SlapShot Sweetheart (Pucks and Promises #2)

Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

AIMEE

This had to be a mistake, right?

If he’s late again or the restaurant is closed, then I’m going to have a true hissy fit that will be shameful, Aimee thought silently as she stared in disbelief at the darkened interior of the building. The light was off and there was a sign on the door that had her alarmed. Had the place closed?

Are you here?

I think the place went out of business…

Theo?

She sighed heavily trying to keep her temper in check as she saw that the text messages said ‘Read’ but he hadn’t responded yet. His Jeep was nowhere to be seen which meant he was running behind again. Why on earth did they insist on meeting somewhere when maybe it would be just so much easier and less grief to meet up at the house, leaving together.

I’ll meet you inside, I guess.

“Why do I put up with his shenanigans?” she muttered aloud, getting out of her Kia and carefully crossing the busy street toward the little place that was superb and highly romantic. When he texted, saying that he wanted to meet her for dinner at the same place, she had melted. He wanted them to have an official ‘first date,’ and the thought of revisiting it, changing things, struck a romantic chord in her soul. She always imagined that this place had seen its fair share of romantic proposals, anniversaries, and first dates because of the setting. The ambiance of the restaurant always seemed to hit the perfect notes. The deep shadows, flickering candle lights, and divine scents coming from the kitchen, combined with the ma?tre d’ and fine attention to details.

“I love this place,” she whispered in disbelief as the paper on the door said ‘Closed’ in large black letters. “But it sure doesn’t love me… are you kidding me?” - Only to jump back slightly as the door opened.

“Mademoiselle, this place is closed…” the man began loftily as Aimee nodded, horribly embarrassed at the way he was looking down at her.

“M-My apologies,” she stammered. “I was told we had a reservation and…”

“Miss Sanders?” he said, lifting that beak of a nose even further upward just so he could look down on her a bit more as he pulled a piece of paper from the pocket just inside of his suit.

“Y-Yes?”

“Ah yes,” the man began again in that snide voice. “Let’s see… uh-huh, yes. Well, this is surprising indeed, but I suppose it shall have to do when you are dressed in this atrocious manner.”

Aimee swallowed nervously, looking down at her clothing. She was wearing a sleek sweater dress that smoothed along her curves, giving her a svelte appearance. It was one of her favorite things to wear, even though she rarely dressed up like this. When Theo mentioned them going on a date, she had stupidly suspected that he was going to make some grand entrance or surprise her, but he wasn’t even here yet.

“I’m sorry,” she hesitated. “Do I need to go or…”

He held open the door and lifted an eyebrow at her before huffing. “I don’t have all day, you know.”

“This is going in a Yelp review,” she muttered under her breath, walking past him to the darkened lobby she loved so much. There was something so elegant about walking into a place, being surrounded with luxury. The chandeliers were dripping with shimmering teardrops, and gold inlay reflected the glints of light from the glossy floors. Wall coverings were pleated to damper the sound and elegant rope fringe trim lined everything giving another level of taste to the room. It was always the little touches that made the difference between good versus great – and this place was normally greatness personified.

… Normally.

“This way,” he said simply, holding out his hand.

“If this is a private event, then I should probably…” Aimee began distractedly, looking over her shoulder back to the man as he practically nudged her out of the entryway into the restaurant and she froze, finishing her statement limply. “…go?”

Every table in the restaurant had a bouquet of the pink roses that she loved so much and still had on her own dining room table, though now wilting but along with those roses were several other things that caught her by surprise. Stuffed Beanie Babies kittens in varying colors and shades were perched beneath each bouquet of roses.

“What is going on?” she blurted out, looking around in disbelief.

“Insanity, I tell you…” the man muttered, walking in front of her and as he pushed past, she had a sense of deja vu .

“Do I know you?”

“I assure you – you do not know me in the slightest because if you did, then you would know that I wouldn’t be here except under duress.”

“Well, bye Felicia… don’t let me slow you down,” she began, completely fed up with this man's snarky comments and foul attitude. “In fact, where’s the manager?”

“Boucher!” another man hissed in the distance.

“ What?! ” the arrogant man replied loudly, almost shouting.

“Happy Inner-Hero Voice, remember?”

And the man beside her slapped his forehead before dragging his hand down the front of his face in disbelief as it finally clicked in her head that this was one of Theo’s teammates beside her and probably the other one was too.

“What is going on?” she repeated, only to be ignored as the man threw his hands up in the air, walking past several tables before yanking out a chair pointedly. He glared at her, pointed at the seat, and then walked off… leaving her completely alone in the restaurant. Hearing a scuffling sound in the distance, another man was shoved out the swinging doorway of the kitchen. It was almost comical to see him look back, muttering something, before he flexed at the door, shaking a fist, and turned around to smile at her.

“Miss Sanders, take a seat if you please.”

“You’re Theo’s friend, aren’t you?”

