Page 31

Chap ter 31

Chloe

“What do you do?” Mrs.

Coftman asks.

He beams and pulls on the suit he’s wearing that probably costs more than the car I drive.

“I’m one of the assistant coaches for Northern Michigan—Chloe’s and my old alma mater.”

Mrs.

Coftman looks over at me and then back at Ryan.

“You two went to school together?” Her voice is a little more uncertain than it was a few minutes ago.

Ryan grins.

“Went to school together? We did, didn’t we, Chlo?”

He’s always called me that, and I’ve always hated it.

I don’t know why he can’t just say my name the way it’s supposed to be said.

Chlo-ee.

He keeps going, and I will him to keep his mouth shut.

But he doesn’t.

Shocker.

He just comes right out and says it.

“Chlo and I were almost engaged.” I wish I could disappear into the floor.

The hand on my spine freezes mid-stroke on my back, and I feel the oxygen sucked from the room.

“You never told your fiancé about us?” he asks me.

I don’t know what to say, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.

I just want to get out of here.

“Guess she never felt the need to,” Gunner says.

I close my eyes a moment because he is not happy.

It takes a lot to work Gunner into a temper; I’ve only seen it a few times in the years I’ve known him.

But he is definitely not happy right now.

It’s time to take control of this situation.

“Well, it was nice to see you, Ryan,” I manage to tell the lie with a straight face.

I turn to Gunner.

“We should get going.” He doesn’t look at me.

Ryan laughs.

“Some things don’t change, do they Chlo?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Gunner nearly growls.

“Nothing,” I say and turn to him.

“Let’s go.”

His eyes finally meet mine, and he stares at me a moment before he nods.

That hand begins moving on my spine again.

“Let’s go.”

“A word of warning, Coftman,” Ryan calls out from behind me.

“She’s not the kind of woman to settle down. She only cares about her career and is as cold-hearted as they come. She probably already runs your life for you, doesn’t she? She doesn’t know how to not control every single person and thing around her.”

My cheeks burn, but I refuse to respond to his words.

Gunner stops, and I put my hand on his back.

“Just ignore him.”

But Gunner doesn’t listen to me; I don’t know why I thought he would.

He turns around, his eyes narrowing dangerously on Ryan.

“That’s my fiancé you’re talking about.” His words are low.

“She's no longer yours. So, you don’t need to worry your tiny little brain about what she might or might not be doing.”

Ryan’s eyes widen, and he laughs. “You think I want her back? No way, Man. I’m just giving you a heads-up. I'm married to my gorgeous wife, who is everything.” Everything I wasn’t . He doesn’t say the words, but they’re implied.

I don’t stick around to hear any more of the conversation. I step around Gunner and make my way to the exit, not bothering to slow my stride. “Care to slow down a little? These old legs can’t walk that fast.”

I immediately slow down. “Mrs. Coftman, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you came with me.”

“Well, I was trying to walk with you, but you marched out of there like this place was on fire.”

“Sorry,” I mutter.

She links her arm through mine, surprising me. “Don’t give that man a second of your peace. He’s an idiot.”

I can’t help my smile. “How do you know?”

“He opened his mouth, and his brain walked out. That's how I know.” She pats my hand. “If not for that, I would still know. My Gunner chose you. Out of all the women in the world he could have, he chose you. And that, my dear, makes you special.”

Guilt rides me hard, and nausea churns my insides. And just like that, I decide to come clean with her. “Mrs. Coftman—”

The lights flash on the truck in front of us. “Oh good. Gunner unlocked it for us.” I turn back and see him striding toward us. I open the front door and climb into the back seat before pulling the seat back, so Mrs. Coftman can climb into the front seat. Gunner helps his mom in and then closes her door. When he climbs into the truck, the tension seems to crackle. I stare out the window, hoping Mrs. Coftman will continue talking like she did on the way here. “Is he alive?” she asks Gunner. Gunner doesn’t say a word as he pulls out of the parking lot.

I lean my head against the seat and wish I were anywhere but here. Unfortunately, I’m stuck in a truck with my fake fiancé and his mom, both of whom are completely silent after meeting the guy I almost got engaged to. Can my life get any more messed up? I’m really wishing about now that I’d driven my own car, so I could just leave and go back to my house. Mrs. Coftman finally starts making small talk, and I’ve never been so grateful.

When we get back to the house, I’m exhausted. As soon as we’re inside, I turn to Mrs. Coftman. “I’m going to head to bed. Good night.”

Her face softens. “Good night, Sweetheart. Sweet dreams.” She hugs me tight, and I relish in her softness for just a moment.

