Aurora woke up the next morning with Tom's arms still locked around her waist. His face was pressed against her shoulder blades and she could feel his breath invade the sensitive skin on her back. She closed her eyes and breathed in. There was something about this moment, something that made her feel…content. That this was where she was supposed to be.

Her phone chirped.

She frowned. Who could be texting her this early in the morning unless it was Michael? But after last night, she didn't think he'd be up for another hour, maybe two—and that was still early for what the players had done last night. Or maybe he had heard what happened between her and Tom? Were the walls paper-thin? She didn't hear anyone from her room but maybe that was because Michael hadn't taken a girl home yet and the other room was empty or filled with quiet people. But how would he even know Aurora was with Tom? He couldn't recognize her moans, could he?

God, she hoped he couldn't. That would be embarrassing, to say the least.

When she actually checked the text, however, she saw that it wasn't from Michael at all, but Seraphina.

Hope you got the okay. Meet us here in an hour and we can start planning everything.

There was an address at the bottom of the text message.

Aurora's eyes widened. She had gotten that the meeting was today. She hadn't even asked Michael, and doing so now was a sure way to get a rejection and piss her boss off in the process. She clicked off her phone and thought about it.

More than anything, Aurora wanted to go. She knew this would be good for her. It was something she knew she wanted to do. In all honesty, she didn't think Michael would have an issue with it. At the very least, he shouldn't have an issue. He didn't need her today—at least, that she knew of. She responded to Arizona's GM apologizing and saying they couldn't cut this one short and that they'd see him on their expected arrival date the way they originally planned. Michael hadn't told her if this was what he wanted, but considering she couldn't find him last night and had to help Tom, it couldn't have been helped. Everything Michael had asked her to do, she did. She even did things he didn't ask her to do but still wanted. At the very least, she deserved it.

"You aren't doing anything wrong," she murmured to herself.

Her eyes fell onto Tom's sleeping frame.

That…

That, she would have to come back to. Maybe sneaking away would help her get her head on straight and help her figure out what was going on between her and Tom.

She took in a deep breath and peeled Tom's arms off of her. He didn't budge. She hopped in the shower and pulled on some clothes. Instead of blow drying her hair, she chose to put it in a high ponytail. She debated between slacks and jeans until she opted for the latter, thinking it would be more casual. When she was ready to head out, she gave one last look to Tom. He was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling evenly. The sunlight streamed from the window and onto his face, as though it, too, needed to touch his skin.

Aurora shook her head. Was it even possible to be jealous of the sun?

She forced herself to look away. She needed to get to the Ice Palace, especially if she wanted to get there on time.

Aurora hadn't realized that Seraphina would not be part of the planning process. Luckily, Seraphina had had the foresight to talk to Katella Hanson about it, so Katella was expecting her. She and her coordination team had a conference room, and Aurora was relieved to see that they were all dressed in casual attire. In fact, Katella herself was in leggings and an oversized T-shirt, somehow still possessing a natural beauty about her.

Katella introduced Aurora to Madison and Amanda and immediately jumped into the plan. Apparently, there was a portion of the Corona Del Mar beach that belonged to James Negan and they used every year for their season ticket holder Summertime Fun in the Sun event. Season ticket holders were invited to participate—all free of charge—where they received lunch vouchers for one hot dog, a bag of chips, and a soda and had the opportunity to mingle with Gulls players. Some were grilling the hot dogs, others were bartending for those who wanted to pay extra for alcohol, and others were picking up trash. The event itself lasted only a few hours, but typically went longer. One time, bonfires were used because it went long into the night.

"So," Katella said, once she finished clarifying the event itself. "I think what we're hung up on is to keep something the fans love fresh. We don't want to change the food. Adding options would complicate it."

"Is there a vegetarian option?" Aurora asked, looking up from the notebook paper.

"No," Madison said, turning to Amanda. "No! Duh. I'm sure we have fans who want a different option."

"But salad in the sun?" Katella asked, her face pinched with doubt.

"What about vegetarian hot dogs?" Amanda put in. "They're getting quite common. I hear they taste like actual hot dogs."

"This is a great idea." Katella started writing stuff down on the pad. "I mean, Negan is going to roll his eyes about grilling what he'll call fake hot dogs, but whatever. It's for the fans, and if they like it, if we can reach a wider number and get even higher satisfactory scores, that's what I care about."

"Alec suggested having more alcohol," Madison said.

"Of course he would suggest something like that," Amanda said with a smile, flicking curly red hair over her shoulder. "Dimitri says we should involve the kids more. Maybe beach games? Volleyball, that sort of thing?"

