CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
GEMMA
Mason had to board immediately, but he kept up a text conversation long after he should have put his phone in airplane mode. After that, she had a lovely dinner with the woman who’d given up her seat, who turned out to be a retired high school history teacher. They enjoyed a leisurely meal, and by the time it ended, their plane was almost ready to board… and Mason was texting from Vancouver.
Gemma had been surreptitiously following his flight, worried it could be delayed. It wasn’t. He landed on time and whipped through customs.
They kept texting while he was in the car and she was boarding. He promised that another driver would be waiting to take her home. They’d discussed whether she’d go to the arena, but she’d be lucky to make it before the game ended, and then he had something else he needed to do, and she wasn’t giving him any excuse to skip that.
Her flight was uneventful, and she was following the driver to the car when her phone buzzed with an incoming email. Seeing it was from Mason, she frowned and checked her watch. Nine thirty. The game should still be going. Was something wrong?
She quickly opened the email to find a video. After making sure it was definitely from Mason, she clicked it.
Mason’s face filled the screen. The background noise suggested he was in a car, which made her heart pound. Something was wrong. He’d been sent home.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I recorded this on the way to the game. It’s coming to you now via the magic of scheduled email. I have a proposition for you.”
She turned down the volume fast.
“No, not that kind,” he said on the screen.
She smiled and shook her head.
On the video, he continued, “I know we discussed the problems with things like surprise parties or being picked up last minute for a trip. So if this doesn’t work for you, do not feel obligated to agree. I just thought I’d suggest it. As for what it is…” He paused dramatically. “Okay, the email should be there now. Hit pause until you’ve read it.”
She stopped the video and checked her email. Nothing. Had it gone to spam?
A bing as the email appeared. She read it, grinned, and hit Play on the video.
Prerecorded Mason continued, “You’ve read my suggestion. The driver is prepared for two possible destinations tonight. If you want to go home, tell her you want option A. Otherwise, option B. Either way, it’s your choice.”
Gemma stopped the video and caught up with the driver.
“Option B, please.”
The woman dipped her chin. “Yes, ma’am.”
MASON
Gemma had taken him up on his offer. He got that text as soon as he retrieved his phone, and he exhaled in relief. He didn’t think his suggestion qualified as an unwelcome surprise—just spontaneity—but he hadn’t been sure. Better yet, she’d agreed with a line of exclamation marks. So that was settled, and he couldn’t wait to see her. He did, however, have something he needed to do first.
He didn’t have a chance to say hi to Denny before the game, and that pissed him off because it felt deliberate, as if everyone was keeping them apart to avoid awkwardness. Which only made the damn game even more awkward.
Could that mean Denny didn’twantto speak to him? Maybe. A week ago—hell, even yesterday—that would have sent him spiraling into guilt and self-recriminations and, of course, avoidance. But now that he’d opened up to Gemma, he accepted that if there’d been any jealousy behind what he did, it was subconscious. That didn’t make it okay. It just meant that he hadn’t deliberately let the kid get hurt, but he’d still need to deal with all the stuff that had made him freeze up.
If Denny was angry, Mason would deal with that. Not avoid it. Not pretend he didn’t see it. Deal with it.
Denny seemed okay during the game. He’d nodded to Mason and accepted Mason’s gruff “good to see you” with a blazing smile. The kid really was a fucking ray of sunshine, and if that made Mason feel old and cranky, well, that was on him. No one needed a team full of assholes.
After the game, he again felt herded, this time kept away fromanyone with a camera or other recording device. That was fine. This was Denny’s moment. The kid had not only returned but scored the winning goal in the final moments of the last period.
Mason changed and then hung out waiting for Denny. When he appeared, Mason barreled through everyone who seemed to be oh so casually between them. Denny was unlacing his skates while chattering with the goalie. As Mason neared Denny, he thought, for the hundredth time,Was I ever that young?The kid looked like he should still be in high school. Fresh-faced and bright-eyed, with brown hair that stuck up every which way after pulling off his helmet.
“Can we talk?” Mason said. “Once you’re dressed.”
Denny gave that wide smile. “Sure. Just give me a sec.”
Mason stepped away and exchanged a few texts with Gemma. Then Denny was at his elbow.
