Page 103 of Goalie and the Girl Next Door
Weston shuts the door with a definitive click. “No. We group texted. There’s a difference.”
I bury my face in my hands. “This isn’t necessary.”
Weston leans against the kitchen island, arms crossed. “Clément, you’re trying to walk away from your career, your team, your town, and a woman you look at like she hung the moon. So, respectfully, you don’t get to decide what’snecessary.”
Lucian tosses me a water bottle. “You’re scared, man. We get it. You don’t think your body can hold up. But what if it can? There are specialists. Therapies. We’ll figure it out.”
Jamie chimes in. “It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We’ve got Lucas for goal when you can’t do it. You can rest. Heal. Play when you’re ready.”
Carson steps forward. “You’re not leaving a town that loves you. We’re a team and we’re only just getting going, so we can’t let you leave yet. And you’re definitely not leavingher.”
I still don’t know how Marcy found her way into my life so quickly. I just know that I don’t want to live in a world where she’s not part of it.
Mathieu, quiet until now, speaks up.
“You belong here,” he says softly, stepping into the circle of my teammates. “This is what you always wanted. A home. Don’t be afraid to have your dream come true.”
I can’t hold it back anymore.
I think of my mother, standing on the bleachers with her handkerchief, always waving, always watching. She believed in me before anyone else did. And if she were here now, she’d tell me not to quit.
And oh, how she’d love Marcy.
If she were here, she wouldn’t let me run away, no matter how scared I was.
I feel it. That soft click inside when the truth locks into place. There’s only one choice.
“I’m staying,” I say.
The room erupts. “Yes!” Jamie shouts. “That’s what I’m talking about.” Weston high-fives Lucian. Carson actually fist-pumps.
“That’s the Clément I know,” Mathieu says with a brotherly pride before he pulls me into a bear hug.
When he lets me go, I realize I’m breathless with relief. A quick glance at my watch reminds me that I should have been leaving just minutes from now. But everything has changed. “Forget the bags, cancel the taxi. I have to tell Marcy.” I dial her quickly with everyone watching, just to find out where she is because this is something I have to tell her in person.
The phone rings through to voice mail. “That’s strange.” I hang up and look at the phone. “It’s never gone straight to voice mail before.”
“Oh,Marcy…” Mathieu grimaces. “About that…”
I frown. “What do you mean,about that?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “If she’s half the woman I know she is… Well, she may have already bought a ticket.”
“A ticket?” My voice sounds abnormally high.
He cringes. “To Paris.”
Everyone stares at him.
“Shewhat?”
He shrugs. “She thought you were leaving. I told her you had a flight booked for today.”
The room falls silent again, but not for long, because I’m already grabbing my keys and all the courage I have left.
I don’t know how, but I’m going to make this right before that plane leaves the ground.
CHAPTER 39
