Page 141 of My Best Bet

“She’s coming.” I patted his chest.

“Is she on a warpath?” he joked with an easy grin.

“No, be nice to her, okay? She’s having a hard time right now.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Her and Patrick broke up.”

His jaw dropped. “What? Why?”

I shrugged. “Patrick wants to retire.”

His face fell. “Well, what about her? What’s she going to do? Can she get another partner before the Olympics?”

“She’s gonna try.” I didn’t say aloud how hard it would be to find someone. Not only was she on the taller side for an ice dancer, but it was also late for the Olympic cycle coming up. And now that she was working against a bad reputation… Yeah, it was going to be a tough find.

He smoothed out his jacket. “I’ll talk to ol’ Patty boy. He’s here, right?”

“What?” I laughed.

His hands went to his hips. “Yeah, I’ll convince him to twirl with her again or I’ll break his fuckin’ legs.”

A laugh popped out of me and I patted his chest. “You sound like the Godfather. And you will do no such thing. He’s tired, he’s allowed to retire, Kappy.”

“No, he’s not. It’s not right to leave her hanging. I’m upset now.”

Wow, okay.I did not think he’d be so affected by what was happening to Piper– his sworn enemy since we were teens.

“She’ll be okay, Kappy. It’s Piper, she always finds a way.”

He nodded, but he didn’t look too convinced.

Scooching past him, I spotted Colt outside mingling by the cocktail tables. The sun had set and we had the perfect, glowy blue night. The lanterns and lights placed all around the lawn and in the tent were beginning to sparkle brightly. The DJ was just getting started and Lucy and a couple other little kids were all running around with glow sticks.

As I made my way across the lawn, I heard Hans and JP talking about Aliona, and I stuttered to a stop.

“Oh, did you guys see Ali?” I asked hopefully. “Did she come?”

JP stiffened. Hans shook his head and gave a sad smile.

Dang it.My shoulders sagged. “I invited her. She said she’d come, but maybe she couldn’t get time off,” I spouted off the lame excuse.

“She’ll come home one day,” Hans said, giving a somber smile.

JP shifted uncomfortably before throwing back what was left of his amber-colored drink and stalking away.

I knew why she didn’t want to come, and I bet Hans probably had a pretty good idea too, but it wasn’t my place to share her reasons with anyone else. She was still hopping around on different skating tours– exactly what I’d done until this last year. Over the past couple months, Piper and I tried inviting her to Chicago, but she ditched out on every plan we made. I understood it. I just hoped she’d come here one day and see that it was possible to stop running and create a home. Laying my eyes on Colt in his tux, I was sure that settling down was the best decision of my life.

Lucy and the gaggle of little kids holding mini-sticks ran up to Han and asked him to play the ref.

Excusing myself, I walked toward Colt, who was chatting with some of his old teammates.

As soon as I walked up, he fully turned his back on his friends and picked me up in his arms.

“There you are,” he said softly. “You look like an angel.Myangel. So beautiful, Mer.” His eyes were hazy with lust and a little alcohol.

“Are you drunk?” I laughed, patting his cheek. He was walking us toward the lake and I was glad for it because I wanted a little privacy for this conversation.

---