Kip silently fumed as Lance left.
But before he returned to the Brawlers dressing room, Lance dropped a surprise visit to the good people in the Arena Operations department.
“Hey, guys! Got a favor to ask.”
Chapter 35
Paige
Lance had been right: after a long day and a trip to the doctor, Irie was ready for a nap. Paige put her down in her new crib and waited for her to sleep.
If Paige felt abandoned by Lance rushing out of his condo to go play his hockey game … the feeling didn't last long. He'd thought of everything, after all. The hockey ticketsseemedlike a crude, clueless meat head gesture. But was it really that simple? Was he really that dumb?
Why would he go through all that trouble with preparing Irie's room if asking Paige to watch a hockey game was the big pay off? And why would he need to keep his sister on hand all day to make sure things went smoothly? All that seemed excessive, to say the least.
Slowly, it dawned on Paige that, yes, Lance had a plan—and she was still very much in the midst of it.
Once Irie dozed off, Paige snuck into the living room, where Ella was flipping through her magazine. Paige joined her on the expansive leather couch, and the two women talked for hours. Paige could finally find out what kind of guy Lance was. And even though Ella was his sister? She turned out to be a pretty unbiased source of information. The brother and sister had grown up always at each other's throats, always doing battle, and Ella was quick to point out the exact instances of when Lance had been a dick-bag and treated her poorly.
But ever since last year, when Ella started dating his best friend, Radar, their relationship had begun to change.
“Since then, we get along so much better. He's nicer. Less of an asshole. He's really grown up a lot, I think.”
Although they still bickered, now it was mostly aplayful, loving sort of sibling rivalry. “Mostly,” Ella added with a laugh.
Really, Ella seemed just as driven as her brother. She was a self-made interior decorator when she could haveeasilychosen to live off of the excesses of Lance's fortunes. Or, now that she was married to a hockey player of her own, Ella could've lived off of Radar's millions. But she wasn't interested in that—she loved her job, and being married to a hockey player or having a baby wasn't going to change that.
Paige admired Ella.Secretly, Paige found herself hoping that, if shedidsomeday end up with Lance, she could be as strong as Ella and pursue her career as a nurse. Regardless, Paige could tell that she and Ella could easily be good friends.Sometimes, when you met someone, things clicked and conversation flowed so effortlessly and you justknewthat you'd always be close.
Close, like sisters.
When Irie woke from her nap and dinner-time rolled around, Ella took Paige and Irie to her favorite French restaurant. They both ordered steaks. Paigewas sureit must've been expensive, because not only was it the best steak she'd ever had—but no prices were to be found anywhere on the menu. When dinner was over, Ella quickly snatched up the bill and wouldn't let Paige see it no matter how much she protested.
“This is Lance's money,” Ella said as she stuck a couple bills in with the check. “He told me that you'd probably try to pay, but he made me swear that I wouldn't let you. Dinner's on him tonight.”
Paige simpered. “He thought of everything, didn't he?”
Awed or perhaps befuddled, Ella let out a laugh. “You know what? He actuallydid. I'm pretty amazed, to be honest with you. I've never seen him like this. He must be really crazy about you, Paige.” Ella smiled at Irie, who was busily smearing red spaghetti sauce across her cherubic cheeks. “And Iknowhe's just head-over-heels for this little messy eater!”
Under the table, Paige fidgeted with her hands. “Ella, is he planning something for tonight?”
“I've been sworn to secrecy.” Ella smiled. “We should get going. It's almost game-time.”
Chapter 36
Lance
Boston roared as Lance led the charge out onto the ice for warm-ups. Skating hard, Lance made a spirited bee-line straight to Section 4, Row 1, Seats 1-3.
Behind the glass, he saw their faces—Paige, Irie and Ella—and felt a warm wave of relief.
Whew, they made it. Now the rest is up to me.
Lance cut an aggressive stop just in front of the girls' seats, covering the glass with a spray of ice and snow. He took off his helmet and waved at Irie. Her big eyes filled with awe and wonder when she realized,hey, I know that guy!She smiled and danced wildly in Paige's arms, and Lance felt his heart break in all the right ways.
Lance turned his smile on Paige. She was gorgeous, more beautiful than he'd ever seen her, and he didn't have a single doubt about what he planned to do.
Freeing a hand from his glove, he placed his fingertip on the snow-covered glass and began to draw a heart. When it was done, he blew a kiss at Paige and skated off just as fast as he'd arrived.
