for us. Before I took the young man’s hand and got out, I glanced back at Brody to see if he was as nervous as I was. He calmly buttoned his jacket and winked at me.

“Let’s go.”

I stepped out and moved off to the side so Brody could follow.

“That was a nice view,” he whispered into my ear once he was out.

He offered up his arm and I hooked mine through immediately, smiling up at him. We walked up a few steps and heads started to turn; people started to whisper.

“Brody, people are staring.” I breathed, leaning in close.

“I know. It’s okay. We’ll walk the red carpet and go right inside. Just a few more minutes.”

“
Red carpet
?” My voice cracked in a panic. “You didn’t tell me about that.”

“Breathe.” He reached up squeezed my hand reassuringly. “I didn’t want you to freak.”

“Well, that worked out well, didn’t it?”

He stopped walking and pulled me over to the side. “Do you not want to do this? I can walk alone and meet you inside if you’d rather? I want you to walk with me, but I’m not going to force you.”

Dread whirled around in my stomach, knocking down everything in its path as it spun and grew like a twister in the summer heat. A month ago, the biggest decision of my life was what shade of pink to paint Lucy and Piper’s fingernails, now I had to decide whether or not to walk the red carpet at the charity dinner for my new boyfriend’s hockey team. It wasn’t the walking that made me nervous, that part was easy—one foot in front of the other. It was the people staring, whispering, and pointing that made me want to crawl out of my own skin.

I looked into Brody’s soothing green eyes as he bit his lip, patiently waiting for my answer. I was proud to be his girlfriend and I wanted him to know that. Soon enough, people would figure out who I was anyway. I might as well rip the Band-Aid off fast, right?

“Let’s do this,” I said, raising up on my tippy-toes and planting a kiss right on his beautiful mouth.

He palmed the back of my head and held me there, elongating our kiss before he rested his forehead on mine.

“You. Amaze. Me.”

I didn’t have time to tell him he amazed me more before he took my hand in his own and morphed into ‘Sports Superstar Brody,’ confidently shaking hands and working his way through the crowd.

The red carpet was overwhelming, suffocating. Flashbulbs right in my face, hundreds of them causing me to blink so fast, I’d be surprised if there were one picture with my eyes open. My heart was pounding as hard as ever, the only thing keeping me from sprinting back to the limo and barricading myself inside was Brody’s warm hand resting comfortably on the small of my back.

Brody! Brody, over here! Brody!

The reporters were piranhas, all begging for his attention as we walked the line, pausing for pictures every five feet or so.

“Brody Murphy, who’s your date?” One yelled out over the others. “Is she your new girlfriend?”

“She’s my
only
girlfriend,” he yelled back to the feeding frenzy with that charming grin plastered to his face.

“Do we get her name?”

“Soon enough, soon enough. Tonight is about the kids though, don’t you think?” He went over and signed a few autographs, took a few pictures and the crowd cooled it a bit. He said goodnight to the masses and led us inside.

After a few more stops to meet people in the foyer, we headed into the ballroom.

Oh my God
.

The room was permeated with the soft, unmistakable smell of roses. Every table was decorated with the lushest white and silver linens, and the tabletops were sprinkled with enough candles to give the entire room a romantic glow. Waiters in black tuxedos strolled from person to person, balancing sterling silver trays of foreign looking food on their fingertips. Bartenders poured pale, bland-looking drinks. Personally, I liked my alcohol in brown glass bottles.

As I stood, completely mesmerized, taking in all of the beautiful scenery in that room, I didn’t even notice Andy walk up to us. I turned as he and Brody were doing their weird man hug. I immediately panicked and peeked to see if anyone was behind him.

Not anyone—Blaire.

“She’s not with me,” Andy said as he turned toward me.

My cheeks flushed with embarrassment that I’d been caught looking for her.

He leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek. “She actually wanted to come over and apologize, but I told her she was to stay away from you the whole night. I don’t even want her looking at you. And it has nothing to do with Brody’s contract, it’s because you’re the girl that has made my best friend the happiest I’ve seen him since he was twenty-one and got signed to play professionally.” A tight smile formed on his lips and I couldn’t help give him a bigger smile back.

“I appreciate that, Andy. Thank you.”

“I’m so sorry for the way she acted. You didn’t deserve that. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Brody stuck his hand out for Andy again and they shook in some sort of show of mutual respect. He turned and walked away, and I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding.

“You okay?” Brody looked nervous.

A small laugh built up inside me at the irony of
that
interaction making him nervous, but the hordes of people outside calling his name and clawing at him was nothing.

“I’m good.” I beamed at him. “I’m so good.”

“Let’s find our seats, then get a drink, huh?”

I was having the best time … dinner was out of this world, the people at our table were wonderful and Brody couldn’t keep his hands, or lips, off me.

I felt like Cinderella.