I don’t want to say anything to Gunner, but I know that will look odd to his mom. I don’t look at him but call out. “I’ll see you in there, Gunner.” I don’t wait around for a reply. When I close the bedroom door, I close my eyes and lean against it for a moment. Exhaustion coats my limbs, and I make quick work of getting ready for bed. I want to be in bed, preferably asleep, before Gunner comes into the room. No such luck. The door to the bedroom opens only seconds after I pull the covers up. I quickly squeeze my eyes shut, so he’ll think I’m asleep. Thankfully, he disappears into the bathroom without a word. My reprieve is not long, and he comes out only moments later. I squeeze my eyes shut as soon as I hear the bathroom door open. I know I’m a chicken, but right now, I just want to go to sleep and forget everything that is my life right now.

The bed dips when Gunner climbs in beside me. I lay perfectly still as he settles on the other side of the bed and thank my lucky stars that it’s king size. There’s no accidental touching. “I know you’re not asleep.” His words startle me, and I debate ignoring them and continuing with my ruse. “Your breathing is different when you’re asleep.”

“What are you a sleep doctor?” I snap.

“No, but I've shared a bed with you enough times now to know the difference between when you’re awake and when you’re asleep.”

I still don’t roll over. “Okay. Fine. I’m not asleep, but I’m trying.” As in, I don’t want to talk.

“ I know, and I’ll let you. But I didn’t want you to go to sleep before hearing something.” My entire body stiffens at his words. “There is nothing wrong with you, Chloe Liessman. And your ex is an absolute idiot for letting you go.”

His words shock me to my core, and I don’t say anything in response. I’m not capable of framing a response. Finally, I keep it simple. “Thank you, Gunner. You’re a pretty great guy too.”

He sits up in bed suddenly, and I roll over. “What? What is it?”

“I’m looking for my mom.”

“What?” I ask in confusion.

“You called me by my name, so I was looking to see if my mom was in here.”

I smack his arm. “Knock it off.”

He chuckles, and the sound of it fills my soul in a place that really needs it tonight. I stay on my back, staring up at the ceiling. “All right. Go ahead and ask.”

“Ask what?” he asks.

“About Ryan. I’m sure you have questions.”

“About that idiot? No. I don’t want to spend a moment of time even thinking about him, let alone talking about him.”

His answer surprises me, but it settles my spirit. “Good because I don’t want to either.” We’re both quiet for a few minutes.

“He really is an idiot,” Gunner says after a little bit.

“The worst,” I agree.

Suddenly, I’m filled with the urge to explain. “I wasn’t going to marry him.” Gunner says nothing, and I continue. “He was the first guy I seriously dated, and we started dating my freshman year of college. He was a sophomore, and we hit it off at an event. We dated for three years.” I don’t know why I’m telling him this, especially after we both said we didn’t want to talk about him. But I feel like I need to explain Ryan to Gunner. I’m not going to ponder too closely why I feel that way. “He made me feel special, until he didn’t. He originally loved that I worked hard and went after my goals and that I was so driven, until that interfered with his social life. He wanted me to come to every game, be at every event, hang out all the time. But I was pulling a double major and needed time to study and keep my head above water. We fought about it all the time; it was always an issue between us. I thought we would work through it, though; I figured this was just what couples went through, especially when one of them was playing college sports. But it ended the night he pulled out an engagement ring in front of his entire team.” I fall silent as I remember. He had so shocked me that night. “I knew in that moment that I didn’t want it; I didn’t want his ring on my finger. It was like it was all so suddenly clear. I don’t even know if he really loved me, or if he just loved the idea of us together. I accepted the ring from him that night. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I didn’t want to humiliate him in front of his entire team. I never technically said yes, but I let him put the ring on my finger. He celebrated with his teammates and got drunk, while I slipped from the party and went back to my dorm room. The next day, I asked to meet with him. I returned the ring and told him it was a mistake; he and I would never be happy together. I told him he loved hockey more than he loved me, and obviously that has stuck. I didn’t mean it in a way that he had to choose between hockey and me; I would never do that to a person. Make them choose between a person and something they love. What I meant was that I knew how much he loved hockey; it was a tangible, visible thing. And I knew he didn’t love me with even a fraction of that kind of love, and I wanted that. I felt I deserved that if we were really going to be married. He disagreed; we split ways, and I haven’t seen him in all this time.”

“Until tonight,” Gunner says quietly.

“Until tonight,” I repeat. “I didn’t know he’d become a part of the coaching staff at Northern Michigan. I knew he hadn’t gone pro, because I haven’t seen him on any team over the last four years.” A huge yawn takes over, and I blink weary eyes. A sense of peace comes over me now that I’ve gotten all that off my chest. "Anyway, thanks for listening.”

“Anytime.” I barely hear his reply as sleep claims me.