Chapter 35

My mom came in the room at 8am on the dot to wake us up. The girls and I take showers and get ready and eat an amazing breakfast that my mom and sister made for all of us. I talked to Bailey and Laura; they would be meeting us at the hair salon. I also talked to Julianne; she would be meeting us at the house after our hair and makeup appointments. We left a few minutes before 9 to make a pit stop at Starbucks before we get to the salon.

“Hey Jamie!” the receptionist says
“Hey Julie! How are you?” I ask as we all walk in
“Good, I hear Rachel and Natalie are doing hair and makeup for your wedding?”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Congratulations! Let me see your ring!”
“Oh my gosh, it’s beautiful!” Natalie says as her and Rachel walks up
“Thanks!”
“So who do you want to do what?” Rachel asks
“Um it doesn’t really matter, I still can’t decide if I want my hair up or down,”
“Did you bring the veil?”
“Yeah, it’s in the car actually,”
“Ok, do you want to go get it, that can help decide how we can do your hair,”

Natalie starts the makeup on Bailey, and Rachel starts on Ashley’s hair. The girls all do up-do, while I have Nat curl my hair and leave it down but pulled back with the veil, so it will still look good when I take that off. We leave the salon a little after 2pm, and made a stop at the hotel so Bailey and Laura could drop off their cars.

Julianne is at the house when we get there, and is ready to take pictures all day long. The girls and I ate a light lunch before getting dressed. The girls get their dresses on and then help me get on my dress after I get my designated wedding day lingerie on. This is definitely making it feel real, and it’s the most amazing feeling ever. I had my something old-my shoes, something new-my dress, something borrowed-my mom’s jewelry and something blue- the garter that Jon will toss. After getting dressed and taking some pictures of everyone, it’s 3pm and we all start piling into cars to go to the church.

Jon and the guys are already at the church, so Bailey goes ahead to make sure they are inside where Jon wont be able to see me. After she gives us the thumbs up, we walk into the church and go to the choir room where we will hang out until its time for the ceremony to start. The girls and I are sitting in the room when my mom comes in with Andree and Bryan.

“Oh, honey, you look absolutely beautiful!” Andree says
“I couldn’t agree more, Jamie, you look great,” Bryan says with hugs from them
“Thank you!” I say
“How are you feeling?” Andree asks
“Great! Excited and nervous,”
“Don’t be nervous sweetie, you will do great, and I couldn’t be happier for you and Jon,”
“Thanks!” I say trying to shake my nerves
“Here, you might need these,” She says as she hands me a few Kleenex’s
“Yeah, I might need them starting now,”
“We’ll see you in there, ok?” Bryan says
“Ok, thanks for coming by,”

A few minutes later, Jack walks in, after repeating that Jon isn’t with him.

“JJ, wow, you look amazing!” He says as he gives me a hug
“Thanks, Jack, I’m so glad you could make it down,” I say as he gives the other girls hugs.
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it for the world,”
“Where are the guys?”
“They are hanging out by the doors, Jon’s a little nervous,”
“Well, he’s not the only one,” I say with a laugh
“I figured, but I just wanted to say hi, I’ll see you in a few,”
“Ok, bye,” I say as he gives me a kiss on the cheek

I know it’s near time to start when my dad walks in

“Look at my little girl, all grown up!” he says
“Stop dad, you’re going to make me cry,”
“How are you doing?”
“Good, ready to get the show on the road,”
“Well your in luck, my que to come in here is the que to start,”
“It’s already 4?”
“Yeah, so girls, why don’t you head out and meet up with the men? Then Ashley, when Dayna and Brent are about to walk in, come get us, ok?”
“Ok,” Ashley says, as everyone files out of the room.

Bailey and Sharpie walk in first, being at the end, followed by Laura and Kaner, Brent and Dayna, and lastly Ashley and David. Then finally, it was my turn. My dad and I are at the doors ready to walk in as he gives me a quick kiss on my forehead while Julianne is snapping away. The music plays as we walk through the doors to start down the isle. Jon is the first person I see after we walk in, his face lit up, and I’m sure mine did as well.

My dad gives my hand to Jon after giving me a hug then sits down, and the pastor starts the ceremony. After the unity candle was lit, Jon and I said our vows, and that was when I started getting teary-eyed, as Jon was holding my hand, he was rubbing the top of it with his thumb. We exchanged rings and then he announced us as husband and wife before he gave Jon the OK to give his new wife a kiss.




“I love you so much baby!” Jon says after breaking the kiss
“I love you too!” I say back
“We’re finally married!” He says

We walk back down the isle, with everyone standing and Julianne taking pictures as we’re walking towards the doors with the wedding party following behind us so we can do the line up for the greetings. Jordan and Kris are the first few walking out.

“You make a beautiful bride! Congratulations!” Jordan says as he picks me up in a hug
“Yeah, you look amazing Jamie!” Kris says as they shake hands with Jon
“Thanks guys! I’m so glad ya’ll could make it!” I say after giving Kris a hug too
“Definitely! We’ll see you at the reception, Jon, I may have to steal her for a dance,”
“Not a problem buddy, see you guys soon!”

Eventually we said hi to everyone that came and then started on the pictures. The first picture we took was of us signing our marriage license. Then, thankfully, between Jon and I, we made a list of the shots we wanted hoping it would narrow down some time. We started with the family pictures so they didn’t have to wait around. Those took like 15 minutes, and then we did the wedding party pictures. After taking almost 100 pictures already, my eyes were hurting from the flashes. We wanted a few pictures with all the teammates before they headed to the hotel, so in addition to the groomsmen, the other 12 players joined us for a few poses, one with Jon and the guys, one with me and the guys and then a few with Jon and I plus the guys…they were so fun to be around when they were all joking around.

After about an hour of pictures, we all say bye to the pastor and pile into the limo to go to the hotel for the reception. I took my camera that my mom had during the ceremony to take pictures in the limo. Duncs broke out a few bottles of champagne on the way up there so we started the party a little early. The ride up there was so crazy, and the guys kept joking with Kaner about not getting any crazy limo pictures on the Internet.

I had the girls help me pin up my dress, and had Bailey take my veil off and gave it to her to take to the table as we were walking into the hotel. Kristin greeted us with congratulatory hugs as we walked thru the lobby and I was so thankful to have her help with all the planning. She goes to tell the DJ that we’re at the door so he can announce us in as “I Cross My Heart” starts playing

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome for their first public appearance…Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Toews!”

