Chapter 16—Feb. 4

Something was horribly wrong, and Matt couldn’t do a damn thing about it. Every time he called home, Vi made herself scarce and was never available to talk to him. Her responses to his text messages were vague and noncommittal.

Whatever was bugging her, he’d find out tomorrow when he got home. A guy never knew about women. They were enigmas at their best and completely unfathomable at their worst. Vi was more complex than most and even less predictable.

Amelia sent him a text that the boys were with her because Vi had the flu, but he didn’t believe it.

Everything seemed to be going wrong this week. The disturbing text from Al last week had started his string of bad luck. Your ex’s attorney wants a meeting with Lila and me. It’s getting serious.

He’d called Lila, his ruthless bitch of a family law attorney, on Monday. She’d warned him the ex and her opportunistic mother were sniffing around for ways to get more money out of him, including reiterating the threat of moving to Seattle and filing for custody.

Matt was champing at the bit to go home, but he had a team and a game to worry about. The Sockeyes were battling for the top spot in the West, and he couldn’t let anything or anyone interfere with the game, not even the woman who’d become more than a fling to him.

They’d lost the first two road games to the Sabres and the Bruins, both in overtime. Matt played well but not good enough by any stretch of the imagination. The team needed him to be all in, not distracted by his personal life. Tonight, they played the Hurricanes, a young team with a lot of try and attitude.

Matt peeled out of his suit and hung it up neatly in his stall. Conversations between guys rose and fell around him. Rush’s rap music thump, thump, thumped in the background. Matt went about his usual routine without interruption from his teammates. He followed the same procedure every single game all the way back to junior hockey, maybe earlier. He didn’t consider himself superstitious, not like some of the guys, but he did like his routine. The familiar calmed him before a game and grounded him in the now.

He glanced at Brick, who waited until the last minute to get dressed. Brick celebrated being naked. He disliked clothes and overheated more than any other guy on the team. As a goalie, his pads only added to the problem. Ever since he’d hooked up with Amelia, Matt had noticed the issue wasn’t nearly as pronounced, but he still ran on the hot side.

Brick glanced at him. “We need this one.”

“We need all of them at this point.”

“Yeah.” Brick shrugged. “Be good to get home.”

Matt sighed, not knowing what awaited him at home and anxious to find out. Something had changed, and he couldn’t stop the feeling of déjà vu that filled him with dread. Just before Brie had left him and the boys, she’d behaved strangely like this. He couldn’t help worrying Vi’s issues went beyond the flu.

“She’s avoiding me,” he blurted out, immediately irritated with himself for bringing up non-hockey stuff before a game.

Brick nodded, as if he’d already known. “The boys are at our house. She told Ammie she was recovering from the flu.”

Matt shook his head. “Nah, it’s more than that. Something else is going on.”

“You think?” Brick eyed his pads, as if bracing himself for the heat wave that would follow once he put them on.

“Yeah.” Matt sighed and reached for his pads, and he wondered if that something had to do with his ex.

Brick slapped him on the back. “Everything will work out.”

Matt nodded, not nearly as confident as Brick, but they had a game to play and didn’t need one of their captains moping around like a spoiled child who wasn’t getting his way. He forced a smile on his face and prepared himself for the game. He shoved Vi into a box to be opened later. Right now the only thing he was allowed to think about was the game.

It’d always been about the game and his boys.

Until lately.

Until Vi invaded his neatly compartmentalized life and invited in her special brand of chaos.

He found he was craving the chaos more and more.

* * * *

Vi sat down at a small table in the empty coffee shop. Midafternoon wasn’t exactly its busy time. Izzy was already there, alternating between tapping a message on her phone and making notes in a notebook.

Vi had dropped off the boys at Amelia’s for the weekend, sticking with the story she’d been telling. She was recovering from the flu. Heartbreak did feel like the flu, so she wasn’t telling a total lie.

The next thing she’d done was change her cell number. She’d stopped at the club and left the number for Steph on the slim chance she’d call. Then she’d asked for this meeting with Izzy.

“So, Vi, what’s up?” Izzy asked.

“I have a colored history that could cause Matt to lose custody of his boys.” Vi got straight to the point.

Izzy frowned, and her forehead wrinkled with concern.

“Worse than the stripping. Far worse,” Vi added.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I don’t, but if you’re still willing to take me on as a party crasher, I could use the work. I’d rather not go back to exotic dancing.”

“Of course, I’d love to have you. In fact, we have an empty apartment over the garage. It’s yours if you want it.”

“I can’t do that.” Oh God, she wished she could. She really did. She had her studio, but the lease was up at the end of the month. In typical Vi fashion, she hadn’t figured out where she’d be living next. If she dug deep enough, she’d have to admit she’d been hoping to move in with Matt. She couldn’t go back to the studio; not only was the place unsavory, but Matt could track her down there. She should move out of the area completely, but she only had a few months before she got her degree. She wasn’t quitting now.

“You’d be doing us a favor. Riley’s been bugging Coop to let him live there. No way is Coop allowing his teenage nephew to live outside the sphere of his eagle eyes. My husband is a bit of a control freak, though on this point I agree. Riley’s too young to be on his own, even if the apartment is attached to our house.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“I’ll pay rent.”

“Of course, we can discuss the deets later. The place needs a little painting and stuff. If you want to do some labor for the first month’s rent, we’ll work it out.”

“I hate to ask this, but could I possibly move in today?”

“There’s one issue.”

“And that is?” Izzy cocked a perfectly sculpted brow.

“I would prefer Matt not know where I’m living.”

Izzy frowned at her and narrowed her eyes. “If that’s your wish, I’ll be quiet. But I can’t speak for Coop. He’s stubborn, and he’ll follow his own path. I’m not sure he’d be keen on lying to one of his captains. You’ll need to take that up with him.”

“Fair enough.”

Izzy nodded, back to all business as usual. She stood to signal the end of their brief conversation. “I could use you tonight.”

“And I could use the money.”

“Good. I’ll text the address and time.”

“Thank you.” She scrawled her new number on a napkin.

Izzy glanced at the napkin, shoved it in her purse, and smiled. “See you tonight.”

Vi drove Hermie back to Matt’s house, packed up the few things she’d left there, and wrote him a note, actually several notes, because she couldn’t figure out how to word what she wanted to say. Finally, she settled for: I’ll always cherish our time together, but we both knew this wasn’t going anywhere. It’s time to end it before either of us gets in deeper and your boys get more attached. Please don’t try to find me. I’ll be okay. I always am.

She chewed on the end of the pen and added: I’ll miss you. Keep saving those whales, Vi.

With tears in her eyes, she picked up the cloth grocery bag she’d stuffed her clothes into and left Matt’s house one last time.