“Tonight, I’m obviously your ‘ host-with-the-most,’ ” he began, holding out his arm to her as a mischievous smile split his face. Before she could ask what was going on a third time, he spoke loudly. “And I could even be your date, since I’m the one being put in this uncomfortable position…”

And the scuffle got louder as Theo shot out the swinging door of the kitchen with a dark look on his face, mouthing something in a hostile tone – in French, but the explanation was implied with that look.

“C'est ma femme, espèce d'asticot! Je pensais que nous étions amis mais tu n'es qu'un crétin égo?ste qui essaie de voler ma petite amie!” Theo snapped, pointing angrily before shoving him away from Aimee. “Go away, Coeur...”

“Maggot? Why you almost hurt my feelings, Batiste,” the man grinned, winking at Aimee. “I’m a lover, not a fighter – not like this guy.”

“Tu seras mort!”

“E-nough,” another voice started from behind her enunciating the word loudly as if to get his point across right before he flew past her, putting himself between Theo and Coeur. “Hi Aimee…”

“Hello, Mr. Becca,” she chuckled as she realized the team was here, all of them were involved in helping Theo set up this evening for her. How could she be mad if Becca’s husband was helping stage things and de-escalate the pounding that Coeur was about to get. Man, that guy had a snarky, holier-than-thou attitude that needed to be brought down a notch. “Oh, and Coeur?”

“Yes, my pretty?”

“Watch it…” Theo growled protectively, making her practically smile at the way her man got so fired up.

“You know payback is coming, right?” she said sweetly and nearly lost her composure as Theo looked away and Coeur winked at her, giving her a thumbs-up. The man was egging Theo on deliberately.

“I’m going,” Coeur volunteered. “Let’s go, everyone. The first dish is coming up soon, and we’ve gotta be someplace else, any place else…”

Not two seconds later, several guys in T-shirts paraded out from the kitchen, walking past them.

“Here ya’ go, brother…”

“Aimee…”

“I never found the tape, bro…”

“I have two extra Beanie Babies… so here,” Boucher mumbled, handing them to her as they all started to file out of the restaurant, one at a time, dropping off Target bags, a bag of what looked like Christmas bows, a package of condoms that made Aimee’s eyes grow huge in shock as Theo looked at the ceiling praying for patience.

“Y’all have fun – and the Tums are in the baggie… with the other stuff. Y’all be good, but not too good.”

“ Au revoir ,” Theo muttered pointedly and stood there holding the bags, looking unsure, as she remained beside him holding two beanie babies. “Hi,” he finally said, looking at her warily.

“Hi… um, are these for me?”

“If you want them?”

“What am I going to do with Beanie Babies?” she began and hesitated as she looked around, realizing just how sweet this was of him. He’d gone out of his way to recreate their first date – but better.

Theo was standing there, wearing a suit, and looked so different from the first time she had met him. Then, he was late, and his eye had been purple and swollen before he lost a tooth in the first course, prompting the blistering conversation that ended the evening abruptly.

“I don’t know. I thought they were cute and reminded me of éclair and Donut,” he murmured giving her a soft, nervous smile, making her wonder if he was remembering their first date too.

“This is certainly different,” she began carefully, feeling a little unsure of herself. “You look nice.”

“You look exquisite,” he replied, nervously putting the bags down on the chair at the next table before moving behind her to pull out her seat. “Assieds-toi, mon ame s?ur… sit down please,” he translated sheepishly. “It’s a habit, and I’m trying to remember to speak English, but French is my native tongue. I slip.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured, feeling her face flush slightly. “I ordered a ‘French for Beginners’ book on Amazon today so that I could learn some.”

“You did?” The surprise in his voice, mixed with the expressive look in his eyes was everything. He looked so pleased in that moment that some of her anxiety seemed to fade away.

“I figured I could try to meet you halfway,” she smiled softly, teasing him. “Maybe we could have our own language, a mix of the two, and…”

“And what?”

“And where is everyone?” she asked as he sat down opposite of her, immediately reaching for her hand across the table. His fingers met hers, and she couldn’t help but smile at the way he rubbed her knuckles. It wasn’t graceful or delicate but simply him, pausing over each knuckle as if to memorize her hand blindly.

“Everyone that matters is ‘ere,” he whispered, holding her eyes.

“What?”

“I bought out the place for the evening because I wanted to recreate our first date without any distractions or mistakes.”

“Aww,” she chuckled tearfully, smiling tenderly at him. “No tooth in La Poule au Pot?”

“Oh, ‘ang on and…” he blurted out, pretending to reach up into his mouth – before smiling tenderly at her. “I’m not late, no tooth, no T-shirt, no blood on the napkin… just us in this lovely place, together.”

“Whatever shall we do then?”

“We could start over from scratch and take our time falling for each other.”

“But what if I don’t want to start over?”

“You don’t… you don’t want to start over?” Theo paled at her words as he looked at her in concern.

“No,” she whispered softly, reaching across the table to take his hand in hers once more. “I kind of like how strange things have turned out between us. We’ve become friends despite all of it, and I would hate to lose that or those memories.”

