Chapter Sixty-Four

Natalie left early for the airport the next day. There was no reason to hang around the hotel, nothing left for her in the office, and she really, really didn’t want to run into Darcy. Yesterday had taken every last bit of fight out of her. The last thing she wanted was to bump into Darcy and have to see how happy she was while Natalie fell apart.

At least she would be safe from Darcy at the airport. Nothing in the world would keep her from making it to the broadcast booth. Despite her anger and the aching in her chest, Natalie was proud of Darcy. Instead of accepting the job with the Canadian broadcast, she’d earned her spot in the booth with years of hard work. No amount of pride at Darcy’s accomplishments took away the pain of Darcy choosing the job over Natalie.

She shouldered her backpack and kicked her suitcase toward check-in. She got her boarding pass in exchange for her suitcase and made her way to the gate.

No first class this time. She didn’t care. Not really. But it drove home the point for how much this sucked that she arrived in a comfortable seat and was flying home probably crammed into a middle row. She’d asked Jamal to get her on the first flight he could, and her legs would regret her impulsive request.

Several long hours later, Natalie boarded her flight. She found herself crammed between two passengers, one who recognized her immediately.

“You’re from Wake Up, USA ! Oh my god. I love your segments!”

Natalie smiled as graciously as she could under the circumstances. “Thanks, that’s very nice of you.” Natalie shoved her backpack under the seat in front of her and buckled her seat belt.

“You and your girlfriend are so cute and funny. I just love watching you two clown around.”

Natalie frowned. “She’s not...” Fuck, she really didn’t want to be having this conversation. Especially not with a complete stranger. On an airplane where she would be stuck next to this person for nearly eight hours.

Natalie swallowed the lump threatening to block her throat. “We had a good time.” She reached for her earbuds, hoping this woman would get the message. Natalie attempted to find a comfortable position. The trip would be more bearable if she could manage to sleep through most of it.

A while later the woman next to Natalie nudged her with her elbow. “Aren’t you going to watch the game?”

Natalie pulled out an earbud. “What?”

She pointed at the tiny screen. “The USA-Canada game starts in half an hour. Aren’t you going to watch?”

Natalie couldn’t hear the sound on the other woman’s screen, but she could see Darcy sitting in the studio, wearing the suit they gave her for the hockey party. Dammit, she looked amazing. If Natalie had been hoping for evidence that Darcy felt as horrible as she did, she wasn’t going to find it here.

“Thanks,” Natalie said, turning her TV to the right channel.

“Joining us to give us some perspective on the women’s tournament is Darcy LaCroix. Darcy is the daughter of Canadian hockey legend Marty LaCroix. I’m sure all our viewers are familiar with Marty’s Hall of Fame career.” The host, a guy with salt-and-pepper hair and an unnatural tan, said before turning to Darcy.

Natalie knew the smile on Darcy’s face was the one she pasted on right before she destroyed someone on the ice.

“Oh shit,” Natalie whispered.

“Thanks for that introduction, Brent. I’m sure my father appreciates it. But I think I’m here to talk about the women’s game. My credentials have nothing to do with my dad. Perhaps you’ve forgotten that I captained the NCAA national champions, played in four Olympics, and won three golds and one silver medal.” Darcy smiled into the camera before turning to Brent.

Natalie punched the air. Pride filled her chest at Darcy telling off that asshole and every other person who thought of her dad first and her second.

The host swallowed, looking deeply uncomfortable before clearing his throat. “Of course, Darcy. Your résumé speaks for itself.” He glanced at his notes.

Those can’t save you now, asshole.

“In your expert opinion, do you think the U.S. team lacks leadership from more seasoned veterans? Your cohost on Wake Up, USA , three-time Olympian Natalie Carpenter, was left off the roster in favor of a younger player. It seems like the coaching staff didn’t think she could hack it anymore.”

If Natalie had any thought that she was over being cut from the team, this guy’s question put those thoughts to rest. This fucking sucked. She felt the woman next to her staring. She forced herself to keep her composure even if she clenched her jaw so tight she risked cracking a tooth.

Darcy took a deep breath. Natalie thought she saw red creeping up her neck, but maybe it was the light. Darcy looked directly into the camera, like she was talking directly to her.

“Natalie Carpenter has a hockey résumé that puts her with the greatest players of all time. She won two NCAA titles, three Olympic medals, including a gold. She was the captain of the team that won international tournaments. Frankly, she was the player I least wanted to go against on the big stage. Whether she’s on the team for this Olympics or not changes none of that.

“As for the younger players, we won’t know if the coaching staff bet on the right roster or not until they play this game. The games leading to this one haven’t been especially close. What happens when they play Canada? Can the young players on their roster hang in there? We’ll find out soon.”

Natalie stared at the screen, not seeing any of the images. Darcy didn’t have to stick up for her like that.

The woman tapped her gently on the arm. “Your girlfriend sure thinks a lot of you,” she said with a warm smile.

Natalie couldn’t bring herself to correct her this time. Darcy wasn’t her girlfriend anymore, but it didn’t stop her from telling that guy to shove his stupid question. She stood up for her, on national television. It made Natalie want to cry.

She’d been so stupid. She’d screamed at Darcy, accused her of flirting with her teammate, told her she hadn’t done enough to advocate for her. But here she was, after their breakup, telling the whole world how much she admired Natalie.

Natalie waved to the flight attendant as he walked by. She needed a drink.

She pulled out her phone and did something she’d been avoiding for days; she went on Twitter. She scrolled through their hashtag and found people wondering why they looked so off in their last few segments. Some people thought they were fighting, others thought for sure they’d broken up, a small group defended them against every bit of well-earned gossip.

But as she scrolled to the present, the tweets changed. In front of her eyes, they flooded the feed. People had tuned in to watch Darcy and were now sharing clips of her defending Natalie.

When your GF loves you enough to read your CV on-screen #PuckingHotties #RelationshipGoals.

Natalie smiled to herself. The more she read, the more people seemed to be cheering for them, speculating that maybe they had been fighting but everything was better now.

If only they knew that Natalie was on her way halfway across the world to get away from Darcy.

Fuck.

Natalie had made a huge mistake. Again. She’d broken her own stupid heart. Again.

And she had seven more hours on a plane to figure out how to fix it.