Chapter 17

“Hey, Lili, your phone won’t stop ringing, babe,” Travis’s voice calls out through the bathroom door.

“Can you bring it here?” I ask him while switching off the shower. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t join me. There’s a first time for everything, I guess.

Travis walks into the bathroom, my phone in his hand and a very pissed off expression on his face. “Why the fuck is Grayson Monroe calling you?” he asks between clenched teeth.

I smile as I tug my cell from his grip. It rings out before I can answer Gray’s call. “He’s a friend,” I tell Travis.

“Friend, huh? What kind of friend?”

“Are you jealous?” I laugh. “You have no reason to be jealous, Travis. Gray’s family is… friends with mine. I’ve known him practically my whole life. I’m also friends with his sister, but I’m guessing that won’t bother you as much.” My phone rings in my hand, Gray’s name flashing up on my screen again. I swipe the green button to answer the call, but before I can bring the phone to my ear, Travis snatches it out of my hand. “What the fuck?” I yell out as I watch him disconnect the call.

“You’re not talking to that fucker while you’re naked, Lili,” Travis grunts.

I look down at myself, then back up again. “It’s a phone call. He can’t see me.” I roll my eyes as I grab a towel and wrap it around my body before plucking my phone out of Travis’s hand, with every intention of calling Grayson back. My ringtone echoes through the bathroom before I have the chance. “Gray, why on earth are you blowing up my phone?” I answer, while keeping my eyes glued to Travis in defiance.

“I heard a disturbing rumor, Lil, and thought I’d come straight to the source,” Gray says.

“Yeah? What rumor would that be?” I ask him. Given my last name, it could be any number of things. Only a few of them true.

“The one where people are saying that you’re dating Travis O’Neil. Tell me you’re not dating a hockey player, Lil.”

“I am very much dating Travis.” I grin into the phone. Then quickly pull the receiver back from my ear at the onslaught of curses coming from the other end of the line. “Okay, Gray, nice chat but I gotta go.”

“Lil, be careful,” he says. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“I really like him, Grayson. And he’s good to me.” My gaze is still locked on Travis’s.

“You can tell the fucker if he hurts you, I’ll rip his heart out of his chest,” Gray grunts.

“You’d have to take a number for that.” I laugh.

“See you soon, Lil.”

“How come you never mentioned this little friendship with Monroe?” Travis asks as soon as Gray cuts the call.

“I have a lot of friends.” I shrug. “Do you want a list?”

“If that list includes the family who owns the team I’m looking to get traded to, yes, I do.”

“I…”

What am I supposed to say? That I purposely didn’t tell Travis I knew the Monroes. That I didn’t want him to ask me to pull strings to help get him signed with the Knights. Not that he’s given me that impression. But, in my experience, everyone wants something from me eventually. And I just didn’t want Travis to fall into that category. Not yet. I wanted to enjoy the blissful ignorance for a bit longer.

“Lili? What’s wrong?” Travis inches closer to me, reaching out and pulling me into his arms.

“Not that I thought you were like that, but I didn’t tell you because you mentioned how much you wanted to go to Vancouver and I…”

“You thought I’d ask you to call in a favor or something?” Travis tightens his grip on me.

“I didn’t want to give you the opportunity to ask,” I admit.

I feel the deep inhale of his breath, as his chest rises and falls against my face. “Babe, look at me.” Travis cups my cheeks, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I will never—and I mean never—ask you to do something like that for me,” he says. “I love you, Lili. I love everything about you. I’m with you because I love you, not because of any fucking connections you might have.”

“I love you too.” I smile. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to be sorry.” Travis’s lips land on mine in a featherlight kiss. Then he smiles against my mouth. “I love you,” he repeats.

“I love you too.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go.”

“Me too,” I groan at the reminder. A whole month in Italy without Travis is going to be pure hell. Tears start to fall down my cheeks.

“I’m going to miss you, so damn much,” he says.

“Not half as much as I’m going to miss you.”

Travis wipes the tears from my cheeks. “Please don’t cry. It breaks my heart, Lili.”

“I’m sorry.” I take in a huge breath. “Promise to call me every day.”

“At least five times,” he confirms.

My mom sits in the empty chair beside me. “I hate seeing you like this,” she says.

“Like what?” I ask as I continue to stare out the window. The vastness of the night sky seems never-ending.

“Like you’re miserable.”

“I’m not miserable,” I reply, finally turning my attention to her. “A month is just a really long time.”

“I know it is.” She nods. “You really like him, huh?”

“I love him.” I keep my voice low. The last thing I need is for the rest of the family to hear me.

“I can tell,” Mom says. “I’m sorry, Lil. I know it seems like a long time, but the month is going to fly by and you’ll be back in New York before you know it.”

“I doubt it’s going to fly by, Mom,” I mutter before looking out the window again.

“You could invite him to come for a weekend or something,” she suggests.

My head snaps back around, and I raise my brows at her like she’s lost her mind. “I don’t think Dad would be on board with that idea.”

“I can handle your father.” She smirks, and I shake my head.

“I think Travis has had enough threats to his life from my family.”

“And yet he’s still with you, which says a lot.”

“It does. But dating me shouldn’t come with so much baggage.”

“Your father loves you, Lil. He doesn’t know how to handle you being an adult.”

I suck in another huge breath as I look my mother in the face. “Travis asked me to move to Vancouver with him.”

I watch her eyes widen before they flick around the jet’s interior, and she quickly lowers her voice to a whisper. “Vancouver, as in Canada?”

I nod.

“What do you want to do?”

“I want to be with him. If he gets traded, I’m going to go with him,” I tell her.

“Okay.” She sighs. “We’re going to have to plan this right, and we might have to pull Nonna in to break the news to your father.”

“For someone who’s supposed to be next in line to manage the empire, he sure is a big mama’s boy.” I laugh.

“They all are.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you,” I say, while wrapping my arms around her.

“I love you more than anything in this world, Lil. If this is what you want, then I will find a way to make sure you get it.”

I can see the tears forming in my mother’s eyes. And I realize this probably hits a little too close to home for her. She lost both of her parents because their families, our families, didn’t want them together. And something about the determination in her voice tells me she refuses to let history repeat itself.