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  Erica shrugs. “I don’t see the problem. He was your fiancé, after all, and he said it was an urgent matter.”

  “The problem is if I wanted him to have it, he would have it. You can’t give out that information without my permission.”

  “Well, sorry.” She doesn’t mean it in the least. There’s nothing genuine about it. “He pleaded he needed to see his ex because she was pregnant with his baby and due any day now, and I figured he should see the woman who obviously lied to him. It’s not my fault he found out about it.”

  All I can do is stare at her. That’s why she told Vance where I was. If he told her he needed to see me because I was going to have the baby soon, she told him so he could find out that wasn’t actually going to happen. Erica has the nerve to smirk at me.

  “Mere,” Noah snaps me out of it. Those brown eyes seem darker somehow, but it’s his tightened jaw and voice that gives away his thinly veiled anger. He speaks to me in a gentle manner, though. “Go do whatever you usually do before practice. I’ll come find you.” He turns me and nudges me out of the office before I can process it.

  “Listen to me carefully, Erica,” I can hear him say, but I start walking away.

  I’ve surprised myself by not wanting to hear what he has to tell her. Maybe my mind knows I’m going to need a few moments to myself to recover. It doesn’t bother me that she thought I lied to Vance. She doesn’t know me. What bothers me is how carelessly she threw it in my face, especially since she doesn’t know what actually happened. There may be some women out there who would lie about something like that to trap a man, but I’m not one of them, certainly not where Vance is concerned.

  Instead of doing what I should to get the courts ready for practice, I sit on the first set of bleachers I come to. My mind seems numb. It’s a feeling I recognize too easily. At first, the wound hurt like a bitch whenever I thought about it. It was like being sliced open over and over again. The pain seemed to be neverending. All I could do for weeks was lie in bed and cry.

  That urge is still there. It brings numbness after the initial pain. Will it ever not hurt so much? I don’t know what’s worse: a bearable pain or fresh pain that dies into a numbness. They both seem terrible.

  I’m startled when a set of shoes appear in my line of vision. Then, I realize I’m leaning forward with my elbows on my knees as I hug myself. Sitting upright, I see Noah holding out both of his hands, palms up. I take them and he pulls me to stand, immediately wrapping his arms around me.

  “You okay?”

  “I guess.” Having him hold me is starting to make me feel better.

  “That’s not convincing.”

  “What did you say to her?” I ask, tilting my head to look up at him.

  “It’s not important. She should be nicer to you now.”

  “I wish I could’ve been the one to tell her off, but she finally had ammunition to use that hit me instead of bouncing off. I couldn’t think of anything to say back to her.”

  “If it makes you feel better, I had plenty to say to her, and I said it all.”

  “Thanks.”

  Noah gives me a soft kiss. “Now, what can I help you with?”

  He helps me set up the courts with drills, ball machines, and other equipment needed. I can tell by the look on Erica’s face when she brings me my clipboard that Noah told her what happened with my pregnancy. She doesn’t say she’s sorry, but it’s written all over her face. Noah is like my shadow, standing behind me and watching silently.

  The girls seem to arrive and notice him all at once.

  “O.M.G. It’s Noah Ramsey!” Carrie squeals. She rushes and hugs him before she can be stopped.

  “I’m just here to watch,” he explains. The girls don’t care and quickly introduce themselves to him. I start to usher them away to start their stretches when I hear, “You must be Kira.” She’s the only one left and she hasn’t introduced herself yet.

  Kira looks at me with wide eyes. “You told him about me?”

  “Her first day, I came home late from a road trip. You were the first thing she told me about,” Noah tells her. “I’ve heard about you ever since. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

  “You, too,” she says to him before turning to me. “Ginny is going to freak.”

  “You can get a selfie with him later to send to her. Go stretch.” When she’s gone and while I take attendance, I say to Noah, “I think they were more excited to see you than they were me.”

  “Doubtful. You’re a legend to them; I’m only a hockey hunk.”

