Kelly Jamieson - Breakaway

He winced a bit, remembering that Tag hadn’t made it. But that was life.

His parents had been there, had been proud of him, had seen him play better than Tag. He didn’t like to gloat, but he couldn’t help a tiny feeling of satisfaction at that. It had been a long time coming.

Remi had been there and she’d been proud of him too. He loved that. And he liked knowing his parents had met her and liked her and now…the M word even popped into his head and didn’t cause a panic attack.

In his apartment, he quickly showered and changed into jeans and a T-shirt, threw on his jacket and headed out again, over to the hotel.

Marriage.

He could see being married to Remi one day. Moving in together was a big step, marriage would really be rushing it, but the idea of one day taking that leap didn’t scare the shit out of him. He grinned. Maybe he was growing up.

Or maybe he’d just found the right woman.

Maybe he’d been wrong when he said that to Brianne—maybe it was her. Maybe the reason all the hints about marriage and weddings had scratched away at his nerves was because he knew she wasn’t the one for him.

Which could only mean Remi was the one.

He paused in the lobby of the luxe hotel. Put a hand to his chest. His heart beat normally.

It was okay. It was really okay.

Wow. He laughed out loud.

His parents and Matt sat on couches arranged in a grouping on one side of the lobby, their luggage sitting on the floor beside them. They were all looking at him as if he’d walked in wearing his skates and equipment. He laughed again.

“Feeling pretty good today, huh?” his dad said to him, standing as he approached them across the expanse of gleaming granite floor tile.

“Yeah.”

“You haven’t won the Stanley Cup yet.”

“I know.”

As they walked out to his Jeep, his mom took hold of his arm.

“Jason.”

“Mmm?”

She looked a little flustered, like she wanted to say something, but was afraid. “Are you and Remi…serious?”

“Did you like her, Mom?”

The two of them paused on the sidewalk while Matt and his dad loaded suitcases into the vehicle.

“Well, I just met her, but she seems very sweet. You looked so happy with her.”

He nodded, throat constricted. “Yeah.”

“She’s um…different…than other girls you’ve gone out with.”

He hesitated. He knew what she meant, but wasn’t sure how to express it. “I know. She’s…real.”

His mom smiled. “Yes. She is.”

He nodded, glad he’d somehow made his mom happy, even more glad that Remi was in his life, but he felt like a big dumb jock because he didn’t have the words to express all that.

After seeing them off at O’Hare, he drove to the Metro Center where their practice had been moved to the afternoon for a change. The physical workout felt good. Much as they all wanted to take it easy to celebrate their win the night before, they also knew they had a lot of work to do. The playoffs were a whole new season. Mentally they had to get into a different place. Physically they needed to be at their peak.

He debated going straight to Remi’s place after the practice, but glanced at his watch. It was early. She had things to do too. He’d go home, call her, they’d figure out what they were going to do tonight. They could have a nice celebration dinner, just the two of them, somewhere quiet and casual, then go back to her place and…

Well. Yeah.

In his apartment, he sat down in front of his computer and started going through emails, some things from his agent to look at, some stuff from his financial guy about his investments. He was glad he’d been smart with his money. His parents had drilled that into him over the years. His career could end tomorrow with a bad check or a puck in the face, so he had to be prepared for anything.

The security buzzer announced someone at the front door. He frowned, spun around on the chair, then went to the security system. Had Remi decided to come over instead of waiting for him to call?

But the security camera showed Brianne standing there. Huh? What the hell was she doing there? He paused, his finger on the button to let her in. She buzzed again.

With a sigh, he picked up the phone. “Brianne? What are you doing here?”

She looked into the camera. “I need to talk to you, Jase.” She hugged a big purse to her like it was a security blanket or something. His frown deepened.

“What about?”

She glanced around, then looked pleadingly back at the camera. “Just let me in, Jase. We have to talk.”

Hell. He buzzed her in, shoved a hand through his hair and paced while he waited for her to come up in the elevator. What the fuck was this about? If she was going to beg him to get back together, she’d picked the wrong time, with him just figuring out he wanted to spend his life with Remi. His gut still clenched, though, at the thought of having to tell Brianne that.