Chapter 34

It was already the second week in July and we were packing our bags to drive down to New Mexico. Leaving the Saturday after 4th of July, we made it into town on Monday, it was a faster drive down with Jon and I switching off the driving, but we made it. After we got back from Vegas and looked at more wedding stuff, Jon and I decided it might be too stressful to have the Stanley Cup on our wedding day, so luckily we were able to have it sooner.

We picked up the Cup on Tuesday, after calling Julianne and stealing her from her studio, we drove down to the White Sands National Monument in Las Cruces, it was an amazing place to get such good pictures, and we wanted something different for pictures with the Cup. My parents came with us so we got some pictures with the four of us, but mostly of just Jon and I. I think he had the most relaxed day with the cup out of the whole team, but that was what he wanted, so that’s what he got. I didn’t have a problem with it then, and it was cool to have the cup in New Mexico. After we got back, we took the Cup to the hockey arena where the junior team played; they were beyond excited to see the cup, and invited us to their final game that night.



The girls and I got together on Wednesday, minus Dayna, because she wasn’t there yet, and did another dress fitting, probably not the last one, but it was nearing that time. My dress was still fitting perfectly, a few inches even had to be taken in. Jon had spent the day golfing with my dad so afterwards, the girls and I went to the mall, they insisted on me getting lingerie for the wedding night.

The next few days were spent hanging out around the house. I had talked with Kristin again about the banquet room, and she also informed me that they had nearly 100 rooms booked by friends and family that had RSVP’d to the wedding. I had also talked to Nicole, who did the arrangements for the cupcake towers. Her and Kristin had talked as well, because they had worked with each other before.

Jon’s parents and brother got into town on Thursday the 19th. Brent and Dayna, along with Patrick and Abby and Kaner arrived the next day. Saturday night was the bachelor and bachelorette parties. The boys went to dinner and a baseball game, while the girls and I went to dinner and spent a night dancing at Dirty Bourbon. There were times like that when us girls wished that the boys were with us for the dancing, but we still had fun.

On Sunday and Monday, more friends and family arrived in town. My sister and her family were in town, and staying at my parent’s house also, so it was the 4 of them, plus my parents and Jon and I, it was a full house. Jordan and Kris Letang were even able to make it down for the wedding, which I was super excited for. Almost half the Hawks players had made it; plus Burish came down from Texas and big Buff and his girlfriend made it in from Atlanta. I don’t think New Mexico had seen so many professional hockey players there at once.

Friday was finally here and it was a busy day. The girls and I went out for our manicures and pedicures, and then went to lunch before meeting up with the family to go to the hotel and see the banquet hall for the reception the next night. Everything looked perfect; Kristin and her crew did an amazing job. Each table sat 6 people, and they all included 6 miniature picture frames for each guest. She told me she talked to the DJ as well, and he would be setting up tomorrow at 5pm. She showed us the refrigerators that held all the flowers that would be put on the tables, as well as the one that had the cupcake towers and the 2 cake toppers that would be placed on top. Coach Q and his wife had gotten us a personalized wine glass set that had been delivered to the hotel. She reassured us that she would be taking care of everything to make sure it would be in order, and she would also be around for the reception if there were any problems.

We all headed to the church for the wedding rehearsal, Julianne came also to take pictures of that night too. This was the first night that Laura and Kaner would come in contact since they broke up and Laura moved back to Texas, and I was hoping that they would be nothing but civil to each other; and thankfully Laura was cooperating with the wedding stuff; she had asked a few times if she could walk with someone else, I said no, so she finally gave up. We were all sitting in the church waiting for everyone to arrive when Pat and Jack walked through the doors, I was pretty sure you could feel the tension between them. After saying hi to the boys, Pat went to say hi to Laura, who almost didn’t say hi back, until I gave her a ‘be nice’ glare.

We ran through the practice ceremony 4 or 5 times before we got it perfectly set for the 4pm ceremony tomorrow. There were red bows tied at each of the rows to be sat on and the red roses would be on the table behind the pastor where the unity candles would be placed.

After spending a few hours at the church, we all headed to Quarters BBQ for the rehearsal dinner, thankfully we made reservations, because with there being nearly almost 30 of us, we took up a lot of space. We spent about 2 hours eating, talking and laughing, sharing memories also. My parents had let Jon and I know that they got a limo for us tomorrow which was nice, so Jon and the boys would take it from the hotel to the church, then after the ceremony, the girls and I will join them in the limo from the church back to the hotel for the reception. It was almost 9pm by the time we left the restaurant to go our own separate ways for the night.

“So this is it for the night,” Jon says as he wraps me in a hug
“Yeah, just for tonight,” I say
“Only a few hours,”
“Before you know it, ya’ll will be heading to the church,”
“I can’t wait, don’t cause too much trouble between now and then,”
“I won’t, you either mister,”
“Ok, goodnight, I love you,”
“I love you too,”

He gives me one more kiss before he jumps in the car with the boys to go to the hotel while the girls and I get in my car to go to my parents house for the night. Soon after getting home, the girls and I get settled on the air mattresses in my old bedroom and talk for a while.

“I can’t believe the wedding is finally here,” Dayna says
“I know, I’m getting married tomorrow!” I say
“It’s gonna be amazing!” Ashley says
“So, is Laura and Bailey going to meet up with us tomorrow?”
“Yeah, they are going to meet us at the salon, so we’ll do our hair and makeup, then after that we’re going to follow them to the hotel so they can drop off their cars, and then we’ll all come back here and get ready,” I say
“Yay! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited!” Dayna says
“Me too, ahhh!”

We stay up for a while longer and talk more, share memories with the boys; before we decide to go to bed, knowing it would be 8am before we know it.

Chapter 33

We walked into the hotel and straight to the concert theater where the show was going to be. Between the 8 guys and their dates, well minus Kaner and Jake, who came solo, we were split between 2 rows. Jon and I were in the closer row, between Nik and Elina, and Duncan and Kelly. Also in our row was Sid the kid and his girlfriend, Mike Green and Brooks Laich with their girlfriends, and Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin. Being surrounded by all these amazing hockey players was amazing. And yes, I did just use “amazing hockey players” and Ovechkin’s name in the same sentence…I still don’t like the guy, but I’ll admit that he is a good player.

The award show this year was hosted by Jay Leno, which should make for a good show, compared to the other comedian who hosted it the last 2 years, because he wasn’t that great. The show was good, Maroon 5 and Rascal Flatts both performed, that was awesome considering they are 2 of my favorite bands. Jon had walked away with the Lady Byng trophy, and Duncs won the Norris trophy for the second year in a row. All the Hawks players were called up to the stage too with the cup to say a few words. The show ran about 2 hours, and as soon as we were done, we were ready to party again.

