“Listen, I’m trying to respect Kingston and steer clear. At least for now.”
“We got three more days, Hayes. You gonna hide the whole time?”
There’s a knock on the door, and Boone waits to see if I’m gonna change my mind.
I’m not.
“All right. But I’m gonna get you to come out with us at some point,” he tells me before he grabs his coat and leaves.
Fuck.
Not two minutes later, there’s another fucking knock.
“Dude. What? Did you forget your key card?” I yank the door open and stop, frozen in place. “You’re not Boone.”
“No,” Lindy’s eyes light up. “I’m not.”
“Princess . . . how are you here?”
She lifts up on her toes and kisses my cheek, and I swear I feel that one fucking touch everywhere. “Wanna run away with me?”
“What?” I laugh. “I kinda signed a contract that says I need to be here tomorrow.”
“That’s okay. It’s just one date. I’ll have you back tonight. You game?”
“To run away with my wife? Fuck yeah, I’m game.” I grab my hoodie and take her hand in mine. “Where to, Mrs. Hayes?”
She stops and looks at me, her eyes fucking shimmering like I haven’t seen in a long damn time. “I might not hate the sound of that as much as I used to.”
“I guess that’s a start.” I squeeze her hand. “Want to grab something to eat?”
“Uh, uh, uhh. I decided it was my turn to do the wooing. I’ve got plans for us.” She pulls a box from behind her back and hands it to me.
“What’s this?” I pull on the black-velvet bow as Lindy smiles at me.
“Open it and see.”
I lift the lid and the tissue paper and find a light-gray peacoat and a black cashmere scarf. “You bought me a coat?”
“Yeah, hockey boy. It’s snowing in Washington, and you’ve only got a hoodie with you. Now put it on, and let’s go.”
I slide it over my arms, and Lindy takes the scarf and folds it around my neck. “So handsome.” She smiles at me, and the world feels fucking right. “You ready?”
“Lead the way.” I follow my wife down through the lobby, where a town car is waiting for us out front.
The driver moves to open the door, but I cut him off and hold it open for Lindy, then slide in next to her. “You know, Jules warned me about you Kingstons and your wooing.”
“Can we please not talk about my family tonight? I need a little distance.” She crosses her legs and folds her hands in her lap nervously. “Tonight, I’m embracing being a Hayes.”
“Princess . . . I love you being a Hayes. But a few days ago, you weren’t even sure you wanted to be married. You can’t run away from your family forever. And when you decide you’re ready to be mine, I’m gonna need it to be because you want me, not because you don’t want them.”
“I know.” She lays her hand over mine. “But I realized something when you called earlier.”
“Oh yeah? What did you realize?” I ask her and bring her knuckles to my lips.
“I realized standing up for myself today wasn’t me running away from my family. It was me running toward my life. And I want that life to include you.”
“Lindy . . .”
The driver stops the car. “We’re here, Ms. Kingston.”
“Thank you. I think we should be about an hour.”
I look through the tinted windows at the twinkling lights in front of us. “Where are we?”
“You’ll see.” She opens the door and tugs me out after her. “I just thought we could use a little fun tonight.”
We walk through a roped-off parking area to a small ticket booth and then into a Christmas Village. Holiday lights are strung across the aisles, highlighting booths full of food and games. A twenty-foot-tall, lit tree is off to one side, with Santa sitting in a big red, regal-looking chair and a line of kids in front of him. In the center of it all is an outdoor ice rink and skate rental. I tug down Lindy’s soft white hat until the fuzzy white pompom bounces. “We going skating, princess?”
“We sure are, hockey boy.” She tugs on the collar of my peacoat. “Wanna watch me kick your ass?”
I wrap my arm around her waist and squeeze her ass. “I’d much rather watch your ass than kick it, baby. But if you think you can skate faster than me, I’ll race you. Just don’t think I’m letting you win.”