Chapter 28

Callie

I was so excited I couldn’t stop from shaking. In exactly thirty minutes, Dallas and I would be on our way to the airport. Grabbing my bag, I carried it downstairs and left it by the door.

“Callie?” Justin called out.

I walked into the kitchen to see him at the table, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, his hair a hot mess, and eating a bowl of cereal. “Hey,” I said, sitting across from him. “I was hoping I’d see you this morning.”

“You not going to work today?”

With a big smile, I shook my head. “I took off a couple of days. Dallas is taking me to Maine. I’m going to meet his parents.”

His eyes widened. “Wow. I guess it’s a good time to tell you that I talked to him last night after the game.”

“You did?” Dallas never said anything about it. Then again, we were kind of busy all night. “What did you say?”

Justin finished his cereal and placed his bowl in the sink. “Basically that I’m willing to look past everything. But if he hurts you, I have permission to kick his ass.”

Giggling, I hugged him hard. “Thanks, Justin. This really means a lot to me.” Letting him go, I grabbed a small orange juice out of the refrigerator. “Have you talked to Brant?”

Justin sat down at the table to read the newspaper. “Yep. He’s flying back in a couple of weeks. I think he got me an endorsement contract with a clothing label. I’ll find out tonight.”

I almost choked on my orange juice. It ran down my chin and I wiped it away. “Oh my God, that’s awesome. You’ll have to text me and let me know.”

He winked. “Don’t worry, I’ll be texting everyone. It’s just a shame you won’t be here to celebrate.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of fun without me.”

Heavy footsteps sounded above and I watched Corey stagger down the stairs, yawning with his mouth wide open and trying to put on his shirt. “Tired?” I asked him. Corey managed to slip on his T-shirt, but it was backward.

Justin snorted. “You’d think with me being a star hockey player, I’d get all the pussy. I must be doing something wrong.”

“No, you’re just not a dog,” I said in all seriousness.

Corey smacked Justin in the back of the head in passing. “You’re just jealous you didn’t get to Hannah first.”

I snickered. “Actually, he has a thing for Dallas’s sister.”

Corey burst out laughing. “That’s fucking classic.”

Justin flipped him off. “Dallas and I came to a truce. It doesn’t matter anyway because Lacey lives in New York. It’d never work out.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. The doorbell rang and then a loud bang followed.

Justin set the newspaper down. “Damn, Easton must really be excited about taking you to Maine.”

I hurried to the door, but the silhouette showing through the glass wasn’t Dallas, it was Hannah. Opening the door, I felt all the blood rush from my face at the sight of hers. “Hannah, what’s wrong? Shouldn’t you be at the hospital right now?”

She stormed inside. “I am, but there’s something you need to see.”

Brows furrowed, Corey walked out of the kitchen. “What are you doing here?” he asked her.

Taking my hand, she dragged me toward the stairs. “I need to talk to Callie. I’ll be down in a minute.” When we got to my room, she slammed the door behind us, her eyes frantic. “I went to the store this morning to buy my chocolate doughnuts, and ended up seeing this.” Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a magazine and handed it to me.

On the front cover was a photo of Dallas, and off to the side was one of him and me in the parking lot at the rink . . . and the other was of him and Madison. Bile rose up the back of my throat and I gasped. “Oh my God.”

“Read the headline,” Hannah murmured sadly.

All I could focus on was the picture of him and Madison with their arms around each other, kissing. Closing my eyes, I swallowed hard and then looked at the headline.

two women isn’t enough for this puck-stopping heartthrob

Then underneath that was something that made my blood run like hot lava through my veins.

find out what happens on the season premiere of rich and single—10 lovely ladies get their chance to steal him away

I’d watched Rich and Single before. All the girls fought over the guy, even though the guy probably had sex with them all. Who in their right mind would go on a show like that? The thought of Dallas doing it . . .

“I read the article,” Hannah admitted carefully. She could tell I was on the verge of exploding. “Sources say they’ve seen them two together here recently. Didn’t you say he was late getting back last night?”

Closing my eyes, I clenched my teeth so hard my jaw hurt. “He said he met with his agent. Nothing was mentioned about her.” Tabloids had a way of stretching the truth when it came to stuff like that. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it might be true. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes and flipped to the article. “What I’m more livid about is the TV show. He never said one fucking word about it.”

Hannah cleared her throat. “It’s supposed to air in five days, Cal.”

