So, I say, “I’m sure it’ll be fine. The roads are actually pretty clear. But tell him I can come help him put the chains on if he decides to use them. I’m pretty quick. Lots of practice from ski trips with my ex.”
Harlow shifts in her seat, her eyes narrowing. “Really? That’s interesting you say that. Evie is under the impression that you haven’t dated anyone seriously since you moved to New York.”
“I haven’t,” I say. “It was my ex from college. We dated our junior and senior years.” I glance down at her left hand before turning my attention back to the road. “We were even engaged for a little while.”
“What happened?” she asks. “You called it off because you decided you were too young, hot, and fabulous to be tied down at twenty-two?”
I grunt. “Um, no. She called it off. She didn’t want to live in the city. But working for an NHL team, especially one where Ian was a player, was what I’d been dreaming about since I was a kid, so when I got the offer, I took it. Even though I knew…” I shrug. “Looking back, maybe I should have made a different decision. Considering how everything’s ended up.”
“It’s not your fault that the team’s going through a hard time. And you loved working with the Ice Possums at first, right? Hanging with the players and being close to your best friend?”
“I did,” I say. “I wouldn’t trade those first few years for anything.”
“Then you have your answer.” She sits back in her seat with a nod. “And you and your ex probably wouldn’t have made it for the long haul, anyway. It sounds like you were both too stubborn and unwilling to compromise.” She grins. “Kind of like us.”
“You? Stubborn?” I ask with faux shock. “Really? I never noticed.”
She laughs. “Yep. I’m pretty sure that’s why I can’t find a boyfriend. I’m being too stubborn about the whole dating thing.”
“Don’t tell me—no man in New York lives up to your exceedingly high standards?”
“No, the opposite,” she says, without missing a beat. “I just want something casual, a monogamous, friends-with-benefits situation until I finish grad school. I mean, ideally, I’d like a guy I can have fun with outside the bedroom, too, but I’m not looking for love. Love is way too complicated. I want to keep my personal life as chill as possible until I finish school and land the job of my dreams.” She bobs a shoulder. “Then I’ll get serious about finding Mr. Right.”
“Huh,” I say, frowning as I search the road ahead for the turnoff to Shufflebottoms’.
“Huh,” Harlow repeats. “What’s that supposed to mean? I don’t speak grunt.”
My lips twitch. “Nothing. I just… In my experience, love doesn’t work that way. It shows up when you least expect it, and you can either hold on tight and figure out a way to make it work or roll the dice and gamble that you’ll get another shot at it down the road.”
She sniffs. “Well, like Gram always says, there are plenty of fish in the sea.”
“I’m not so sure about that. I’ve been wanting something serious again for a while, but I haven’t met anyone who makes me feel the way Ava did.” I shrug. “Maybe I never will. Maybe that was my shot and I fucked it up. In any event, if I’m lucky enough to find it again, I won’t let it go so easily.”
“Well, well…” Harlow clucks her tongue. “Who knew?”
I glance her way. “Knew what?”
“That you, Mr. Olsen, are a secret romantic.” She grins. “Once we go back to being enemies, I’m totally going to use that against you. You realize that, right?”
My brow furrows. “Can we maybe…not go back to being enemies? Is that on the table?”
She returns my frown as she jabs a finger to our left. “The turn. It’s around the corner. If you don’t slow down, you’ll miss it.”
I grunt again as I ease my foot off the gas, her words feeling prophetic.
If I don’t slow down, I’m going to miss it…
Miss what, exactly, I’m not sure. But as I take the turn and start up the well-plowed road leading to the resort, I can’t stop thinking about all the things I could have done differently and wondering if I’m ever going to get my life back on course.
Which reminds me… “Just FYI, this isn’t a purely fun trip for me. I have a job interview with the minor league team in Syracuse on Thursday. They’re considering me for the vacant manager position. So, I’ll be out of pocket that day. Figured you should know, as my devoted fiancée and all.”
“Gotcha,” Harlow says. “Well, good luck. That would be a promotion for you, right? You’ve never been the head honcho before.”
“No, I haven’t. And yeah, it would be a lot more responsibility. The pay isn’t much better, since they’re a minor league team, but it would be great for my resume and hopefully position me for a move to a similar job with the NHL in a few years.”