The after party was at the Ghost Bar and Rain, which were both in the Palms hotel, so we didn’t have to go too far. And thankfully these were private parties just for the players that came. Patrick and Abby headed back to the hotel for the night, Abby had enough partying the night before and she was getting tired sooner, more so now that she was at the beginning of the 2nd trimester.

Stamkos remembered Savannah and I, and kept his promise, so he bought us a round of drinks. For being so young still, he was a good player, and I knew he would only get better. At some point during the night, I saw Kaner with some random girl that showed up and was sweet talking her with his hand on her leg and what not…oh some boys will never change. Jordan and the Pens guys showed up, so Jon and Brent were talking to them for a while, Jon even introduced me to Crosby and his girlfriend, and he was hotter then I remembered from when I last met him.

The partying tonight was basically a repeat of last night, well minus the crazy girls and drinks being thrown. We danced the night away and had so much fun. The guys were all cool with each other, which always seems weird when they are on the ice and fighting. After a few hours, we decided to check out a few more clubs that we hadn’t gone to the night before. We end up at the VooDoo Lounge, which is on the 51st floor of the Rio hotel, and it was by far one of the coolest clubs I’ve been to.



Along with me, Jon, Savannah, Taylor, Brent and Dayna, came Jordan, Marc and Vero and Tyler and Kelsey, so we were hanging out having a good time. We’re all sitting down for a while after dancing when Jon and Taylor decide to make a trip to the bar. Jordan and I are talking to Marc and Vero for a while, when Vero gets this ‘oh shit’ look on her face and I notice she’s looking towards the bar, she keeps talking, thinking I wont look, but I turn around to see Jon talking to some girl…the same girl that threw a drink at me last night…um I don’t think so girlfriend; so I make my way towards them when I watch her put her hand on his neck and kiss him. And that’s when I walk faster.

“Excuse me! Get off of him!” I say yelling
“Baby!” Jon says
“No, don’t baby me! What the hell is wrong with you?” I say looking at the girl
“We were just talking,” the dumb girl says
“Bull shit, I saw you kiss him!”
“Baby” Jon says again
“Quit! And why didn’t you push this slut off you?”
“I was! Did you not see me?”

At this point, Jordan and everyone else are behind me.

“Didn’t you get the hint last night after you got kicked out of the club?”
“No, I know what I want, and I’ll get it,” she says
“No you wont, he’s engaged, and clearly disgusted with you,”
“Didn’t look like it to me,”
“Yeah, because you threw yourself at him!”
“Whatever, you’re a bitch and you don’t deserve him!”
“Fuck you,” I say walking off
Jordan is hot on my tail and catches me right as I get into the elevator. He pulls me into a hug as I’m breaking down in tears as we go down the elevator.

“Jamie, I saw that girl all over him, I was about to tell you to keep your eye on her, but it was too late,” He says
“It’s ok, Jordan, I wish I would have seen it sooner, I woulda punched her in the face,”
“Things will get figured out, you know I’m here for you, right?”
“Yeah, thanks Jordan. Can we just sit down for a minute?” I ask as we get outside of the hotel. Passing the benches, I decide to just sit on the ground, I pull my legs to my chest, knowing that my dress is long enough that I’m not exposing anything, and keep crying.

With my head in my hands, I don’t notice that there is a change in hands on my back, until Jordan tells me that everything will be ok, and he will call me tomorrow; confused, I look up to see that Jon is sitting next to me, rubbing my back. I say bye to Jordan and put my head back down.

“Baby,” Jon says
“What?” I say after a minute, still not looking up
“Will you listen to me?” He asks
“I’m listening,”
“Can you look at me, please,” he asks as I lift my head up
“I’m so sorry about all of that,”
“You didn’t look sorry,” I say as he wipes some tears away
“I am! I didn’t recognize her from last night and she started talking to me and Taylor,”
“Maybe because she’s wearing less clothes now,”
“I didn’t kiss her, she was the one that kissed me,”
“I saw that,” I say as we move to the bench
“Ok, and I was pushing her away as you walked up,”
“I know, but she’s such a slut, she knows who you are, she knows your with me, and she doesn't give a shit,”
“Babe, I told her I’m engaged, she didn’t listen,”
“Clearly, I’m just sick of all these sluts throwing themselves at you, we’ve never had this problem,”
“Well, we are in Vegas,”
“True,”
“I really am so sorry, baby, the minute I saw you crying, it broke my heart.”
“It broke my heart too,”
“I love you more then anything in this world, I can’t live without you and I don’t want to.” He says, brushing hair out of my face
“I love you too babe, and you wont have to, I’m not going anywhere,”
“Good, let’s go back to the hotel,” he says, as he’s about to give me a kiss, but I turn my head so he kisses my cheek
“Seriously?” he says, looking at me
“I don’t know where that sluts mouth has been, you can give me a kiss after you wash your mouth,” I say as he helps me up
“Ok, fair enough,”

So after calling the guys and everyone to tell them what’s going on, we get back to the hotel. I change into my pajamas, when Jon calls me into the bathroom. I watch him as he cleans his mouth with Scope, after he does, he walks over to me and grabs my face in his hands and kisses me.

“Better?” He asks
“MUCH better,” I say with a smile
“Good,”
“And to think, you were worried about me being friends with Jordan, these are sluts you don’t even know,” I say jokingly
“True, and I know Jordan too. Its just Vegas that is bad news,”
“Yeah, gross crazy girls everywhere,”
“Let’s go to bed, baby,”

After a morning of breakfast with some of the other players, we were on a plane to go back to Chicago to hang out there for a couple weeks before the wedding.

Chapter 32

Our plane left for Vegas on Tuesday morning, with the award show being the next night. You could feel the humidity getting off the airplane and walking thru the airport. After we all got our luggage, we hopped into a few taxi vans and headed towards our hotel. Jon and I roomed with Taylor and Savannah, while the rest of the group figured out their room situation; Kaner decided to join us last minute also, with Jake Dowell.