My head shot up. “What? You’ve got to be kidding.”

Heart racing, I felt like I was going throw up. The words all jumbled together and I was so enraged I couldn’t see straight. My hands shook, so Hannah took the magazine away. “Hey, let’s sit you down.”

She nudged me over to the bed and I sat. “What all does it say, Hannah? Tell me.”

Sighing, she knelt down in front of me. “Apparently, it talks about him being with you and Madison and wondering how you’re both going to handle him being with ten other women. He gets to date them all, and each week, he’ll eliminate one. It’s a live show so they’ll be following him around at practice and at the playoff games.”

Tears of rage fell down my face. “Why didn’t he tell me? I feel like such a fool.”

Gently, she held my hand in hers. “I don’t know, Cal. It’s a question you need to ask him.”

The doorbell rang and my heart stopped. Justin answered the door and the second I heard Dallas’s voice, I cried harder. “He’s here.”

“I can keep your brothers occupied for a few minutes, but you need to get him out of here unless you want an all-out brawl. As soon as Justin and Corey hear about this, they’ll want to fuck him up.”

She grabbed a tissue off my desk and handed it to me. I wiped my eyes and grabbed the magazine, focusing on the betrayal I felt. It was better than feeling pain. “I’ll gladly do it for them,” I hissed low.

Hannah quickly left, and I waited for her to get my brothers out of the kitchen. I could hear their voices, but then they disappeared as the back door slammed shut. I didn’t want a bloodbath in my house.

Gripping the magazine as hard as I could, I marched downstairs. Dallas was in the kitchen, pacing back and forth, clearly on edge. Was everything we had all a lie? When his gaze found mine, my heart shattered into a million pieces. The second I looked at his face, I could see the guilt.

“When were you going to tell me?” I shouted, waving the magazine.

He held up his hands. “Please, angel, let me explain.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Don’t call me that!” Tears ran down my face and I hated myself for it. I wanted to be strong, to push through the pain. He moved closer and I backed away. “Don’t you dare touch me right now.”

“Callie, please,” he begged. “Nothing is going on between me and Madison.”

He slowly tried to close the distance, but I circled around the bar, slamming the magazine down. “Sources say otherwise. Besides interviewing after the games, when have you seen her? Did you see her last night?”

Swallowing hard, he looked right into my eyes. “Yes. I was going to tell you, but then I saw how upset you were over her. I didn’t want you to think something happened.” He grabbed the magazine. “I don’t know what this picture is of me and her, but it wasn’t taken last night. You have to believe me.”

I shrugged. “I don’t know what to believe. You lied and I can’t accept that.” My gaze landed on the magazine. “What’s worse is the TV show. Are you really that selfish to make me fall in love with you, only to watch you with all those other women?”

“No,” he growled, ripping the magazine off the counter. “I don’t want to be on the show, Callie. I told my agent to break the contract weeks ago. I have no desire to be on it.”

“Obviously the producers don’t know that,” I snapped. “For all I know, I was just something to tie you over until show time.”

“That’s not true.” Eyes darkening, he charged after me and I took off for the front door. He slammed it shut and turned me around, holding me against his body. “I would never hurt you,” he roared, his heart racing beneath my ear.

I tried to push him off, but he was too strong. It was as if every feeling inside of me exploded in that very moment. The pain was too much. I took all of that emotion and pushed him again. This time, he backed off.

I could see Justin and Corey drawing closer to the back door. It took all I had to meet Dallas’s gaze. Tears filled his eyes, but I couldn’t let that reel me back in. “I promised to give you a clean start with no questions asked, and I did that. You let me down by lying to me. I can’t forgive that right now. I don’t even know what to believe.”

He shook his head. “I’m telling you the truth. Nothing is going on with Madison and I’m not doing the show.”

Taking a deep breath, I opened the door. “I’m sorry. I just can’t trust you right now.”

The back door opened and the others walked in. Justin froze and took in the situation. His smile disappeared and he turned his murderous glare to Dallas. “What the fuck’s going on?” he demanded.

“Dallas was just leaving,” I answered, opening the door wider. I met Dallas’s stare. “Go. We’re done here.” Justin and Corey came closer and Dallas sighed, stepping out onto the front porch.

“No, we’re not. I’m not giving you up,” he promised.

A lone tear fell down my cheek. “You don’t have me to give up.” With those last words, I shut the door.