  Hearing him call himself that makes me burst out into laughter. It draws the attention of the girls, so I stop. “Go sit somewhere. You’re a distraction and I doubt Erica appreciates it.” Otherwise, he’s going to be making comments and I’ll probably want to kiss him at some point.

  “Fine.” Noah kisses my temple before going to sit on the bleachers.

  I swear one of the girls says aw. Once he’s taken his seat, Erica casually makes her way over to me. There’s nothing casual about it, though. She rarely comes to talk to me at this point. She stands next to me, and Noah watches us. She obviously didn’t want him around for what she has to say, so we both seem to be on guard.

  Erica keeps her eyes on the girls as they now run around the courts. “I just wanted to say that I’m sincerely sorry for everything. I do have a habit of being a bitch, but usually to a person who deserves it. You didn’t, and you were the closest target for me. I apologize. I honestly don’t know if I can be friendly, but I can and will be civil.”

  A thank you is on the tip of my tongue, but no way am I thanking her for finally being nice to me. “That works for me,” I reply.

  “Good.” She walks away to her usual place.

  Noah is still watching and I give him a smile to let him know everything is okay.

  Erica keeps her word. She even goes so far as to pair the girls for doubles like I suggested. Finally, I’m an equal contributor. I nearly choked on my own spit when she asked me for my opinion. I wasn’t expecting that, even though she said she would be civil. While I wish I had been the one to rip into Erica, I’m glad Noah did. A weight has disappeared from my shoulders and I’m able to enjoy my work so much more now.

  On the way home, my mom calls.

  “You’re getting married this summer?” That’s the first thing she says.

  “That’s what he keeps saying, but I’m still ring-free. Wait. How do you know about that?” I turn in my seat to Noah. “How does my mom know you want to get married this summer?”

  “I mentioned it when I called her,” he answers. I stare at him. The only thing that’s happened is Vance coming down and Noah learning of my past. Surely, he wouldn’t have called my mother to tell her before I could. “All I did was tell her I knew and that she could stop worrying about you so much.”

  “That’s true,” Mom says in my ear. “You don’t know how worried we were; he does. All he did was tell me that you are okay and you’ll be okay and I can let some of my worrying go.”

  “Oh, well, okay.” That’s fine, I guess.

  “Do we need to start planning a wedding?”

  “No. I’m not planning anything until I’m engaged.”

  “It’s going to happen, Mere,” Noah says. “Start planning. You’ll be engaged soon enough.”

  “What are you going to do? Propose the day of?”

  He cuts me a sidelong glare. “No. You plan the wedding; I’ll plan the proposal. Pick a date in July or August.”

  “This is so backward.”

  “At least he’s giving you some extra time. Most people don’t plan until they are engaged, but since he’s essentially giving you less than a year, it’s good to get a head start,” Mom tells me. “Do you guys want to get married down there or up here or somewhere else?”

  “Where are we getting married?” I ask him.

  “Back home,” he says the answer I was hoping for.

  “Good. I was hoping he’d say that,” Mom s
ays.

  “Let’s do August then. And Mom?”

  “Yes, Meredith?”

  “I’m coming home for Thanksgiving.” It’s not but a few weeks away. I guess I should ask Noah what his schedule is, but talking to my mom and knowing Noah has already talked to them a little bit makes me want to go home and tell them. My plan was to ask them to come down, but I have a sudden yearning to be back in the house I grew up in.

  “We can’t wait.”

  Who would’ve thought that I’m actually looking forward to it, too?

  HOW DO YOU plan a proposal when your girlfriend knows it’s coming? That has to be the worst decision I’ve ever made: telling her that I would propose. Now, instead of simply surprising her, I have to think of a way to surprise her in such a way where she doesn’t know something is up. At first wind of something unusual, she’s going to suspect what’s about to happen. I want to catch her completely off guard. How in the hell do I plan something like that?

  This thinking leads me to call my sister once Meredith has left for work. I haven’t talked to her much lately, so it’s time for me to call anyway.

  “What do you want?” she answers with the sound of Nicholas wailing in the background.