Nothing important was going on when we got there, other then we have to check in at the NHL headquarters, at the Bellagio, where the boys get some stuff, and we get wristbands to wear, so we can get into all the clubs and skip all the lines. On our way to go to the pool, we run into a few Pens players, some Caps and Sharks players, as well as Kris Versteeg and his girlfriend; who joined us down at the pool. Savannah and I decided to go to the bar and get drinks, so we walk over and run into a few Tampa Bay players, who weren’t paying attention

“Excuse me!” Savannah says as Steve Stamkos runs into her
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” He says
“It’s ok, just watch where you’re going,” she says
“Let me make it up to you, I’ll buy you a drink,”
“Are you even of age to buy alcohol?” I ask
“Yeah, I am,”
“You just look really young, and I remember when you came into the league, you were like 19,”
“Oh yeah?” he asks
“Yep,” and before I can finish I hear a recognizable voice behind me

“Is there a problem here, ladies?” he says
“Ahh! Jordie!!” I say after turning around
“Hi Jamie, hey Savannah. Stamkos.” He says happily, then turns serious
“Hey Staal, well ladies, I’ll see you around I guess,”
“Ok, bye,” we both say

“What a little kid,” Jordan says with a laugh
“Yeah, he wasn’t paying attention and ran into Savannah, then offered to buy us drinks, I didn’t even know he was 21,” I say
“He’s 22 I think, but he still looks like he’s 13,”
“Yeah, join us for drinks?” I ask him
“Sure! Where are your men?” he asks
“Um…over at that far pool,” I say pointing in that direction
“Oh ok cool, I gotta congratulate them,”
“Yeah, come over there with us, did any of the guys come?”
“Yeah, Sid is here with his girlfriend, Marc and Vero are here, and Tyler and Kelsey are here too. Who’s here from the Hawks?”
“Jon, Brent, Taylor, Nik, Duncan, Sharpie, Kaner and Jake,”
“Dang! Party in Vegas!”
“Gotta do it right”

Jordan joins us for drinks and goes with us back to our chairs to say hi to the boys and congratulate them, when the rest of the Pens boys come up also…which made for a lot of testosterone where we were. The guys hung out in the pool, while the girls and I laid out and talked with Kelsey and Vero, who I got along with instantly, they were both so sweet and Vero was strong at speaking her mind.

Later that night after we all got done up and ready, the whole group walked over to Margaritaville for dinner, which was a whole bunch of craziness, because apparently every other hockey player wanted to go there too. But we got there early enough and just hung out at the bar until our massive table was ready. Savannah was telling me the story about how her and Taylor met at the Margaritaville in Westgate right after he got traded to the Coyotes; just at that moment, Mike Fisher and Carrie Underwood walked in and past the guys to congratulate them and take a few pictures before going to join his former Senator teammates.

After dinner, we decide to do what’s done best in Vegas…go to the clubs. So we go to Pure and start there. Thankfully, we got the wristbands, so we cut through the line and got VIP service. Seems like the NHL put a lot of money into this so the guys could have fun, and that included all the cover charges at every bar and club taken care of.

We all sat in the VIP area, which was still an open area where the people could be seen, but there was a security guard near the couches watching. We got drinks and were having fun, and not too long after we had a few drinks, Jordan and the rest of his crew showed up. We all danced like crazy on the dance floor and had so much fun, at one point I was dancing with Jon and Jordan came up and started dancing in front of me; we had to be careful with paparazzi around though, we didn’t need anymore rumors being spread around.

After a few more songs, I join Vero to get some drinks when we heard some girls next to us talking about the boys

“Oh my gosh, did you see Jordan Staal is here?” one of them says
“Yes! And TK is here too!” another one says
“Yeah but he’s with his girlfriend, and so is Fleury,” the 3rd one says
“Did you see that girl dancing with Toews AND Staal?”
“Yeah, what a slut! Can she not decide who she wants?”
“I heard she’s engaged to Toews!”
“So why is she all over Jordan too? That’s what I call a puck slut,”
“Yeah, no kidding, and Hjalmarsson is here too, but of course his girlfriend is with him, she is such a bitch,”

That makes me almost turn around and slap the girls, and then Vero jumps in

“Um, excuse me, but do you know any of those girls you ladies are talking about?” she says in complete seriousness
“No, we don’t, but who cares, those boys are hot!” the 2nd girl says
“Well, you need to watch your mouth, otherwise what you say is going to get back to the wrong person,” Vero says
“Yeah, ok, like who?” one says
“Like Toews’ fiancée,” I say jumping in
“How would you know?”
“Because I AM his fiancée, and I would appreciate you not calling me a slut!”
“Then quit being all over him and Jordan!”
“I can do whatever the hell I want to do,” I say getting angry
“Come on, let’s go!” Vero says, right as we turn around, I feel ice and liquid hit my back

“Seriously?” I say as I turn around
“Oh, sorry, it slipped,” one of the girls say
“Yeah, and something else is about to slip too,” getting ready to punch her
“Jamie!” I turn around to see Jon, Jordan and Brent running towards me
“Don’t waste your time babe, it’s not worth it,” Jon tells me as security guards come up

“Ladies, the trouble needs to stop. Did you get a drink thrown at you?” he asks me
“Yeah, that one threw at me,” I point to the one in the back
“I didn’t!” She yells back
“Don’t bullshit me, or any of us! We all saw it,” Vero says
“Alright ladies, you are going to have to come with me,” the guard says, as he escorts the 3 girls out of the club

“Do you want to go change?” Savannah asks
“No, I’m fine, my back is probably all sticky, but I’m not going to let this ruin my night,” I say
“What happened?” Jordan asks
“Those girls were talking about how they saw you guys, then they called me a slut for dancing with you guys, then Vero pulled me away and she threw a drink at me,”
“Well they got kicked out,” Brent says as he walks towards us with Kaner, who is already drunk
“Good, dumb girls, come on lets go clean you up, then get another drink,” Vero says as her, Savannah and I walk to the bathroom.

After another drink and a few more dances, the night is still young, so we decide to go to Studio 54. Walking down the strip with 11 tall hockey players, and then us girls was pretty hilarious, especially people walking past Jordan, who was massively taller then everyone else.

We got into Studio 54 within 5 minutes and went straight to the dance floor. We danced to a handful of songs before getting drinks and sitting down to talk and relax for a little bit. It was a little more relaxed there, we scanned the club to see if the girls were there, and they weren’t.

LAX was the club that we ended the night at, since it was in our hotel, and we knew we would be having a long day ahead of us tomorrow. At some point at Studio 54, most of the boys stopped drinking, so they wouldn’t have horrible hangovers for the red carpet and show. Jordan and I had a chance to talk for a while; he updated me on Heather, who is still in T-Bay, and definitely not with him anymore. He also told me that Eric and Tanya were expecting baby #2 early next year.

Wednesday morning came so early, considering we were out until almost 4am, and us girls drank a lot more then the boys did, so we were dying. Savannah, Dayna and I had gotten dresses at Cache before the store back home closed, so we all got cute dresses, that were still appropriate for the red carpet, because we wanted short ones, knowing it would be so hot outside. Abby, however, had gotten a cute dress also, but it was a little less revealing…of her baby bump anyways. Her and Patrick had announced after the championship parade that they were expecting their first baby sometime in December; and that was why they kept a low profile at the pool and out last night.