“I’m gonna use the restroom, I’ll be right back, okay?”

Brody stood politely as I got up from the table. Dina, a wife of another hockey player, got up and said she’d go with me. We gabbed about hockey life once the season started, and she actually put my mind at ease. Her life wasn’t so different from any other woman who had a husband that traveled for work.

“I’m so glad we talked. You really calmed my nerves.”

“Absolutely! You’re so sweet. Brody is lucky to have you,” she said as she reapplied her lipstick. “You coming?”

“I’ll be right behind you … I’m going to call my mom and check on the girls.”

She smiled and squeezed my hand on the way out.

“Hockey wife? You really think
you’re
going to be a hockey wife?” An achingly familiar voice cackled as I started to dial my mom’s number. My stomach flip-flopped as Blaire slithered out of one of the bathroom stalls. “Hi, Kacie. So nice to see you again.”

“Hi, Blaire,” I said, tucking my phone back in my purse. “I’ll see you later.”

“Where are you going? I wanted to talk to you some more.” Her tone dripped with insincerity as she inspected herself in the mirror. “We never finished our conversation a couple weeks ago because your douchey boyfriend so rudely interrupted us.”

You have got to be kidding me. She doesn’t sound very apologetic. What the hell was Andy talking about?

“He’s not a douche, Blaire, and I’m not about to stand here-”

“Oh, you’re gonna stand there, or you would’ve been gone already.” She turned and looked at me with venom in her eyes. “Admit it, you
want
to know all I know about Brody because the truth is, you barely know him yourself.”

I stood frozen, like an animal in her crosshairs, but I felt stronger this time. Maybe I couldn’t get my legs to move, but my mouth certainly could.

“You know what, Blaire? I think it’s
you
who doesn’t know Brody.”

She tossed her head of thick blonde hair back and laughed. “Did he tell you all about Kendall?”

I put my hand on my hip and cocked it to the side. “As a matter of fact, he did.”

“Oh really?” She straightened up and smirked at me. “Did he tell you he saw her last weekend?”

Bile rose up in my already uneasy stomach. Breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth, I did my best to keep my dinner down, not wanting her to know she was getting to me … again.

Is she lying? She has to be lying. He wouldn’t have seen her again, right? Not after we…

“I don’t believe a damn word you say, Blaire.”

“Okay,” she said, as she whipped her phone out and thumbed something onto the buttons. “I’ll prove it to you, Princess.”

“I don’t have time for your bullshit. My date is waiting for me.” I turned to leave the bathroom, but that didn’t stop her.

“Go ahead, live it up while you can, it’s only a matter of time before he throws you away too,” she cooed.

God, this obnoxious woman knows how to push my buttons.

“You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” I spat as I turned around.

“Of course I do, Kacie. I’ve seen it a hundred times with him. He likes a girl and brings her around constantly for a few weeks. As soon as he gets sick of her, he tosses her aside and goes onto the next.” She faced the mirror and tousled her hair.

I’d had enough. Nothing I could say would get through her stone exterior, I was just wasting my breath arguing. I stomped toward the bathroom door and almost fell through it when it was pulled open from the other side.

“Sorry,” I muttered, trying to regain my balance.

“No problem.” The girl with beautiful dark waves and bright bluish-purple eyes said to me.

Bluish. Purple. Eyes.

“You must be Kacie? Blaire has told me so much about you.” She smiled with rows and rows of perfect white teeth. “I’m Kendall.”

I whipped around to face Blaire who’d walked up behind me. “What the hell?”

“She texted me and asked me to come meet you,” Kendall answered for her. “She said you had some questions about Brody and last weekend.”

“I don’t have any questions.” Anger grew in me and seeped out of my pores as I glared back and forth between the two of them. “You two are insane.”

“Calm down, drama queen. I just wanted her to confirm that she did see him last weekend. Didn’t you, Kendall?”

“Mm-hmm,” she purred. “He’s such a sweetie and a great kisser too.”

“Face it, girl. You’re nothing but a summer fling,” Blaire hissed into my ear. “The only thing he’ll ever
really
love is hockey. Once the season starts, you’ll be in the rearview mirror crying in your fake designer purse. He’ll move on … and you can focus all your efforts on making cupcakes with your kids.”

I rushed past both of them and headed straight for an emergency exit opposite the ballroom. I needed space. Once outside, I sucked in the cool, crisp air as fast as I could, begging my pulse to slow to a normal rate.

What am I supposed to do now?

I could go flying into the ballroom and start screaming and yelling at Brody like a lunatic, embarrassing both him and myself and making Blaire and Kendall squeal with delight in the process. Or … I could tuck my tail between my legs and wait. Wait until we were alone. Wait until I had time to think about the things Blaire had said. Wait until I could distance myself from him enough emotionally so that all of this wouldn’t hurt so much.

That’s what I would do. Wait.