  “That’s no way to greet your brother.”

  “It is when he can’t tell his sister he’s back with his no-good ex or that there’s apparently going to be a wedding in the summer!” Looks like she may be more dissatisfied than my mother.

  “Don’t call her no-good. We’re happy and you’re going to either be happy about it or keep that shit to yourself.” The last thing I want is to have a pair of Negative Nancys in my ear, especially when they don’t know what I know and they don’t see what I see when it comes to Meredith. I think one reason why it bothers Ashley so much is that she and Meredith became friends when we dated back in high school. I lost my girlfriend, but Ashley lost one of her best friends. Meredith abandoned all of us.

  “You can’t tell me when to let go of a grudge,” she grumbles as Nicholas’s crying seems to have died down.

  “Are we going to discuss this or are you going to help me with my problem?”

  “What problem?” All the anger has left her voice.

  Most brothers and sisters probably hate each other at some point, and we had our fair share when we were younger, but ever since I left home for hockey, my sister and I have become close. She’s my go-to when my problems involve a girl. Sometimes, I’ll talk to my parents, but always Ashley first.

  “Since you know about the wedding, I’m assuming you also know I haven’t proposed yet.”

  “You want to ask me for advice on something involving Meredith? What part about me holding a grudge did you miss, Noah?”

  “Do you want me to be happy?” I snap the question at her, reaching my limit of hearing about this. If I can get over it, she sure as hell can too.

  Ashley sighs and I hear a giggle from the baby. “Fine. What’s your problem?”

  “How do I surprise her with a proposal she knows is coming? She already knows I have a ring, she’s seen it, and she knows I’m planning a proposal. How can I surprise her?”

  She takes a minute to think. “The only thing I can think of is if you carried the ring around all the time and whenever there’s a moment when it just hits you how much you love her, drop down on one knee in the middle of whatever’s happening and pop the question. Don’t plan it. Just do it when you can’t imagine waiting another second because you love her so much.”

  “Your advice is to not plan it and be completely spontaneous?”

  “Do you know of another way to be so sneaky in order to surprise her?” My silence answers her question. “So you’ve forgiven her for everything?”

  “I’ve been waiting for her to come back since the day she left. What do you think?”

  “I think that sounds too easy and simple.”

  That sentence stays with me long after our conversation ends. Some of it has been easy, like us reconnecting rather seamlessly, but there have been bumps too. From me panicking over her leaving for the weekend to her past, not everything has been easy or simple. Meredith feels more secure now that she has a plan, so the hard part is behind us, right?

  God, I hope so.

  From the moment I saw Meredith play and smile from her victory, I’ve wanted her. Then I got to know her and fell head over skates for her. She’s always been the one. Any attempt at moving forward was a poor one because none of the girls were Mere. There were some good ones that made me feel guilty that I still thought about Meredith as often as I did. Even through the breakup, I held on as tightly as I could from following her career, still talking to her parents, and even attending a few of her matches.

  There are parts of her past that bother me when I think about them, but there’s no use in dwelling on it. Everything has worked out. I make my way into our bedroom and to our closet, grabbing the old shoebox. Finding the ring is easy. I set the shoebox back on the shelf and open the ring box.

  She deserves better than the ring I was able to purchase when I was eighteen. It’s too simple, too small. But I understand why she wants this one instead of a new one. I’m glad I kept it. Meredith would probably freak if I’d told her I nearly threw the damn thing away after I thought I saw her on campus and screwed up with the redhead by saying Meredith’s name by accident. I was so pissed with myself, but more at Meredith. I had the ring in my hand, ready to toss it into a river near campus, but I just couldn’t do it.

  “What are you doing?”

  I nearly throw the box at Marc. “What the hell?”

  “I texted and said I was coming over. You didn’t answer, but door was unlocked. That for me?” He smirks.

  “No.” I hand the box to him and push him out of my bedroom and to the living room. When I see Leo curled up on the couch where I left him, I say, “You’re a terrible guard dog.”