We had to be at the red carpet by 3, the show was set to start at 4:30, and it was the 2nd time the award show would be live, instead of taped in advance. We all wanted to be ready too so we could get pictures of everyone together, and have time to get the limo to the Palms. Jon and Taylor called in room service for lunch, since it was already almost 1 and Savannah and I were starting to get ready.

We were ready to go at 2:30, Savannah and I walked out of the bathroom and the boy’s jaws dropped at the sight of us, but with our long brunette hair down and curled, and our dresses of course. We get to the lobby and are greeted by the rest of the guys and their ladies, and within a few minutes, all 14 of us were ready to get in the limo to go to the Palms hotel.



[[This was my dress for the award show!]]


The limo pulled up to the hotel and we all filed out and hit the red carpet. As soon as we were walking, we all spread out to the fans or reporters who were doing interviews. Alyonka Larionov was there doing interviews too, since not doing work for the Penguins anymore, she was doing work around the NHL; so she called Jon over to talk with her.

“Mr. Toews! How’s your summer going with the championship?” she asks
“Oh, you know, so far so good! Just been hanging out in Chicago, getting ready for a wedding,” Jon says,
“That’s right, congratulations! I take it this lovely lady next to you is your fiancé?”
“Yes, this is my fiancé, Jamie,”
“Nice to meet you! So I have to ask, how did you two meet?” she asks me
“Last March, a friend and I were in Chicago and ran into him and Patrick Kane,”
“We both went for the same drink at Starbucks, then we went to lunch, and the rest is history,” Jon adds
“Aw, it was fate! So I take it you were there for the playoffs?”
“Yes, I was, and it was beyond amazing to be there with everything happening, and I couldn’t be more proud of Jon and the boys and what they accomplished,”
“As we all are! Jon, what do you expect during the off-season? Hope you guys wont lose anymore key players?”
“I sure hope not! We have a good guy in Taylor Pyatt, so now we have a good core group of guys, hopefully we can get more during the off-season,”
“Your up for the Mark Messier award, as well as the Lady Byng trophy; and you have some pretty good competition with both of them, hoping to walk away with either, or both of them?”
“I sure hope so, I know Crosby has won it in the past, so it’d be great to take it just once,”
“And Duncan Keith is up for the Norris trophy again?”
“Yeah, he really deserves that, he’s been the one to always step up when we needed him the most,”
“Definitely, well good luck with both nominations tonight and congratulations to you both on the wedding!”
“Thanks!” Jon says as we walk away

Chapter 31

With everything that was going on, all I could say was thank god I had my camera; I was taking pictures left and right of me and the guys, me and the girls, Jon and his parents, almost everything. The on ice celebrations eventually migrated to the locker room, where the champagne spraying continued, as well as the craziness, but it was well deserved.

Jon’s parents, along with the Kane’s decided to go for a late dinner and then turn in for the night, so I gave them my house key so they could get in and we promised to be as quiet as possible when we got home.

Championship shirts and hats were being passed around, Jon handed me his and one for me, I tossed them into the bench at his stall, so they wouldn’t get stained or gross with all the champagne. The drinking from the cup began shortly after, so the boys got pretty into that while the girls and I watched and laughed at all their reactions.

We finally left the arena around 1am, and since the boys changed and cleaned up, we decided to go to the Underground with the cup, the keepers of the cup followed us to the Underground and the boys had decided to let Taylor keep it the first night. Coach Q had been nice enough to call the club as we were leaving to let them know the champions would be heading that way.

After having a few crazy hours, we shut down the Underground; it was near 5:30 in the morning when we got home. I passed out almost right away, while Jon was tossing and turning, still being excited from the events of the night.

Jon was the first one up, I woke up soon after, and running on almost 5 hours of sleep, but it was definitely worth it. Andree and I made some breakfast for all of us and relaxed for a while, before the team was meeting up at the arena to clean their stalls out and to take another team photo at center ice. Coach Q also informed us that the Championship parade would be the next day, Thursday. Lauren and Diana had taken care of the busses needed, while I was in charge of getting the passes ready for the wives, girlfriends and family members to wear to get on the busses with the team, so the girls and I took a few hours to get that taken care of, and each player left with passes. After we left the arena, Jon’s parents went out shopping with the Kane’s while Jon and I went home to take a nap.

It was time for round 2 and the club was near to capacity when we got there, and with all of us that showed up, we filled it in no time. The guys took over the VIP room upstairs, as us girls followed in queue after them. Drinks were going around and all the guys were pretty tipsy within a few hours. Jon even had more drinks then he usually does, because he’s usually the one to keep the guys in line and make sure they don’t get out of hand; but not tonight. I was thrilled to see him relax and let loose.


Morning came before we all knew it, and it was time to get ready for the parade. We were all meeting at the arena where we would get on the double decker busses to take on the parade route. Those buses were a good idea from the previous parade, so it was a good idea to get them again, not to mention they were easy to get.

The parade was set to start at 10:30, we had to meet at the arena by 9:30 to get organized and see who’s on what bus and whatnot. The first bus would carry the Cup and the Conn Smyth trophy, so Jon and Taylor would be on that one, with Savannah and I, as well Jon’s family, and Taylor’s; Patrick and the Kane’s joined us also; because we know we cant separate the bromance between Pat and Jon. And if it was like it was 2 years ago when Kaner was beyond wasted half way through the parade, it was going to be an interesting time.

The parade started down at Wacker and Madison. The fans were near 8 deep on both sides of the street, it was near 90 degrees out here, thankfully the busses were stocked with bottled water…and beer; of course. The farther down Madison we went, the crazier it got. It was amazing to see all the fans out to see the guys and to see the cup. Every time Jon, Patrick or Taylor lifted the cup, everyone went crazy.

Patrick’s sisters were on the bus with us, so we all sat towards the side and let the boys have their fun, we all got along with each other surprisingly well, and they knew Savannah and I were both taken, so they didn’t hate us for trying to get with their brother. The girls and I got in a picture with the cup, and then Jon, Taylor and Patrick joined us for the next one. The parade went all the way down Madison and then onto Michigan Ave. where it ended for the championship rally.

The parade made for a long day, and besides being tired and slightly hungover, the hot sun was exhausting, but it was so worth it to be out there with the guys. We had gotten back to the arena and got back to our car to go home. Jon and I took a nap all afternoon, and then ordered in some food and a few movies and relaxed for the night. His parents had gone home, for David’s girlfriend’s graduation ceremony, and then were going to be ready to fly out to New Mexico next month for our big day.



