Page 9 of Falling for You

Chapter 8

Taylor– Seven Months Later

I run through the streets of New York, dodging one scowling pedestrian after the other with my brother right behind me, my eyes firmly on the redhead a block ahead of me.

I was in a meeting with my sponsors when Dylan called. He was at a restaurant with Xanthe and noticed a certain redhead three tables from his and quickly took a photo of her, sending it to me while we were on the phone. He got up to speak to her as soon as I confirmed it was who I thought it was. However, his jealous wife stopped him and caused a scene all while I was still on the phone cursing her out, and by the time he looked back, the woman was gone, which fucking pissed me off.

I recognized her as the woman Pen was with at the bar when we met and again at the arena, I didn’t hesitate. I left my pissed-off agent, who is on her last leg after the whole banning Pen from the rink drama, and ran outta the meeting, happy the restaurant Dylan was at was only three minutes away.

He met me outside with his steaming wife and pointed which way the woman went. I just saw a flash of red down the street, heading to fifth, and I made a run for it, Dylan not hesitating to follow despite his wife screaming after him.

I dodge a dog walker, jumping over the leash and making the dog bark, but I ignore it and run faster as the woman puts her hand up for a cab.

“Fuck,” I gasp when one pulls beside her and I sprint quicker, not caring if I get an injury, not caring it could fuck up my game.

It’s been just over eight months since I last saw Penelope, and after one night with her, she had me hooked, but can I find her? No, I fucking can’t. Even with the pictures we had from security, my dad’s security couldn’t seem to locate her; it was like she didn’t exist.

New York is big, but it’s not that fucking big.

I watch hopelessly as the woman climbs into the cab and drives off and I curse as I come to a stop, putting my hands on my hips, my anger takes over before I boot the trash can near me while breathing hard.

“Fuck’s sake!” I snap, hanging my head.

“I’m sorry, Tay,” Dylan breathes, stopping beside me, “as soon as I took the photo, Xanthe went off despite knowing the situation.”

I shake my head and look around, unable to get my head straight.

It’s been over a month since we started playing again, since fans could come to watch us play to hopefully keep that cup in our arena, and yet the passes sent to Vine’s Criminal Law have yet to be used.

“Come on,” Dylan says as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me away from where the cab stopped and picked up Penelope’s sister. “Xanthe can find her own fucking way home after that bullshit, let’s go get a drink.” He states, and I nod, hanging my head as I put my left hand in my jeans pocket, gripping the bracelet with six more charms.

“Fucking Xanthe!” Dylan snaps as his phone rings for the ninth time since we sat at Wolfs bar in Manhattan.

“She didn’t know,” I try to defend, why I don’t know, but to be fair, she didn’t know, right? I mean, no one is that fucking nasty, except for Elena anyway, but not my brother’s wife.

Dylan scoffs as he declines the call and states, “She fucking knew.”

Okay, never mind, she clearly is that fucking nasty.

I look at my big brother and raise a brow, but he shakes his head and admits, “I told her the girl looked like the sister of the one you were trying to find, and she still threw a hissy fit. I didn’t just explain she was someone you were looking for Tay, I explained everything.”

I groan. “She got jealous even though she knew the situation?”

He chuckles darkly and says, “Apparently, the sister is hot.”

I roll my eyes and mutter, “Fucking Xanthe.”

He nods, takes a sip of his beer, and mutters, “Hannah and I were looking over the photos of your girl again last week, so that’s probably where the jealousy started despite her flirting with every one of my team members to try and get my attention.”

I furrow my brows and ask, “Why were you looking at the photos again?”

He frowns, then admits, “Because your Penelope looked really fucking familiar.” I turn my body his way on the stool and lean my arm on the bar, and he sighs, “Remember the nurse that Kaylah wanted to set you up with, nurse Vine, as in Vine’s Criminal law?”

Fuck, I remember putting that together at the charity game, that the nurse's last name was the same as the law firm, but I completely bypassed it, my head fucked up over the whole situation. I nod and admit, “Yeah, and thankfully, she never called.”

He smirks before he sighs and admits, “For a moment, I thought she was your Penelope,” and I sit up straight, instantly regretting my words because I never thought they were the same. He gives me a sad smile and continues, “They both have dark red curly hair, both roughly the same height, so Hannah and I went back to the hospital to question her, and honestly, we were both excited; we thought this is it, this is her,” his eyes go sad, and I sag as he finishes, “The charge nurse mentioned Nurse Vine was on maternity leave.”

