“It’s not your fault. It’s mine, for not speaking up sooner. I was afraid I’d fail, afraid I wasn’t good enough.”
Her mother snorted. “You are definitely good enough.”
“She’s good enough for a record contract if you ask me,” Liz said.
“Maybe,” Jenna said. “Maybe not. All I want right now is to have a club where musicians and singers can come and try out their stuff. That would fulfill my dream. Anything more than that…we’ll see.”
Her mother pulled her from the chair and took her hands. “All we’ve ever wanted for any of our children is to follow their dreams and be happy. We’d be delighted for you to open up another Riley’s. We’ll make it work.”
It was like the world had opened for her, and all she could see was endless possibilities. She hugged and kissed them all.
“Thank you. You have no idea what your support means to me. But first I have to go find the man I love and see if I can repair the damage I caused. I’m afraid I might have lost him forever.”
JENNA GOT LIZ TO GET HER TICKETS TO THE FIRST playoff game tonight. She could have gotten club seats, but she wanted to be in the front row, right where the action was. She wanted Tyler to know she was there supporting him.
“These seats are freakin’ cold, you know,” Liz said. “We could be in a heated club house, with all the food and drink we want for free.”
“Bitch, bitch, bitch,” Jenna said. “You’re the one who got us seats here before, if you recall.”
“Yeah, yeah. There was a method to my madness for that game. But now? It’s just fucking cold down here.”
“You are so high maintenance. It’s a wonder my brother puts up with you.”
“The things I do for love. And your brother adores me from the tips of my expertly painted toenails to the top of my gorgeous natural red hair.”
“Don’t make me gag.”
Liz laughed. “I never much liked the thought of having to deal with family. After all, I did my best to get the hell away from my own. But you Rileys? You’re all right.”
“You love me and you know it.”
“I do. I totally do.”
The door opened and the players started filing out. Jenna froze, not sure whether to turn and look for Ty or not. In fact, the thought of slinking down in her seat sounded appealing.
Liz elbowed her. “Your coward days are over, sweet pea. Time to woman-up and let your man know you’re here for him.”
She was right. She turned to face the players, and when Ty came out, he spotted her right off.
And frowned, then turned away and walked up the stairs toward the bench.
What had she expected, a dazzling smile and two thumbs-up? She was here to support him, not the other way around, so she clapped and yelled for the team when they took the ice for warm-ups.
At the face-off, Jenna tensed and didn’t let go the entire time. The game was intense, a knuckle biter as the Ice and Denver went at it as if this was the last game either team was going to play. There were plenty of penalties, only this time Ty wasn’t involved. He stayed clean, though he did plenty of bumping. When he crashed up against the glass right in front of her, she wanted to leap up and smack the guy who’d thrown him there. But Ty concentrated on advancing the puck, and when he scored, she screamed until she was hoarse.
The Ice were up two goals by the end of the second period, and Jenna’s jaw hurt from clenching it. Defense had kicked ass so far, keeping Denver scoreless and their shots on goal unremarkable.
Ty had paid her no attention, hadn’t once glanced her way through the entire game. Not that she expected him to. She wanted him concentrating on the game and not thinking about her. She wanted the Ice to win.
And when they did, shutting out Denver, she and Liz hugged and cheered along with everyone else in the packed arena. They waited until the crowds thinned, then went to wait on Ty outside the locker room.
“He’s so mad at me,” Jenna said, chewing on a fingernail. “I don’t know if he’ll even talk to me.”
“You have to open the dialogue door somewhere. This is where you start.”
The media kept them awhile, so Jenna paced back and forth, distracting herself by talking to a few of the wives and girlfriends of the players. Renee had texted her and asked her to give Eddie a big congratulatory hug for her since she was working at the bar tonight and couldn’t be at the game. The two of them had recently become exclusive, and Jenna was happy for both of them. They made a cute couple. So when Eddie came out of the locker room, she congratulated him and gave him Renee’s hug.
“I’m headed over to the bar now,” Eddie said with a wide grin. “Hope Malcolm’s got those steaks fired up.”
She laughed. “You know he will. And the first round for you guys is on me. I’ve already let my assistant manager know.”
Eddie kissed her cheek. “You’re awesome, Jenna.”
Eddie took off once Victor came out, and the trail of players coming through the door only made her more nervous, especially when she didn’t see Ty.