The beginning of the summer was a lot of craziness; the boys started having golf tournaments and such for their foundations. Jack even had a car wash and donated all the money to a local homeless shelter. The cup schedule for the boys was about ready to be published, Jon had requested to have the cup the weekend of our wedding, so we could take it to New Mexico, and luckily, he was able to get it; so on top of the wedding craziness, we would also have the Stanley Cup with us, that made me kind of glad that it was in my hometown, sure there will be photographers, but Jon liked the idea of taking it to a state where it's never been. The cup keepers would be close by with us as well, since we will be having wedding stuff going on.

We finally had a day off, I was in my office with Lauren when Jon called me and told me to go to the locker room, and to bring Lauren with me, I asked what for, he just said don’t worry about it and hung up. So I grab Lauren and we walk to the locker room and open the doors,

“SURPRISE!” is all I hear, from all the players and their significant others
“Oh my gosh!” I say as Jon walks over and gives me a hug
“What’s this for?” I ask
“Well, with all the craziness of the playoffs, and you going back home for wedding stuff, we didn’t do anything for your birthday, or mine actually, but I wasn’t worried about that, so I wanted to throw you a surprise party,”
“Aw, you didn’t have to, I mean we went to dinner, and we exchanged gifts,” I say
“I know, but I wanted to have a group thing, so this is it!” He said
“Well thanks babe, and thanks guys!”
“So your what, 25, 26?” Jack asks
“Ha! No I am 24 thank you very much,” I say as he gives me a hug
“You and Tazer are the same age?” Taylor asks
“Yeah, I’m 9 days older then her,” Jon says

So the day is filled with everyone hanging out in the locker room with pizza and a bunch of junk food, it was fun to relax again before the guys go back home. The NHL Awards were already coming up, a week and a half away, the guys got invited, and some were going, especially now that we won the Stanley Cup. The offices were going to be quiet until free agency day, which I would be helping with for a while until Jon and I went home for the wedding; so me, Dayna, Savannah Elina, Kelly and Abby decided to go to Vegas, with our men that were going, as well as Coach Q.

The guys had gotten the airline tickets taken care of, while Dayna and I talked to every hotel on the strip to try and get some rooms. Sadly, we weren’t staying at the Palms, the location for the Award show, but we got 3 rooms in the Luxor hotel. Vegas, here we come!

Chapter 30

***Ya'll have been amazing with the comments! Thanks for all of it! Cant believe this is chapter 30....it's gone good so far and I still have a lot planned! Hopefully ya'll continue to enjoy it and give feedback! BY THE WAY--is anyone else sad that Jack Skille is no longer a Hawk? I heard the news last night and got so sad! He's one of my favorites! :( And since I've added him in my story, I still have plans with him so for the story, he's still a hawk.
Enjoy!
~J


Game 5 was here and the boys were beyond excited, but still focused, knowing that the Stanley Cup would be in the building in a few hours. They had their normal game day routines, while the girls and I hung out at Jon and I’s house and got ready. Jon's parents were there too, they decided to come in for this game, since they weren't able to come for any other games; so when the boys had practice one day, I went to the airport to pick them up.We decided to wear our guys’ jerseys for the game, and were joking around taking pictures before heading to the arena. We all headed out then met up with the other players and their wives or girlfriends in the lounge. Jon had his game face on and was rocking his amazingly sexy playoff beard.

We met up with Jordan before the game for a while, but he decided to sit in the box with his family, while we opted to sit in the stands with Jon’s parents and be in the playoff environment that we love. Before we went separate ways, he showed us a picture of his new niece, Marc’s wife Lindsey had her after game 3, and they were both doing well. So we said bye and went our separate ways.

The girls and I had nerves going around, but we didn’t let it show, because we had confidence in our men and the team. Puck drop was 15 minutes away when my phone rang, and it was a number I didn’t know, but I answered it anyways

“Hello?” I say
“Is this Jamie?” the girl says
“Who’s asking?”
“This is Heather. Jordan’s girlfriend”
“Girlfriend, eh? Last time I checked, Jordan said he was single,”
“Well, he’s not and we are very much together,”
“Oh yeah? Well I’m not the one you need to be talking to about that,”
“Yeah, well I suggest you stay away from him,”
“And what are you going to do about it? Kick my ass from Thunder Bay? Good luck, and how did you get my number anyways?”
“From Jordan’s phone,”
“Oh, yeah because that’s trustworthy of a girlfriend, he’s really going to want to get back with you now,”
“Whatever, just stay away from him,”
“Listen, I’m friends with him ok and there’s nothing you can do about it, besides, I’m engaged, I’m not chasing after him”
“Even more of a reason for you to leave him alone,”
“Wow, jealous much? And going through his phonebook, that must mean you don’t trust him, no wonder he keeps breaking up with you,”
“Shut up, seriously stay away from him!”
“Not a chance, and FYI, I invited him to my wedding, he said he’s coming, and I better not see you there,”
“Whatever,” CLICK

“Woah, who was that?” Dayna asks
“Heather, Jordan’s ex!” I say
“WHAT??” the girls say
“Yeah, she kept telling me to stay away from him, she got my number from his phone, I’m going to call him,” I say as I excuse myself

“Hey Jamie,” Jordan says
“Hey, so I just got a phone call from Heather…”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No sir, she said she got my number from your phone,”
“Shit, she must have gotten it when she was there the other day getting her stuff from my house, I’m so sorry! What did she say?”
“Basically to stay away from you, she said ya’ll were still together and I said I doubt that, and after going through his phone that shows you don’t trust him, she told me to stay away again and I was like what are you going to do, kick my ass from T-Bay? Um ok no.”
“Ha, yeah she wouldn’t do that, she doesn’t fight,”
“Oh, I don’t care if she fights or not, I just thought it was funny that she kept saying that,”
“Doesn’t she know your getting married?”
“Well I told her that I invited you to the wedding and you’re coming and I said I better not see her face, and she said whatever and hung up,”
“Oh my god, Jamie, I am so sorry, I never knew she woulda done that,”
“It’s ok, I just wanted to inform you of what your crazy ex is doing,”
“Yeah, see that’s why I broke up with her for good this time, she’s crazy! And she turned into a puck slut too, wanting to spend all my money, so I kicked her to the curb!”
“Yeah, clearly,”
“Ok, well I’m sorry again, I’m going to rip her a new one and tell her to leave my friends alone,”
“Ok, good luck with that, I’ll talk to you later,”
“Ok, bye,”

So I fill the girls in with just enough time for the game to start, Andree asks if everything is ok, I assure her that it will be fine. The Canes sure are putting up a fight, wanting to have a chance to tie up the series. They were the ones to score first; the goal was from Jeff Skinner and assisted by Erik Cole and Jared Staal. But that one goal didn’t put us down; it was barely half way through the 1st period. The 2nd period comes and goes, but this time it’s tied, thanks to Jack scoring right as he’s coming out of the penalty box. I got a text from Bailey asking if I saw that, I laughed and said of course; she and Jack and been talking, and he was excited to see her again for the wedding...aw, yay for being a matchmaker!

