Page 20 of Breakaway (Nashville Knights Hockey #3)

Chapter Twenty

CHLOE

Dax

I can’t wait to see you tonight

Chloe

I saw you this morning

I know

But I miss you already

Is that cheesy?

No

Because I miss you too

I can’t wait to see you in your dress

Ditto

You can’t wait to see you in your dress too?

I meant I can’t wait to see you in your tux

I already want to peel you out of it

Patience, Dax. Patience

tick tock gif

S tuffing my phone in my purse, I grab the bags from the front seat of my car and hand the keys over to the valet.

“Welcome to the Nashville Grande. We hope you enjoy your stay.”

“Thank you.”

I smile at the young kid as he gets into the driver seat and drives off in my old car. The hotel where the event is being held tonight lives up to its name.

Everything about this hotel is grand, from the gilded fountain to the marble lobby. Everything is ornate right down to the flickering sconces lining the columns of the two-story entryway.

Swinging by the front desk, I get the room key that’s waiting for me and take the elevator to Harper’s room.

When Dax told me the girls invited me to get ready with them for tonight’s big event, I was excited.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had any girlfriends other that Erica.

With Duncan, it was all about him. I became so swept up in him, that it seems I lost almost all my friends.

They moved on with their lives without me.

I can’t blame them. But I don’t want to squander the opportunity to meet new people. Especially people so important to Dax’s friends.

When the elevator opens onto the seventh floor, I follow the sign to her room. I know Dax got a room for tonight, so we won’t have to drive home.

I can’t wait to finally spend the night with him.

Knocking on the door, it swings open to reveal a smiling blonde woman with her hair in rollers. I’ve never met her before. Having been with Duncan, I never really spent any time with Dax and his teammates. Especially their significant others.

“Hi. You must be Chloe.”

“That’s me. And are you Harper or Stevie?”

“Harper. Stevie’s in the bathroom doing her makeup.” She beckons me in and shuts the door behind me.

A brunette walks out into the hallway in a robe.

“Chloe. Hi.”

“Hi. That must mean you’re Stevie.”

“That’s me. I’m so glad you could come hang out with us today.”

“Me too.”

I drop my bags onto a seat and look around the room.

When Dax told me the guys go all out for this, he wasn’t kidding.

A couch sits on one side of the living room with a small kitchenette making up the other side.

Music plays through the TV—one of Genevieve’s hits—and large floor-to-ceiling windows look out over the Nashville skyline.

A door tucked in the back of the room leads to what I’m guessing is the bedroom.

“I really appreciate you two inviting me over to get ready with you.”

Harper walks into the kitchen and grabs a bucket with a chilling bottle of champagne. “It’s nice that Dax finally has someone to bring around. I worry about him.”

“You do?” I ask, taking the proffered glass of bubbly.

“All the guys do. They were worried he’d never find someone because he was hung up on you,” Harper says .

“Hung up on me?”

“Crap. Did you not know?” Harper casts a worried look Stevie’s way. “I mean, that’s what Marcus said and he was a mess at your…well, your non-wedding day now.”

“I guess I was always too wrapped up in Duncan to see what was right in front of my face.”

“We’ve all been taken by someone that’s not good for us. I know I have,” Stevie says. “And you two are together now. That’s all that matters.”

“Don’t I know it.” I shake my head, sipping on my drink. “And you’re not the first person to point out Dax’s feelings toward me.”

“I think you got the better end of that deal,” Harper says. “Marcus told me what happened and I still can’t believe it. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.”

I wave them off. “It’s in the past now. I don’t want to talk about him tonight. Tonight is all about the gala and our men.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Stevie raises her glass. “To new and old friends.”

“Cheers,” we echo, snapping a quick selfie to send to the guys.

I start to unpack my things to get ready as Harper and Stevie tell me about their families.

“Want help with your hair?” Harper asks. “I’m so used to curling the girls’ hair now, I’m a natural.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Absolutely. Sit down and tell me how you met Dax,” Harper says, patting the stool we moved into the bathroom.

“We met in high school. The two of us were in the same homeroom our freshmen year and we’ve been friends ever since. Dax has been in my life almost as long as he wasn’t. ”

“That’s sweet,” Harper says, fishing out a lock of hair and twisting it around the hot iron. “Most of my friends I met in college or while teaching.”

