Back to Me (Carolina Rebels 1)

“You can get a selfie with him later to send to her. Go stretch.” When she’s gone and while I take attendance, I say to Noah, “I think they were more excited to see you than they were me.”

“Doubtful. You’re a legend to them; I’m only a hockey hunk.”

Hearing him call himself that makes me burst out into laughter. It draws the attention of the girls, so I stop. “Go sit somewhere. You’re a distraction and I doubt Erica appreciates it.” Otherwise, he’s going to be making comments and I’ll probably want to kiss him at some point.

“Fine.” Noah kisses my temple before going to sit on the bleachers.

I swear one of the girls says aw. Once he’s taken his seat, Erica casually makes her way over to me. There’s nothing casual about it, though. She rarely comes to talk to me at this point. She stands next to me, and Noah watches us. She obviously didn’t want him around for what she has to say, so we both seem to be on guard.

Erica keeps her eyes on the girls as they now run around the courts. “I just wanted to say that I’m sincerely sorry for everything. I do have a habit of being a bitch, but usually to a person who deserves it. You didn’t, and you were the closest target for me. I apologize. I honestly don’t know if I can be friendly, but I can and will be civil.”

A thank you is on the tip of my tongue, but no way am I thanking her for finally being nice to me. “That works for me,” I reply.

“Good.” She walks away to her usual place.

Noah is still watching and I give him a smile to let him know everything is okay.

Erica keeps her word. She even goes so far as to pair the girls for doubles like I suggested. Finally, I’m an equal contributor. I nearly choked on my own spit when she asked me for my opinion. I wasn’t expecting that, even though she said she would be civil. While I wish I had been the one to rip into Erica, I’m glad Noah did. A weight has disappeared from my shoulders and I’m able to enjoy my work so much more now.

On the way home, my mom calls.

“You’re getting married this summer?” That’s the first thing she says.

“That’s what he keeps saying, but I’m still ring-free. Wait. How do you know about that?” I turn in my seat to Noah. “How does my mom know you want to get married this summer?”

“I mentioned it when I called her,” he answers. I stare at him. The only thing that’s happened is Vance coming down and Noah learning of my past. Surely, he wouldn’t have called my mother to tell her before I could. “All I did was tell her I knew and that she could stop worrying about you so much.”

“That’s true,” Mom says in my ear. “You don’t know how worried we were; he does. All he did was tell me that you are okay and you’ll be okay and I can let some of my worrying go.”

“Oh, well, okay.” That’s fine, I guess.

“Do we need to start planning a wedding?”

“No. I’m not planning anything until I’m engaged.”

“It’s going to happen, Mere,” Noah says. “Start planning. You’ll be engaged soon enough.”

“What are you going to do? Propose the day of?”

He cuts me a sidelong glare. “No. You plan the wedding; I’ll plan the proposal. Pick a date in July or August.”

“This is so backward.”

“At least he’s giving you some extra time. Most people don’t plan until they are engaged, but since he’s essentially giving you less than a year, it’s good to get a head start,” Mom tells me. “Do you guys want to get married down there or up here or somewhere else?”

“Where are we getting married?” I ask him.

“Back home,” he says the answer I was hoping for.

“Good. I was hoping he’d say that,” Mom s

ays.

“Let’s do August then. And Mom?”

“Yes, Meredith?”

“I’m coming home for Thanksgiving.” It’s not but a few weeks away. I guess I should ask Noah what his schedule is, but talking to my mom and knowing Noah has already talked to them a little bit makes me want to go home and tell them. My plan was to ask them to come down, but I have a sudden yearning to be back in the house I grew up in.