The 3rd period starts in no time and you can tell that coach Q talked to the boys, because they are so energized, making good passes and finishing their checks. Then, right at the 15-minute mark, the score turns to 2-1…for us! Taylor got the goal and Jon got the lone assist on it. After that, Crawford was on top of his game, and had the most amazing saves after we gained the lead, and before we know it there’s 4 minutes left in the game. Us girls get excited, but not too excited, because we know a lot can happen in 4 minutes. We could see how bad the boys wanted this and we didn’t want the stress of overtime coming in the game that is separating us from the Stanley Cup.

Then 3 minutes…

2 minutes…

1 ½ minutes…empty net for the Canes, everyone in the arena is standing. Sharpie steals the puck mid pass from a few Canes players and slap shots it straight to the empty net…goal!!!

Less then a minute left, 3-1 Hawks, Canes goalie is back in the net.

25 seconds

10 seconds

The buzzer goes off and the goal song starts blaring throughout the arena.

Oh. My. God. We just won the STANLEY CUP!

The entire arena is roaring so loud, cheering, clapping and banging on the glass; so happy to see the boys win the cup on home ice. The girls and I go crazy for a few minutes before we head down to the ice to celebrate with the boys, but not before getting high fives from people around us and telling us to say congrats to the boys. Thankfully, the security guards know us, so they don’t give us trouble when we get to the doorway leading to the stairs.

We pass the locker rooms and offices before we get to the runway that we run down to get to the ice and get through all the people. The guys are half way celebrating, and half way lining up for the traditional handshake with the Canes, so we patiently wait for them to finish.

As soon as the Canes are off the ice, as the champagne comes out and is sprayed all over everyone; Jon sees me and his parents and skates over to scoop me up into a hug as he skates around the ice.

“Baby, I love you so much, thank you for everything,” he says into my ear
“I’m so proud of you! You guys really deserved this, I love you!”
“This is unbelievable!”
“I knew ya’ll could do it”

Jon and his parents talk for a while in the midst of the craziness. The boys are celebrating out of control but being on the ice and around everyone in this environment is amazing, and so much fun. Gary Bettman comes out on the ice to present the Conn Smyth trophy…to Taylor! He played amazing and had 16 goals and 21 points in the playoffs. Then its time to present the Stanley Cup.

“It’s my duty to present the Stanley Cup to the captain, Jonathan Toews! Jonathan, come on up here,”
“Go get it babe!” I tell him as he lets go of me and skates over, leaving his parents and I standing with smiles on our faces.

Bettman says congratulations, they take a few pictures, and Jon takes it and lifts it over his head. I was in aw the whole time because last time I saw him lift the cup, I was watching at Laura’s house and we were going crazy. Now I’m here. At center ice. I don’t think anything could top this moment right now. Jon passes the cup to Taylor, who won his first championship; then comes back to where I’m standing with his parents, Dayna, and some other girls.

I was saying congrats and giving hugs to all the guys I saw, Sharpie first, since he’s like an older brother, then Skille, another brother to me and everyone else. I’m about to go over to talk to Taylor and Savannah when I see him get down on one knee, and ask Savannah to marry him. Ahh! So I go over after and congratulate him for the win and then both of them for the engagement, Taylor was on cloud 9.

Chapter 29

***Thanks ladies for all the comments, I love seeing what ya'll think! @Miranda-you said you had an idea of who she was talking to...were you right on who you thought it was? Enjoy ladies!
~J



And I turn around to see Jordan and Marc Staal standing there, disguising themselves pretty well. I run up and give Jordan a hug and say hi before he introduces us to Marc

“Where are you girls sitting?” Jordan asks
“We can either sit in the box or our seats which are right on the glass,”
“Nice! How did you score those?” Marc asks
“Well, it helps to be dating some of the players,” Savannah says
“Definitely, where are ya’ll sitting?” I ask them
“Not sure, our parents are sitting in the box,”
“Well we have extra seats next to us, if ya’ll want to sit with us,”
“Really? Sweet! You guys down?” Jordan asks his brothers
“Yeah, sounds good,”

So we make our way to our seats with the boys. They end up doing good at keeping low profiles, I thought for sure someone would recognize 2 6-foot+ guys together as the Staal brothers, but nope. We sit down right as the guys come onto the ice for warm ups, Eric and Jared are skating around and end up stopping to talk right in front of us. Yep, Jared finally had his NHL debut this season, and he has been one of the best rookies so far. We all wave to them as they skate away laughing, so we continue our conversation and wait for the game to start. There are random times that the jumbotron gives out a number for people to text and say hi or whatever when a text comes up that says,

“Pretty sure I saw one of the Staal brothers running around the arena…anyone else see them too?”

I point it out to Jordan and we all laugh, I tell them that now every single girl is going to be on the lookout. And it doesn’t help that Eric is on the ice being interviewed by Charissa Thompson, and she asks what the brothers think about it and if they are supporting him and Jared, and that’s when he opens his mouth and says that his parents are in one of the private boxes and the brothers are around the arena somewhere…now all the girls are definitely going to be looking.

“Let’s go get food,” Marc says as the scoreless 1st period ends
“Yeah, I’m starving,” Jordan adds
“Should we all go?” I ask
“Sure, why not” Jordan says as we get up
“So we should be prepared to get attacked when someone spots you?” Dayna asks
“Yeah, probably,” Marc says with a laugh

“Oh my gosh! It’s the Staal boys!” A girl, about 16 nearly screams
“And here it goes,” I say as her and a few more girls run over
“Can we take a picture with you?” They ask, of course the boys say yes
“Who are those girls, aren’t you married Marc?” another girl asks
“Yes,” he responds
“So, why are they with you?” Seriously? This girl needs to chill
“They are friends of ours,”
“Wait! She’s engaged to Toews!” one of them says, pointing to me
“Yeah, she is, now let’s take the picture, we’re hungry,” woah, Marc is a little feisty

So we get food, and make our way back to our seats after the boys got noticed a few more times. As we sit to eat and wait for the 2nd, Eric is warming up and skating right in front of us again when Jordan bangs on the glass to try and distract him, he grabs a puck and throws it over the glass right into my hands, I say thanks excitedly, just because I’m engaged to the Hawks captain doesn’t mean I have any of the game pucks.

