Page 75 of Breakaway

Remi almost laughed. “No, don’t be silly. What is it?”

Jasmine looked back and forth between them, watching Jase cross the kitchen and kiss Remi’s forehead. Remi smiled up at him.

“I gotta go,” he said regretfully. “To take my parents to the airport.”

“Oh yeah. Okay.” She went on her toes and he lifted her against him for a long, sweet kiss.

Jase kissed Remi, smiled at her sister, then headed back to her bedroom to get dressed.

See, this was the problem. His suit and shirt were wrinkledfrom lying in a heap on the floor where he’d left them last night and he had nothing else to wear. Saturday morning he did not feel like putting on a suit. He’d have to rush back to his place, change and then get to the hotel to pick his parents up. Everything would be easier if he and Remi lived together.

He waited for the familiar panicky feeling to claw inside him at the thought of committing like that, but it didn’t come. He buttoned his shirt with fingers that didn’t tremble. Huh. It was kinda weird, but they’d figure it all out later.

Remi followed him to her front door, holding her coffee mug. He bent and kissed her mouth. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.”

He patted her cute butt under the silky robe, drawing a smile from her, and then he left, locking her door behind him. The early April morning held hints of spring, the breeze softer, the sun warmer as he strode down the sidewalk to his Jeep, parked at the curb.

It felt like a beginning.

As he drove downtown and thought about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, an expansive feeling of well-being rose inside him. He smiled as he drove. They’d made the playoffs. Yeah, there was still a long road to the Stanley Cup ahead of them, but they’d done it after a long season that had handed them lots of challenges—injuries, trades, talk of financial problems with the team.

He winced a bit, remembering that Tag hadn’t made it. But that was life.

His parents had been there, had been proud of him, had seen him play better than Tag. He didn’t like to gloat, but he couldn’t help a tiny feeling of satisfaction at that. It had been a long time coming.

Remi had been there and she’d been proud of him too. He loved that. And he liked knowing his parents had met her and liked her and now…the M word even popped into his head and didn’t cause a panic attack.

In his apartment, he quickly showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, threw on his jacket and headed out again, over to the hotel.

Marriage.

He could see being married to Remi one day. Moving in together was a big step, marriage would really be rushing it, but the idea of one day taking that leap didn’t scare the shit out of him. He grinned. Maybe he was growing up.

Or maybe he’d just found the right woman.

Maybe he’d been wrong when he said that to Brianne—maybe itwasher. Maybe the reason all the hints about marriage and weddings had scratched away at his nerves was because he knew she wasn’t the one for him.

Which could only mean Remiwasthe one.

He paused in the hotel lobby. Put a hand to his chest. His heart beat normally.

It was okay. It was really okay.

Wow. He laughed out loud.

His parents and Matt sat on couches arranged in a grouping on one side of the lobby, their luggage sitting on the floor beside them. They were all looking at him as if he’d walked in wearing his skates and equipment. He laughed again.

“Feeling pretty good today, huh?” Dad said to him, standing as he approached them across the expanse of gleaming granite floor tile.

“Yeah.”

“You haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet.”

“I know.”

As they walked out to his Jeep, Mom took hold of his arm.

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