Empty Net (45 page)

She could do this, Audrey thought. She’d paint everything pink and she’d be in love.

“I’m going to call my boyfriend,” she said as she stood in the middle of the room.

“Well, I need to run out to another appointment, so just lock up on the way out and I’ll come by and put the box back on when I pass by. Text me what you think, and if you decide something today, just call me and we’ll get started.”

“All right,” she said with a grin, hugging him. “Thanks so much, James.”

“No problem, talk to you soon.”

Audrey watched him leave, then dialed Tate’s number.

“Hey baby,” he answered.

“Hey.”

“How you feeling?”

“Like poo on a stick.”

He laughed. “That is intense.”

“Who you telling?” she said, and laughed along with him. “Anyway, I think I am standing in the middle of Audrey Jane’s.”

“Really? Are you at the place on West End?”

“I am, and I love it, Tate,
a lot
.”

“Well, get it, baby,” he said eagerly. “Don’t wait, someone could come in behind you and get it.”

Audrey paused, biting her lip. “I kinda wanted you to see it.”

“Can you put a hold on it until Saturday?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I took a whole bunch of pictures. I’ll send them to you.”

“Sounds good, I’ll be waiting.”

Twenty minutes later Tate called her back and said, “Get it, it is beautiful.”

“I know. So you agree? I would call Fallon, but she is up there with y’all.”

“Yeah, I say do it. I will show her the pictures too. She will be back Wednesday, she can come see it then, but baby, it is what you want.”

“It is,” she agreed, nodding. “I’m gonna do it.”

“Awesome, I’m so proud of you,” he said as she grinned widely.

“Thanks,” she gushed, spinning around, but then stopped, realizing that was a horrible idea. “Ugh, Tate, I’ll call you back,” she groaned, before running back to the bathroom and promptly puking again. When she started to dry heave, she kind of wished she would have eaten
something because it might have helped. Holding her stomach, she stood up, washing her mouth out before going back out into the space.

Her space.

Audrey Jane’s.

Even with her nausea, she did a little hop and there was pep in her step as she sashayed out of the building. After locking up, she turned and ran right into a familiar face.

“Audrey!” Elli gushed, hugging her.

Audrey smiled. Elli wore a thick black jacket, so she couldn’t see her baby belly. But it was easy to tell that Elli was pregnant. Her face was rounding out and she was glowing. “Hey! What are you doing here?”

“I had an Ob/Gyn appointment,” Elli said, pointing to the building beside Audrey’s future cupcakery. Glancing there, Audrey watched as a woman with a baby stroller came out and then walked past them. Could she deal with watching pregnant women and moms walk by her cupcakery every day? That could be depressing, but in a way it was good, because pregnant women loved cupcakes.

It was a tough decision.

“Cool,” she said to Elli. “I was just with James; he was showing me this space.”

“For what?” Elli asked, tucking her hands in her pockets.

“I’m opening a cupcakery,” Audrey said proudly. “And I think this is my space.”

“Shut up! That’s amazing! Congratulations. Come here, give me another hug,” Elli gushed, then hugged Audrey tightly. “I am so proud of you!”

“Thank you,” Audrey said. “I’m really excited.”

“You should be! That is so great,” Elli said with a bright smile. “Well, darlin’ I might
need to be your first customer because Harper is going to need to order cupcakes for the boys’ baby shower.”

“Boys? As in plural?” Audrey asked, her brows coming together.

“Yeah.” She pointed to one side of her belly, said, “Evan Michael,” then pointed to the other side. “And Owen Marcus.”

She looked up and grinned as Audrey sputtered, “You’re having twin boys?”

“Yep. I’m having them June seventeenth, so hopefully the Assassins will sweep everyone and win the cup early, though I highly doubt it,” she complained. “He’ll probably be off somewhere winning a hockey game, while I’m having his sons cut out of me.”

“Wow, I am amazed by you. Are you gonna make him quit?”

Elli laughed. “I can’t. He loves it, and who am I to take away something he loves? I love him too much to make him stay off the road, so I’ll deal with it. I am woman, hear me roar.”

Audrey laughed as she shook her head. “You are spectacular, Elli, really.”

“Ah, ya know, I do my best,” she said with a grin. “But I gotta go, it’s cold as hell out here, and Grace has Shelli and Posey. So I’ll see you later?”

“Sure, call me about those cupcakes!”

“I sure will, or Harper will!” she said, walking away with a wave.

Audrey watched her, then turned to look at her building again. She could just see Audrey Jane’s written in a pretty pink script. The windows would hold displays of all the cupcake stands Tate had given her. Cute little tables made to look like high heels. A zebra print carpet, sparkling pink counter, and pink fuzzy chandeliers. She could see it all, right there in front of her. This was her dream, and it was about to be her reality.

Burping, she covered her mouth as she looked around. She took a deep breath, then
dialed James’s number. He answered right away.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m thinking I want it,” she told him.

“Why are you so nervous?” Tate looked up to see Lucas giving him a dirty look. “This is easier than the regular season, we go out and have fun.”