Katella kept writing. "These are all awesome, guys," Katella said. "Please, keep them coming."

They continued to brainstorm ideas for the next two hours. From there, Katella stepped over to the whiteboard and began to write everything down.

"So Aurora," Madison said, redoing her ponytail. She swept her thick, dark hair up into ponytail. "Katella says you work for Michael Tucker."

"Oh, he's pretty cute," Amanda said.

"Yeah, he's not terrible-looking," Aurora admitted. She wasn't used to conversing with other women, especially about topics such as attractive guys, before. She didn't want to give into gossip. The last thing she needed was her thinking Michael Tucker was cute to get back to Michael Tucker. And Tom.

"Sorry," Madison said. "We don't want you to feel uncomfortable. Of course you don't have to talk about things you don't want to talk about. If Amanda and I know anything, it's how to keep a secret."

Aurora smiled. She found herself relaxing around these women. She wanted to converse. She wanted to share her secrets with them. Hell, maybe they would give her some advice about what to do in regards to Tom.

"Really?" Aurora asked instead.

"Oh, yeah," Katella said, spinning around and capping it with the lid. "These ladies both were on the Gulls Girls team. You know, the ladies who dress in cute outfits and sweep up the ice during commercial breaks? You've been around professional hockey the past few years, Aurora. Let me ask: do you think that that would be allowed?"

Aurora's eyes widened and her lips tugged up into a grin. "No way," she said.

"Look," Amanda said, twirling a curl around her finger. "It's not like either one of us wanted it to happen. It just did." She shrugged. "I had it easier than Madison. I mean, I'm from here. If Seraphina would have fired me, I could have probably moved in with my parents and it would have sucked but been doable. Madison is from South Haven and her parents hated that being a Princess was her job. They wanted to take her back immediately, especially considering this was her only means of an income and—"

"You are telling my whole life story to someone who probably doesn't care about it all," Madison said.

"To put a long story short, both of them were dating players and both of them had to leave the Ice Princess team in order to still date those players," Katella said.

"Who are you guys dating?" Aurora asked before she could stop herself. She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Sorry, that was completely unprofessional. Forget I even asked."

"It's not a big deal," Madison said, waving her concern away.

"Yeah, honestly, everyone knows now," Amanda said. "I've been with Dimitri Petrov for six months now," Amanda said. "And before you ask, no, I did not cause the divorce. That was already happening before I got in the picture."

"I never would have asked that," Aurora said honestly.

"I know," Amanda said. "I'm sure it's different for you. You're part of the hockey world but you're not totally in it. You get it. I would have trusted you. I do, I mean." She smiled. "Sorry, I'm talking too much."

Katella laughed. "That's a first," she said. "Let's break for lunch and come back. I know this great sandwich place on PCH. It's called C'est Ce Bon. The sandwiches are to die for. I'll drive."

Katella wasn't lying. The sandwich store was already crowded, even at eleven thirty. The sandwiches were delicious—fresh and cut clean. Aurora practically devoured hers.

During lunch, Aurora learned about Katella and her drama with an ex who used to be a player on the Gulls until Seraphina finally traded him—for good, this time. Then, she hooked up with one of the enforcers, Xander Vane, which was fun for a while until they both decided it was becoming too much of a distraction. Katella also didn't want to be that girl, the one who hooked up with a variety of hockey players on the same team. It was why she was so against going out with Negan.

"But the asshole won me over," she said with a shrug.

"Not that it's his business," Aurora said after washing down a particularly big bite of food with water, "but did he know about Matt Peters and Xander Vane?"

Katella nodded. "He didn't care," she said. "He never made me feel bad about my choices, even if I felt bad about them. But I guess that's what everyone says, right? No regrets? If I didn't do all that stupid stuff, I wouldn't be with Negan now? I don't know. Seraphina is more of a romantic than I am."

"But you're both happy," Aurora stated. "You and Negan. You've never had to worry?"

"About him cheating on me?" Katella asked. "No way. The guy is crazy about me. And I'm not saying that because I think I'm hot shit. Negan is not the type of guy to waste his time with commitment unless he means it. He's, quite honestly, the best thing that has ever happened to me. I mean, he's an asshole, but he's my asshole."

Aurora laughed at that. Something she said caused her to reevaluate her feelings for Tom. Feelings she had been ignoring, had been pushing to the side. But maybe she should revisit them and see if taking a chance on Tom—if he even wanted to be with her in the first place—was worth it at all.