“Moi aussi … me too,” he breathed, not holding back. “I love ‘aving you in my world, Aimee.”

“Same here,” she confessed, smiling at him. “I look forward to seeing your smile or hearing you drop your ‘H’s when you talk.”

“I look forward to sneaking another kiss…”

“It could ‘appen,” she replied, teasing him just to keep from tearing up at this emotional moment that seemed to be growing between them. “But you know what I would love first?”

“What?”

“For you to hold me close and dance with me, since we have the whole place… and eventually eat dinner,” she chuckled. “I’m hungry – aren’t you?”

“ Oui ,” he grinned, rising to his feet and holding out his hand to her – before looking off to his right and signaling someone. Theo pulled her into his arms, holding her, as he pressed his forehead to hers, slowly moving to the faint music coming from the speakers in the distance as they moved to set the table without disturbing them.

She couldn’t help the sigh of happiness that escaped her at feeling his arms around her, holding her in the way she had dreamed of after that amazing kiss the other day. She had always wanted something special, something incredible for herself – but never imagined it would be some brash, temperamental hockey player who seemed to do everything to extremes. Theo played the game with fervor, fought on the ice with wild abandon, and she knew at that moment that he would love her the same way when he gave away his heart.

And with that thought, she angled her face upward, moving slightly to kiss him. The way he drew in his breath always gave her this wild clench in her tummy, like someone spotting a miracle or experiencing something heady… and this was no different. His lips caressed hers, coaxing and loving, as he took his time kissing her with such longing that it brought tears to her eyes.

“Watch out…” he breathed softly against her lips.

“What’s wrong?”

“I feel something in French coming…” he chuckled easily, playfully rubbing his nose against hers before dropping a kiss on the end of it.

“Just say it… in English,” she smiled, moving to hug him closely, before Theo began whispering in her ear.

“J'ai peur de te dire ce que je ressens. Comment puis-je te dire que je rêve de toi, que j'ai envie d'embrasser tes lèvres et que j'aimerais que tu comprennes à quel point je t'aime. Je ne peux pas imaginer un monde sans toi, Aimee…”

“Wow,” she marveled, feeling emotional at just hearing the longing and intensity of the foreign words. “What did you say?”

“I cannot…” he replied, shaking his head quickly

“Why not? It’s just me…” she protested faintly and remembered when he admitted to being scared. Her eyes met and held his, realizing this was the same.

He was truly afraid of telling her what he had just said, which meant it came from someplace vulnerable deep within him. Her guy would start fights on the ice with guys bigger than him, talk a lot of smack with his friends, and play hockey aggressively – but when faced with something so personal, he shut down. He obviously felt strongly and was frightened to face her reaction or admit it.

“Because it’s you, Aimee…”

“Well, it sounded beautiful,” she began hesitantly, changing direction with him and realizing that it didn’t matter what words were said aloud anymore. She didn’t need a translator, because she pretty well understood without actually knowing the exact words.

A language of love .

T hey ate, talked, and laughed together. An evening meal that should have only taken an hour or two, ended up taking all night long. They each enjoyed a glass of wine with their meal, commenting on the sweetness of it, before having coffee with their dessert… and then dancing together again.

“Monsieur Batiste,” the manager began quietly, tapping Theo on the shoulder. “We are closing the kitchen in about an hour. I just wanted to make you aware.”

“We’re going to be heading out,” she murmured and then hesitated, looking at Theo. “Could you have the staff join us for a moment?”

“Of course.”

“Is something wrong?” Theo asked quietly, looking at her.

“No, in fact, this was the most beautiful evening ever, and I want to give back somehow – but I can’t carry all of these flowers or stuffed animals home. I thought maybe we could share them, saying ‘thank you’ for a night that I will never forget.”

“ Absolutment ,” Theo whispered approvingly before kissing her temple.

Nervously, Aimee laced her hand in Theo’s as the staff was brought out, looking at each other and then at them. Public speaking always made her nervous, which is why she liked her job at home from behind a computer screen. She looked at him and saw his approving gaze as he nodded, taking a slight step back and giving her the floor.

“You have made an unexpected treat from him into the best evening a girl could wish for,” she began and then moved slightly, releasing his hand as she picked up one of the vases, handing it to one of the kitchen staff. “Take these home to your wife or girlfriend. We want you all to enjoy a little something from us as a ‘Thank you’ for all your hard work.”

“Aimee and I will have tickets to the next game in town sent ‘ere for everyone to enjoy at no charge,” Theo added, pointing at her proudly. “Don’t look at me – this is ‘er idea. I just play the game. She’s the one in control of everything else.”

She looked at him, realizing what he was doing and why, as she met his smile. He was always letting her have the final say, a bit of the limelight, and supporting her by having her back. He did it once in front of his friends and now was doing it again. When it came to her, he gave and gave, by word or by deed, and she couldn’t love him more.