“No, you get to have fun, I need to be super ninja goalie against every great forward in the league,” Tate spat back, taking in a lungful of air.

Lucas thought for a moment, then nodded, “I guess I would be nervous too.”

“Ass,” Tate muttered as Lucas walked away, laughing.

It was the night of the All-Star game. In less than five minutes he would be skating in front of a crowd of thousands as they announced his name. He couldn’t believe he had been invited to play, and even though he was worried about Audrey, he was glad she’d made him come. He would have regretted missing this even if he felt bad leaving her at home. It was an amazing experience. The whole week, he hung out with veteran players and even a few new players. He got to meet some of the greats in the leagues and even was able to pick the brain of the amazing Bob Timoney. It was awesome, and he’d had a great week, but now he had a game to play. Taking a deep breath, Tate stood in his red All-Star jersey before exhaling. He raised his arms above his head, let them fall, then shook them out.

He could do this, no big deal.

As he grabbed his stick, he thought about Audrey and couldn’t help the grin that came over his face. He was so proud of her for going forward with her dream. She was in the process
of signing the papers for Audrey Jane’s. She loved it, and seeing the pictures she sent him, he knew he would love it too. He looked forward to seeing the location in person, but mostly he was excited about helping her build her business from the ground up. Audrey was such an amazing person, and he had no doubt that Audrey Jane’s would be the best cupcake place in the Nashville area.

Making his way down an unfamiliar hall on the way to the ice, he stopped and waited at the end of the line of hockey players. His number was thirty-nine, which meant he was the last to be announced. Rocking back and forth on his skates, he listened as each player was called out. Finally it was his turn, and to his surprise the crowd erupted when he skated onto the ice. His adrenaline started pumping and his heart kicked up in speed. This was it.

His first All-Star game.

After a hard fought but fun game, Tate’s team lost, but only by one goal, and even though that sucked, he was all smiles, because no one could score on him. It was a great feeling being the only goalie to have a shutout during his period. Reporters were all over him. He was on every sports news channel imaginable, they were calling him a “force to be reckoned with” and a sure bet for the Vezina Trophy, given to the best goalie of the season. It was crazy, and insane, but man, was he proud of himself. After the game and all the interviews, he found himself facedown on his bed with his speaker phone on.

“Hello, Mr. All-Star goalie,” Audrey said when she answered.

He chuckled. “I miss you.”

“Aw! I miss you more, when are you coming home?”

“Not till Monday afternoon. They are having the closing activities tomorrow, and then Sunday and Monday I have a bunch of interviews in New York with Lucas and Shea.”

“Well that blows,” she said, disappointed.

“I know, I want to come home.”

“Yeah, I wish you were home. I am still so sick. I could use my big strong boyfriend’s arms to hold me.”

“I’ll come home,” he said.

“Tate, you’re in Canada. You can’t just walk across our porch to bring me soup.”

“No, but I can be there in a couple hours. It’s a plane ride.”

“Okay, big-shot goalie, just because you signed a big deal with the Assassins and were the only goalie to shut out everyone at the All-Star game doesn’t mean you can just blow all that off to come home and take care of me.”

Tate chuckled. “I would blow it all for you. Every bit.”

“Liar,” Audrey joked.

“No really, I would,” Tate said sternly, sitting up. “Do you want me to come home? I’ll leave tonight. I can miss tomorrow, and then I just fly out to New York on Sunday?”

“That is crazy, no, I’m fine. I was just whining. It’s been a long week,” she said sadly. He could tell she still wasn’t feeling well.

“Is it the nausea still?”

“Yeah,” she groaned.

“Audrey, go to the doctor,” he suggested. “They’ll give you something so you can feel better.”

“Yeah, I know. If it isn’t better by Monday, I will, okay?”

“Promise?”

“Yes. I promise.” She giggled. “Now go to sleep, it’s late and you played one hell of a game.”

“Thanks, love. I wish you were here,” he said, a smile on his face.

“Me too, I love you so much,” she said, and he could tell she was smiling too.

“I love you more, ’bye, baby.”

“ ’Bye.”

After the call, Tate laid his face back down into the bed, feeling loved and complete. It was so great to have someone who was always there for you. He still missed his family a lot, but he felt like he was starting to cope with their death. It was a good feeling to know he could think of them without wanting to die. He had something to live for now, and he would do just about anything for Audrey.

He had just closed his eyes when his phone rang. Looking down, he saw a number he hadn’t expected to see ever again.

Picking it up, he said, “Hey, Elsa, to what do I owe this call?”

“What brings you in?”

Audrey looked up from her phone to the cute little nurse named Tara. It was Monday and she was still puking her brains out, and since she had promised Tate she would go to the doctor, she went. Taking a deep breath, she said, “I’m puking like crazy. I think I still have a stomach bug, and I need some nausea medicine. They gave it to my boyfriend for his nausea and I need it now, or I’m pretty sure I’m gonna die. I can’t keep anything down.”