Chapter 9

I finished throwing some clothes into my suitcase and zipped it up. I was heading to Vancouver the next day for filming. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I looked over a note I’d written to myself about things to remember to bring and found that I’d checked everything off. Smiling to myself I rolled the suitcase into the living room and placed it by the door next to my other one.

I collapsed down on the couch and flipped on the TV. I absentmindedly scrolled through the channel guide, eventually stopping on TNT for a little Law and Order action. I’d already seen the episode, but that was fine. I wasn’t really concentrating on the TV anyway. Packing always made me tired. The only thing I hated more than packing was unpacking.

I’d gotten all that I needed to do out of the way, and now I just had to wait. Jordan had stayed the night last night, but had to leave early for an interview and I wasn’t seeing him again before I left. He promised to come to the set and visit at some point, but we made no definite plans on when. Brianna would be coming with me, so she was spending the afternoon with Ryan. It was a game day so I figured that meant eating pasta for lunch and then napping for a couple of hours. Then she’d stop by to pick me up. I’d agreed to go to the game with her tonight.

When the Law and Order episode ended I made my way into the shower and began to get ready for the game. For the first time I had no apprehension about going and risking seeing Corey. It was strange to think about the rollercoaster ride that had gone on between us. When we had dated we were inseparable, then I left and there was no contact between us at all. When we ran into each other again it was nothing but anger and pain, and now we were back on good terms. I shook my head as I looked in the mirror.

“When it comes to Corey, you’ve always been a real mess,” I told my reflection.

I finished my makeup and moved on to my hair. When I was satisfied with how I looked I made my way back into the living room and turned the TV back on. It wasn’t long until my doorbell rang. I grabbed my purse and slipped on a pair of heels before answering the door.

“Wow, you look nice,” Brianna commented looking me up and down.

“Why are you surprised?” I asked. She shrugged.

“I’ve never known you to get dressed up like this unless there was a good reason,” she responded. I looked down at my outfit. I was wearing yellow heels, skinny jeans, and a long blue formfitting shirt.

“Am I dressed up?” She laughed.

“Last game we went to, you wore baggy jeans frayed at the bottom, a baggy t-shirt, and sneakers. You looked like you belonged on one of those ‘what was she thinking’ websites. Now you look like a hockey wife, with the makeup and the perfect hair.” I rolled my eyes at her and got into her car.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I told her as she sat down in the driver’s seat.

“Sure you don’t. I saw you and Corey at the party last week. You guys were getting along for the first time. In fact, you were practically attached at the hip. Kind of a weird turn around from the arguments that were occurring every other time you two were in the same place.” I groaned and started playing with my phone, pretending I was looking at something.

“It was no big deal. We both just realized how dumb all the fighting was.” I kept my eyes on my phone.

“If I’d ever known you to lie to someone, I’d call you out on that statement. It looked like the two of you couldn’t keep your eyes off of each other. I’m starting to think there was more to the arguing than the fact that you dumped his best friend.” I shot her a look that told her to drop it.

“There isn’t.” She ignored the look I gave her.

“So you’re not dressing up for Corey because this is the last time you’re going to see him for two months?”

“Of course not!” I yelled at her. Was she crazy? She rolled her eyes at me but stopped talking.

When we arrived at the rink we parked in the player’s parking lot and walked in the back door, flashing our guest passes. We joined the other girls at the seats and fell into conversation with them until the game started. They were playing the Blues.

About halfway through the second a scrum started that turned into a fight. My eyes opened in shock when I saw that it was Corey. He hadn’t fought in juniors. I sat forward in my seat, intently watching. When it was over I noticed that Ileana was talking to Maggie and they didn’t even seem to know that there had been a fight. I turned to look at Brianna and she was shaking her head at me.

“Don’t even start,” I warned her.

“Were you scared for him?” she asked. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I’ve never seen him fight before. It was just strange to see, that’s all,” I insisted. She gave me a look that told me she didn’t believe me.

The game ended with the Ducks winning 4-2. We waited for the crowd to clear out before making our way to the wives’ room. As we were seated in there I overheard some of the other girls talking about an upcoming road trip and what they were planning on doing during it.

“They’re going to Vancouver soon?” Brianna asked.

“Yeah, they play on the 22nd there,” Erin Morrison responded.

“Hey, maybe I’ll get to see Ryan while I’m there then!” she exclaimed. That got me thinking. We waited for the guys to come in, and Ryan was one of the first.

“I heard you’re going to Vancouver soon,” Brianna said to him. He smiled down at her. God, they were cute.

“Oh, yeah, I guess we are. You want to come to the game?” he asked. I interrupted before she could respond.

“Do you guys have any time off while you’re there?” I asked.

“I’m not sure, I’d have to check the schedule,” he replied.

“Well, if you do, you guys should come to the set and check it out. Brianna will be there obviously, and you could see what goes into making the movie,” I invited. He smiled.

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll talk to the guys when it gets closer and let you know.”










Corey walked out of the locker room flexing his hand. He’d landed a punch in the fight that had been murder on his knuckles. He headed for the family room to get Ileana. When he walked in, the first person he saw was Amelia. God, how did she always get his attention like that? She looked over at him and smiled.

“Nice fight,” she said to him. He smiled back, glad to see that they were still on good terms.

“I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” She nodded.

“I’m headed out of town in the morning and thought I’d come to kill some time. I didn’t expect to see you fight.”

“That’s right, you’ve never seen me do that before,” he said with a laugh. She shook her head.

“I was shocked. You did hold your own though. I was pleasantly surprised. I thought for sure you’d get your ass kicked,” she joked.

“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence,” he joked back.

“So, I already told Ryan, but you guys should visit the set of the movie in Vancouver while you’re up there if you have time,” she invited. He was a little surprised.

“Yeah, that would be cool.” He meant it. He’d always been curious about the behind the scenes stuff, and he was even more curious about what Amelia did for work.

“Corey, I’m tired. Can we go?” Ileana whined walking over to him.

“Sure, let’s go,” he told her. She called back a goodbye as she walked out of the room.

“I guess I’ll talk to you later,” Amelia said. He nodded.

“Have a good trip.”

He turned and followed Ileana out the door. She wasn’t even waiting for him, and was almost at the exit to the parking lot. Corey turned back to look through the door into the family room and saw Amelia laughing along with Brianna and Ryan. He squashed down the disappointment he was feeling at having to leave after only a short conversation with her.