Page 96 of Rebound
Ah right, the photos. Lavinia posted photos to her socials yesterday of the Vegas trip. Most of them are of her and Jules, until you scroll to the end and there are two pictures of a man’s arm wrapped around her chest, another of our hands with the wedding rings and the last one of her new wedding ring. The carousel already has hundreds of thousands of likes and hundreds of comments wondering who she married or congratulating her.
“Yeah, that’s me,” I reply.
Sage’s brown eyes narrow in on me like she’s a microscope and I’m a specimen she’s inspecting. “You’remarriedto Lavinia Callahan?”
“See, itishorrifying when you really think about it,” Drew says. “Since I have to look at his face every day, I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“I love you, too.”
Drew glowers at me. He might not want to kill me anymore, that doesn't mean he’s any closer to liking me or even accepting me. I remind myself that he’s the same as Lavinia. They need time to accept what’s right in front of them.
A dog barking somewhere has us all looking around. Lavinia enters the training center, a dog leash in her hand with a golden retriever attached to it. She pauses when she notices all of us staring at her and even from here, I can see the way her cheeks flush.
“I know I’m more attractive than Drew and definitely a better hockey player, but you don’t have to stop and stare,” she says.
Drew scoffs. “You’re not better than me.”
“Which twin is a medalist, and which one is a mere hockey player?” Lavinia cocks an eyebrow. I can’t stop my grin. I love this cocky, self-assured version of her. This is who she is. Not boastful or conceited, but proud of her achievements because she knows she deserves them.
“I’m the captain of a Stanley Cup winning team,” Drew protests.
“I was the captain of an Olympic gold winning team,” Lavinia counters.
“She wins this round,” Coach says.
“The last time I won was at birth because I was born first,” Drew grumbles.
“What a glorious two minutes and twenty seconds that must have been for you,” Lavinia snarks. The guys laugh and when Drew glares at them, their laughs turn into coughs.
Lavinia walks closer and notices Sage, who’s in full fangirl mode, frozen as she stares at Lavinia. I’m not sure if she’s breathing.
“Hi, I’m Lavinia. I’m Drew’s sister, obviously. Also, Roman’s my current husband.”
Sage inhales once and coughs lightly. “I’m Sage Morgan. I work in PR.”
“That’s wonderful! I love Ethel, but she’s strictly anti social media and I’m not sure that works in this day and age. We should get together some time for drinks, if you’re up for it. I’d love to pick your brain about content ideas.” My wife’s never met a person who doesn’t want to be her friend. This is what she does, everywhere she goes.
Sage’s face lights up and she looks like Christmas came early. “Yeah, I’d love that.”
That settled, Coach tells us all practice is officially over. We’re too giddy with conversation to pay attention to our game anyway, and I know that’s going to bite us on the ass in our games against New York in two days. The team all turns to walk back to the dressing room while I linger back, skating closer to the boards and Lavinia.
It’s just the two of us here.
“I didn’t know you had a dog,” I say.
“This is Bailey. She’s Drew’s dog, and I took her to the vet this morning.” Lavinia leans down, petting Bailey. Somehow, I can’t picture Drew with a dog, and a golden retriever at that.
But there’s a more pressing question I need to ask her.
“Current husband?” I question dryly.
Lavinia’s green eyes meet mine for the first time. Slowly, she raises her left hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, and herring sparkles under the bright lights. A spark of possessiveness ignites in my chest seeing her still wearing my ring. My wife.
“We’re currently married, aren’t we?”
“You’re getting us on technicalities,” I counter.
“As a professional athlete, you should be used to it.”
