The Summer Proposal by Vi Keeland

I nodded.

“Should I call him and tell him I’m seeing someone?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Georgia. I don’t think I’m the right person to give you advice on how to manage things with your ex-fiancé. I’d probably tell the guy to go fuck himself. You don’t try to track him down while he’s busy fucking other women, do you?”

Georgia frowned again.

“Yeah, like I said, not sure I’m the right person to ask.”

I headed back to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I came out again, she was still at the window. I walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders.

“I’m not trying to be a dick, Georgia. It’s just…I know this is supposed to be only a summer of fun, yet I can’t help but feel territorial when it comes to you, whether that’s right or wrong. I also care about you, and I don’t like the idea of some asswipe stringing you along and then suddenly showing some interest when you start to pay less attention to him. He sounds like he’s just playing games.”

She turned around. “I do understand it’s weird to talk to you about it. Do you think we can pretend Maggie never called and enjoy our day? The last thing I want is to put a damper on our fun. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t want to go to work, or even check in with the office. I love being in this little bubble with you, and I don’t want it to end.”

I forced a smile and leaned in to kiss her. “What phone call?”

The smile that spread across her face made my chest hurt. “Thank you. Actually, I’d like to thank you properly.” She reached for the towel tucked at my waist and gave it a quick tug. It fell to the floor, and suddenly I really couldn’t remember any phone call.





CHAPTER 17




* * *



Georgia



The next week flew by way too fast. Max and I did just about every touristy thing in New York, and then some. It made me sad to think that in just a couple of days, I’d be going back to work. Tonight we were venturing out of the city—not too far, only to New Jersey—to watch a hockey playoff game with his teammate Tomasso and Jenna, his wife, whom I’d sat next to a few times watching their games.

“Hey!” Jenna stood when we got down to our seats. They weren’t as good as the ones at the Garden, but close. She gave me a hug while Tomasso and Max did some one-armed shoulder hug thing. The game hadn’t started yet, and people around us started to whisper. A few took out their phones and snapped pictures. Max had only been recognized a few times while we were out during our staycation, but I guess it was impossible for it not to happen when we were in an arena full of hockey fans. A girl from the row behind us asked him to sign her jersey.

“You want me to sign a jersey for a team I’m not on?”

She twisted a bracelet on her wrist. “I’m sorry. It’s all I have.”

“I’m teasing.” Max grinned. “I don’t give a shit. I’ll sign it.”

She handed him a Sharpie, and he leaned down to sign her jersey, but he stopped before he’d finished, putting his hand up in front of her friend.

“No, she’s off limits,” he said.

I then realized her friend had been aiming her camera at me. She apologized and put the phone down.

“Sit here,” Jenna said. “I don’t need to sit next to my husband. He’s been home two weeks, and I’m already ready for him to go back to practice. The other day I told him to take some initiative, because unless I tell him to do something, he will spend an entire day lying on the couch like a lump. I meant for him to maybe load the dishwasher or start a load of laundry. When I came home that night, he’d gutted our bedroom—removed two windows and there was no sheetrock on two of the walls anymore. He said I’d complained about the window having a leak last winter. Umm…caulk around the window, don’t gut the room.” She shook her head. “When I asked him what the hell he was doing, he said he was taking initiative. The man has an off and on switch and no in between.”

I laughed.

“Anyway…enough about me. How are things with you and Max? I was so excited to hear you two were still going strong. You know when you just have a feeling about two people? Your gut just thinks they’re right for each other?”

I smiled. “Things are good. I took some time off from work, and we’ve just been doing stuff in the city.”

“I’m happy for you. Though my auction total is going to take a hit without Pretty Boy in the lineup.”

“Auction?”

“I run a charity auction every fall. We raise funds for kids who can’t afford to go to hockey camps all over the country. People donate things for us to auction off, but the highlight of the night is always when we auction off dates with some of the single players. Last year we got thirty-five thousand for Max—the most we’ve ever raised on an item.”

Max finished signing autographs and sat down next to me. He took my hand and weaved my fingers with his.

“You were auctioned off?” I asked.

He groaned. “They made me do it.”

Jenna laughed. “Yeah, we made him do it. But we didn’t make him take off his shirt and start flexing when the bidding started.”

Max hung his head. “I got into it. I wanted to get the bidding higher.”