  “He stood up and then laid back down,” Marc says, popping the ring box open. “This is the ring you’re going to give Meredith?” he asks with an incredulous tone as we sit down on the couch.

  “Shut the hell up. I bought that when I was eighteen. She’s seen it and that’s the one she wants. She wouldn’t let me talk her out of it.”

  “Not even to add more stones? She could at least let you upgrade it. This is pitiful.”

  I reach over to punch him in the arm and snatch the ring back, slipping the box into my pocket. “Well, it’s what she wants, so shut up.”

  “So, you’re going to propose?”

  “Yeah, at some point. Keep next August clear so you can be my best man. That’s plenty of notice for you to find a date.”

  “It won’t kill me to go solo.” Marc is a bit of an oddball. He rather go alone than ask a random chick to go to an event with him. He’s all about having a serious relationship. Flings aren’t in his vocabulary, which is why I was shocked as hell when he said he slept with a stranger on Halloween.

  “You ever find that girl?” I ask.

  “Unfortunately not. I asked a few of the guys, but apparently, none of them even remember seeing her. I don’t understand how so many guys missed seeing a woman as hot as she looked. I give up.”

  The door to the apartment opens again and we both turn to see Meredith coming in. All of a sudden, Marc is in my lap, his arms around my shoulders, and he’s squealing. Meredith starts laughing.

  “What are you guys doing?” she asks, coming to stand in front of us.

  Marc grabs her wrist and pulls her into his lap. “He just asked me to be his best man at the wedding and I was overcome with excitement.” He smacks a kiss on her cheek.

  “You’re really going to have to stop doing that, Marco,” I say.

  “Polo,” Meredith adds with a grin.

  “And get off of me.”

  “I can’t because Meredith is in my lap.”

  That makes Meredith stand and step aside. The moment she’s out of the way, I push him off my lap and into the floor. Marc laughs w
hile Meredith shakes her head at me.

  “Don’t be so mean, Noah,” she says, reaching her hands out to help Marc stand. He lets her even though he has no reason to. He grins as he slides an arm around her waist. She looks at him. “I’m glad you’re going to be our best man.” Then she hugs him.

  “We have to keep her,” Marc says as he turns their hug into a bear hug. “Can she be my date to the wedding?”

  “I think that would give people the wrong impression. Plus, I do have a date already.” Meredith giggles and I just don’t understand what’s happening before my eyes.

  “I don’t think we’ll keep you,” I tell Marc.

  “No, we have to,” Meredith interrupts his reply. “He’s my favorite.”

  “Don’t say that, Mere,” I groan as a ridiculous grin appears on Marc’s face. I’ll never be able to get rid of him unless Meredith wants him to go to because I know he’ll remind me of what she just said.

  “I can’t help it. You picked a good friend.”

  “That’s it,” Marc declares. “I’m claiming her as family. You, Meredith, get to be the sister I never wanted, but now am glad to have.”

  Suddenly, Marc releases his hold on Meredith and holds his hands up in surrender. Meredith shakes her head and glances at me. He’s brought tears to her eyes. Marc can’t stand tears. He swears it brings out his inner knight in shining armor who must fix everything that’s wrong. He nudges her toward me, but she turns and hugs him.

  “Right back at ya,” I hear her whisper.

  “Okay, end the love fest before I throw up or punch Marco in the face,” I say as I stand. “Let’s go out to eat.”

  But first, we have to take Leo for a walk. Meredith promises she’ll be done with her shower in five minutes. Marc and I take Leo for his walk in the meantime.

  “Would you really punch me?” he asks.

  I laugh. “Maybe if you were particularly annoying. I know a large part of how you are with Meredith is to piss me off, but I also know you’re basically going to be a brother-in-law to her. We just need to get you a woman before you start having funny thoughts about mine.”

  I’m half-serious because how can anyone not fall in love with Meredith, but it’s good that Marc knows I’m joking too. He laughs. “Trust me, I can’t think about anyone but Ivy, or whatever her name is. This is why flings are a bad idea.” He groans and runs his hand through his hair.