“So not my girl then,” I mutter sadly, and he nods.

“I’m afraid not, but it also explains why she didn’t fawn over me when Kaylah was admitted or why she never called you. The woman is clearly taken,” he says with humor lacing his voice.

I grin, “I bet she felt well flattered that our niece wanted her as an auntie and was trying to set her up with a pro hockey player.”

He laughs but nods as his phone rings again.

“Fuck’s sake,” he mumbles, and I sigh.

“Why don’t you just answer it? It could be an emergency,” I encourage, and he gives me a ‘really’ look, but I shrug because you never know, and he grabs his phone.

His marriage has hit the rocks severely. He’s not happy—everyone can see it—but he’s trying to stick to his vows because a small part of him has feelings for his wife. I just don’t think it’s love, though.

We all know why he married her now, and he’s just trying to stick to his word until he finally throws in the towel or that’s what he wants us to believe.

“Yes, Xanthe,” he answers coldly, and I wince as her voice carries through the receiver with nothing but anger.

“ You left me ,” she screeches, “all for a woman your brother has become obsessed with!” I nod because there is no denying that, making Dyl smirk my way, but his smirk soon dies when Xanthe snaps, “The bitch clearly used him for a one-night stand. How dare you abandon me like that when we were supposed to discuss us, discuss our baby!”

I raise a brow at Dylan because, hello, what fucking baby, but he shakes his head at me and then snaps at his wife, “There is no baby!”

I hear her chuckle and say, “Well, actually, I’m three days late.”

My eyes widen as my mouth drops open, but he just smirks and replies, “Considering you and I haven’t fucked in three months and the time we did before that I wore two condoms, it’s impossible for you to be pregnant unless you want to admit something to me?”

Admit, as in confirm she’s cheating to get pregnant, knowing she can’t go to a fertility clinic for a donor because the charge will go straight to my brother.

I don’t hear her reply, but Dylan hangs up and shakes his head.

“What you going to do?” I ask him, knowing full well if she is pregnant, he’ll have to wait until she’s further along to do a DNA test before he can file for divorce without losing half of the hard-earned shit he got before he married her.

“I can bet you anything right now she’s calling clinics to see if they can fit her in for an abortion,” he admits, and I sigh. He shrugs, “If she is pregnant, she’ll try her hardest to get rid of it, so she doesn’t lose her bank account, but it means I’ll have proof that she’s been cheating, and if she isn’t well, I’ll just have to wait it out a little longer while monitoring my accounts.”

Fuck, okay so he isn’t abiding by his vows, he wants out.

He gives me a sad smile and admits, “A small part of me believed I could have fallen in love with her, but her mind games and greed for more kept my eyes open to who she really is, a jersey chaser after a cushy lifestyle. Her lying to me to begin with about being pregnant was already the nail in the coffin after it was confirmed she lied after we were married.”

“I’m sorry, big brother,” I say, and he shrugs again and states, “It’s alright, and honestly, I’ll bounce back because my one, she’s out there somewhere. Now, let’s devise a plan to find Penelope because, brother, you’ve only got four months left to find her. We both know Dad means it when he says he’ll section you.”

I snort and take a sip of my beer because he probably will. I mutter, “he’ll have to catch me first,” Dylan laughs as my phone rings, but I ignore it, knowing it is most likely Elena wanting to ream me out for running out on the deal.

The woman around the coaches stays professional. Still, her little trips to my apartment trying to get into my private elevator have all been logged along with every message for dinner or lunch in a nonprofessional way, and every time she’s tried to corner me in the arena gym or come onto me in the locker rooms.

The woman is going to be fired soon, and I can’t fucking wait; the only reason why it’s taken me so long is that I was the idiot who fucked her twice when drunk.

“We’ll find her, Taylor,” Dylan repeats when he sees me lost in my own head, I nod, hoping he’s right.

I didn’t want a woman, fuck, I didn’t want to settle down, and then she barreled into my life for one night, changing everything. It’s been months, and not one woman in the bar or at a game has gotten my interest. That one night with Penelope changed everything for me, and fuck me if I’m not scared, because I am.

The feelings are consuming me, the longer it takes to find her, the harder I’m finding it to concentrate, and I just pray it doesn’t affect my game.