“It’s so hard to make friends as an adult,” Stevie says. “I don’t know how we’re expected to meet people when all we do is work.”

“You’ve got that right,” I say. “And now that I’m starting my own business, there are some days I never leave the house.”

“Bode said you’re making jewelry?” Stevie asks, touching up her eyeliner.

“I am. I’ve always wanted to do it, and after everything that happened, I figured why not?”

“Can you show us what you’ve made?” Harper asks, finishing one side of my hair and moving on to the back.

Grabbing my phone from my leggings pocket, I tap into the album of my most recent creations. “A lot of them are still in progress and need a final polish, but I love designing rings the most. I’ve just started working on bracelets and charms.”

“You made those?” Stevie peers over Harper’s shoulder as they flip through the photos. “These are amazing, Chloe.”

“Are you taking orders? Because I would love to get some of these for myself and the girls,” Harper says. “You are talented.”

“Thanks. Once I figure everything out order-wise, I will get you hooked up.”

“You better,” Harper reiterates. “I want to say I had a ring from Chloe before she hit it big.”

I laugh. “I don’t know if anyone will be saying that, but we’ll see.”

“Well, I’m getting in on this too. I only wish we had some to wear tonight,” Stevie laments .

“Maybe for the next gala,” Harper says. “Because I have a feeling you’ll be coming to next year’s.”

“Is this an annual thing?” I ask.

“They want to make it that way,” Stevie replies. “The owner’s granddaughter had a pretty severe leg break from what Bode told me, and he was blown away by all they did for her, so he is making it his mission to support the hospital now.”

“Is she okay?”

She nods. “She’s doing great and apparently wants to try out for the hockey club in her school.”

“I love that she wants to play hockey. Do your girls want to play?” I ask Harper.

“No. One loves chess and the other is currently into knitting with her Gigi. Now our son, Jamie, he might play hockey, but he’s three, so we’ve got a few years.”

“Not if Marcus has anything to say about it. Bode is already planning on getting Caleb into skates as soon as he can.”

I love listening to the two of them talk about their partners and families. Every so often, they mention the guys, and it seems like they’re their own little family unit.

“All set,” Harper exclaims.

“I can’t believe how fast you did that.” I fluff my curls before setting them with hairspray.

“When you have twin girls that are always late, you learn how to move things along.” She laughs.

“Oh!” Stevie gasps. “The guys will be here soon. We need to get dressed.”

“We don’t want to be late. We’ll never hear the end of it,” Harper says. “Chloe, there’s another bedroom through that door if you want to change in there. I can change in the bathroom if you want the other room, Stevie.”

“Got it. ”

Grabbing my dress bag, I head into the empty room to change.

I don’t know why I ever kept this dress—a bridesmaid’s dress for one of Duncan’s college friends whose wedding I was in—but I could never seem to part with it.

I loved the way I felt in it.

Sexy. Beautiful. Like I could take on the world.

Shimmying into my undergarments, I pull the dress on and finagle the zipper closed.

I step into my strappy heels and add a spritz of perfume to my wrists and behind my ears. Fluffing my hair one last time, I head back out into the living room.

“Chloe, Dax is going to lose his mind when he sees you in this dress.” Harper whistles as I step out of the bedroom. “I mean, wow.”

“It’s not too much?” I ask, rubbing my hands down the front of the satiny material. “It was from a wedding I was in a few years back and I never wanted to get rid of it just in case.”

“It’s a good thing you didn’t. You look amazing,” Stevie says.

“Thanks,” I say, a blush creeping up my cheeks.

I check myself out in the full-length mirror. A thin row of sequins lines the sweetheart neckline. It’s form-fitting all the way through, but has an almost scandalous thigh-high slit on one side. More sequins line the slit, catching the light to make the dress pop.

“Both of you look gorgeous too.”

Stevie is in a short, black dress with a plunging neckline and Harper is in a form-fitting gold dress that dips low in the back.

“The boys won’t know what hit them.”

I smile at the two of them.

I can’t wait for tonight and everything it holds. It’s already been the best start to this night, hanging out with these two women that I can now call friends, and getting to spend the rest of the evening with Dax.

I only wish we could fast forward to the end.

Because I can’t wait to be with Dax in every way.