I had a boyfriend.
The thought hit me out of nowhere and I glanced up into his gorgeous face.
“I just realized you’re my boyfriend. Does that make me your girlfriend?”
He squinted, closing one eye. “Er, yes? I mean, is there another word for it?”
“I don’t know… Beloved? Significant other? Partner?”
He shrugged. “Whatever you want to call yourself, in terms of being in a relationship with me, is all good.”
“Girlfriend works for me. I was just curious.”
“I haven’t been anyone’s boyfriend in quite a while.”
“I haven’t been anyone’s girlfriend since college.”
“And now we’re together.”
“And going on holiday.”
We grinned happily.
“Excuse me, mate.” Ian came up to us. “Do you think I could steal my sister for a dance?”
“Absolutely. I’m going to go grab your bride then.” Dax kissed the side of my face and moved off in the other direction, leaving me with Ian.
“You look beautiful tonight,” he told me.
“Thank you. You’re a very handsome groom.”
“Are you having fun?”
“I am.”
“So, what’s next for you and Dax?”
“We’re going to London on Monday and the following Sunday we’re flying to Vegas.”
“For how long?”
“I don’t know,” I responded. “But at least long enough for you to get back from your honeymoon. I think the plan is for me to stay until I have to go back to work.”
He frowned. “And then what?”
I swallowed. I’d been trying hard not to think that far ahead. I was having so much fun falling in love, I didn’t want to dig into the details. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I don’t know what the future holds, but we have time to figure it out. Technically, it’s all still very new. Once we’ve had time to settle in, get comfortable with the relationship, then we’ll talk about all of that.”
It seemed like he was going to say something, but in the end, he merely kissed my forehead. “I just want the two of you to be happy,” he said. “You’re both very important to me.”
“I know. But don’t worry about us. We’ve got this.”
Even as I said the words, I knew they were a lie. We hadn’t figured out anything, didn’t have a plan for the future, and I had a bad feeling something was going to go terribly wrong. The problem was that I couldn’t fathom letting him go now that I had him. On top of that, I didn’t know where his priorities were. Would he choose between hockey and me? The FBI and me? The unknown and me?
It was a bit disconcerting and I closed my eyes, pushing it out of my mind.
At the end of the day, I wanted to be with him for as long as I possibly could. Even if we were destined for disaster and heartbreak. I hated to think that way, but his growing malcontent with his current career meant I couldn’t, wouldn’t, be his focus, and what kind of relationship would we have if the most important thing in his life was something other than me?
16
Dax
The next week seemed to fly by. Between the wedding, saying goodbye to everyone, and almost a week in London, it was like I blinked and was back in Vegas. Except this time, I had Isla with me, and suddenly, my empty, lonely apartment was filled with light and laughter. Even after an extraordinarily long trip home, collapsing in bed and sleeping for nearly fourteen hours, and then waking up to two suitcases full of laundry and an empty refrigerator, everything was different. And in a good way.
I loved having her here in my apartment. Waking up next to her at hotels had been wonderful, but waking up next to her in our own place—even though technically she didn’t live here—was special. With her at my side, it felt like I could do anything, and I was already starting to get excited about taking a class this fall. We’d filled out some paperwork while we were in London and were planning to tour UNLV next week. I’d even signed up to take an SAT test in August, even though the scores probably wouldn’t be ready in time for the school year. However, based on my life experience and the fact that I was older, I was going to see if I could be provisionally admitted so I could take one class. If not, I’d wait until January and go from there.
I hoped being a bit of a celebrity here in Las Vegas would help me, but there was no way to know until our meeting. That wasn’t until next week, though, so right now, all I had to do was sleep, do some laundry, and make love to my girl.
My girl. Damn, I loved how that sounded.
We still had all those tricky logistics to work out, but the more time we spent together, the more confident I became that we could make this happen. I was positive Isla could find a job as a physics professor wherever I wound up, whether I stayed here, moved to another hockey team or left hockey altogether and did something entirely different. We hadn’t used the L-word yet, but my feelings had been growing exponentially and I was pretty sure hers had been too.
“I haven’t done laundry since university,” she said as I threw in a load.
“Merrie does everything, huh?” I asked, grinning at her.
“She does. Don’t get me wrong, I know how to do all those types of things, but I haven’t had to in a long time. I can cook and clean as well, but Merrie does the daily basics and we have a weekly service that comes in and cleans everything from bathrooms to floors.”
“I, too, have a