Maybe it was something else. Maybe she’d just realized she was over him and came to tell him that.

Maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs would win the Stanley Cup this year. Yeah right.

He moved to the door at her light knock, and opened it.

She walked in.

She actually didn’t look too good. Which was weird, considering that she didn’t like leaving her home without hair, makeup and clothes all perfect because you never knew when paparazzi could be waiting to take pictures of them and that was how she earned her living, after all.

Her hair was in a ponytail, she had no makeup on under the big dark glasses she wore and she was dressed in pair of stretchy black pants and a long-sleeved gray T-shirt.

“Hey,” he said. “What’s up?”

She turned to him, biting her top lip in a way that was very unattractive. If she knew how she looked doing that, she’d never do it. Something was clearly wrong.

“Have a seat.” He gestured to his black leather couch.

She sat and pushed the sunglasses to the top of her head. Blinked. “Congratulations,” she finally said. “You made the playoffs.”

He smiled. “Yeah. Thanks.”

She sat there, saying nothing, her hands clutching her knees.

“Brianne?”

She swallowed, nodded, then looked at him, but her gaze was on his chest, not his eyes. “I have something to tell you.”

“Okay.” Get on with it, he thought. He resisted the urge to glance at his watch.

“I’m pregnant.”

“So what did you want to talk about, Jasmine?” Remi sauntered back into the kitchen after saying goodbye to Jason, feeling soft and relaxed and happy.

“Well. Um. Ethan and I want to buy a house.”

“Oh. Really.” Remi’s stomach rolled over. It had been a big step for them to move in together in Ethan’s apartment. Buying a house together sounded serious. She still wasn’t convinced their relationship was all that mature. She sat at the big, oak kitchen table with Jasmine.

“We want to buy a house, but things have tightened up a lot because of the recession,” Jasmine continued. “So we need a big down payment.”

“Oh. I guess you do.” Remi nodded, still not sure where this was going. She sipped her coffee, scalding hot, dark and rich. “Do you have some money saved up?”

“No.”

“Oh.” She waited.

Jasmine looked down at her coffee, appearing to struggle for words. Then she looked up. “I want you to sell the house,” she said.

Remi shook her head. “What?”

“I want you to sell the house.” Jasmine smiled. “It’s our house. All three of us. Right?”

“Uh…right.” Remi’s mind spun. What did she say? What?

“So if it belongs to all three of us, then one third of the value is mine and I want that money for a down payment on a house of our own. Me and Ethan. So you need to sell the house.”

Remi stared at Jasmine. What was she talking about? “But I live here, Jasmine.”

“I know. But you could find somewhere else to live. You’d have your third of the money.”

“But…” Remi blinked, looked around her. This was her home. This was their home. Even though Jasmine had just moved out, she’d already moved back once. She needed a place to come home to when things didn’t work out. Okay, if things didn’t work out. Think positive. And Kyle—he lived in the dorm at college, but this was really still his home.

“I can’t move out, Jasmine,” she said slowly. “I don’t want to sell this house.”

“But, Remi.” Jasmine leaned forward. “A third of this house is mine.”

It was true.

Their parents had left everything to all three of them, including the house. It had to be split evenly three ways, somehow, someday. But Remi had never thought ahead to the day that might happen.

How could she leave here? The house meant so much to her. Stability. Security. Family. In a life that had her parents flitting in and out and then gone for good, it was the one constant. Home.

But that wasn’t the only problem. Remi did not have faith that Jasmine and Ethan’s relationship was strong enough to last. Buying a house together was a serious commitment.

She sighed. She knew how that was going to be received. Jasmine wanted to hear that as much as she wanted to have her head shaved.

Remi ran her hand through her hair, still tangled from an energetic night with Jason. “Jasmine. This is kind of sudden. I need time to think about it.”

Jasmine’s mouth twisted. “What’s to think about? You know you have to do it. Part of this house is mine.”

The urge to give her sister a shake rose inside her, but she tamped it down, taking a deep breath. “Jasmine. Think what you’re asking. I can’t just sell the house on whim. I need to find somewhere else to live. And besides…” She tried to stop herself, but the words came pouring out. “I don’t know if you and Ethan buying a house together is such a good idea.”