The 2nd period starts with the Hawks opening up the scoring 2 minutes in on an amazing goal by Taylor Pyatt, to make it his 15th goal of the playoffs. The boys build off that momentum and keep up the pace, and eventually score 2 more goals, leaving the Canes in the dust going into the 2nd intermission. Crawford’s shutout bid was gone with 9 minutes left in the 3rd, with a goal by none other then Eric Staal, which made the brother’s cheer as loud as possible. That was the only goal they would score, and the Hawks went on to win the first game of the series. Jordan and Marc went to meet up with his parents and then Eric and Jared while we went down to the locker room to find our men. Jon and the guys were talking about us girls sitting with the guys, Duncan said it was a good thing the kissing cam didn’t show us, as I was the only one of us girls sitting next to the boys.

Game 2 was the same routine, the girls and I met up with the boys and they sat with us for the game again, and got spotted again by more groups of girls, and this time they were talking about us girls too

“She’s engaged to the captain, so why is she with Jordan?”
“That’s Seabrook’s girlfriend too, I mean, yeah they are the Staal’s, but Seabrook is hot,”
“And so is Taylor Pyatt, but his girlfriend is with them too,”

Those were the basics of what we heard that night, these girls are out of control. And that wasn’t all of it either; the gossip boards on the Internet were blowing up also, saying the girls and I were passing ourselves around the NHL and that we were puck sluts and the guys didn’t deserve to be treated like that. Wow, little did they know that we are simply FRIENDS with the Staal brothers…geez girls.

We were in North Carolina and game day had arrived, the boys were focused more then ever. Jordan was the only one here for these games; Marc had gone back to Thunder Bay to take care of his pregnant wife. We had met Linda and Henry back in Chicago and they were nice enough to let us join them in the box for the games there, so we walked up with them and met Tanya and Parker as well. After a hard fought 60 minutes of playing, the first overtime was set to start with the score even at 4. With 2 minutes left, we were about to prepare ourselves for another 20 minutes when the Canes scored to win game 3. We said bye to the Staal family and headed down to the visitors locker room to meet up with the boys.

Jon and the guys were still in good spirits and had good confidence about this going into game 4, so after they had morning skate on their off day, they joined us at the pool to relax.

“I think we can take it in game 5,” Taylor says as were all sitting in the hot tub
“No, I think we’ll go to game 6,” Duncan says
“I’m going to agree with Taylor, you guys will get them at home after tomorrow,” I say
“Yeah, I’m with Jamie and Taylor on that one,” Kelly says
“Me too! Last time we won the cup on the visitors ice, this time we need to win it on our ice, in front of our home crowd,” Jon says

After spending about 2 hours in the hot tub and pool, we all go up to our rooms to get ready for dinner when my phone starts ringing, its Jordan

“Hey Jordan,” I say
“Hey, have you seen the newspaper today?” he asks
“Um no, I don’t think we get one at the hotel,” I say
“Well there should be some at the front desk, go get one,”
“Why, what’s going on?” I ask, now worried
“There’s a guy out here that writes the worst articles, he’s like the Rob Rossi of North Carolina, so he writes whatever he wants, and he’s bashing on us hanging out with you girls at the games, like hard core,”
“Are you kidding me?” I say as Jon walks out of the bathroom, so I tell him what Jordan told me
“No, it’s so stupid to think that this guy knows what he’s talking about,”
“Ugh, this is not going to be good if Jon’s agent gets wind of this,”
“I know, so go get the paper, tell Jon to call his agent so this doesn’t get out of hand, ok?”
“I’ll get it taken care of, thanks Jordan,”
“No problem, I’ll see you tomorrow,”

I tell Jon what Jordan told me and he calls Pat right as I’m walking out the door to go to the lobby to get a copy of the newspaper. And there it is, on the 3rd page of the first section is a picture of me, Dayna and Savannah walking with Jordan at yesterdays game, with the headline stating

“Hawks fiancé and girlfriends spotted with Jordan Staal at game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Their men are on the ice while they are fondling the Staal boys? Word is they all sat together at the first two games in Chicago. They sure do get around the NHL, spending time with their significant others off the ice, and fellow NHL players during the games”

Are you kidding me?? We get around the NHL? Oh hell no! And it goes on too, saying that we were getting friendly with the Staal family and seen chatting with them after games 1 and 2 back home, oh it’s bad.

I get back up to the room and show the article to Jon, while he is on the phone with Pat, and send a text to the girls telling them to come to Jon’s room so they could see the paper too. The girls show up together while Jon is still on the phone, so we quietly talk about it while we see if Pat says anything.

“It isn’t going around Chicago, but people are talking about it in Pittsburgh. He knows that your friends with Jordan so it didn’t really surprise him to see this happen, but he’s in Chicago, and he thinks that a statement should be released, but something small to put in the CST’s and possibly on the NHL website. J, call Diana and see if something can be scheduled tomorrow,” Jon says
“Ok,” I say as I dial her number

“She said that’s a good idea, that we don’t need this bad press during the playoffs, so do you want to call Pat back and see what we should do now, and if Pat sends the press release to Diana, she will get it to the NHL website” I tell Jon as I join the girls on the bed

“Here, Pat wants to talk to you,” Jon says after talking for a few minutes
“Hello?” I say
“Hi, Jamie, how’s it going?” he asks
“Pretty good, until I saw this,”
“Well, I have to tell you that I have dealt with this guy before, he’s a beat reporter who thinks he’s hot stuff and he’s really not. One of my clients actually sued him before for invasion of privacy and publishing an article pretty similar to this one,”
“Oh wow, so this guy knows how to get under peoples skin,”
“Exactly, he’s Raleigh’s Rob Rossi, he will write whatever he wants and pisses off so many people,”
“Yeah, Jordan said the exact same thing,”
“Yeah, so I know you are probably busy with the game, so I will put something together for the newspaper, and if I can get it to NHL.com, I will. Is there anything specific you want me to say?”
“Just that it’s not true, Jon knows that Jordan and I are friends, and they are friends too,”
“Ok, yeah I knew that, I’ll say too that you guys met when the Pens were in Chicago a while back,”
“Thanks Pat, oh and Diana said that if you send her the final copy, she can get it to NHL.com”
“No problem, ok that would be great, I’ll send it to you guys so you can read it before I send it in, and feel free to add anything if you want, then just send it back to me”
“Sounds good,”
“Ok, I’ll be talking to you guys soon, I’ll probably see you guys for game 5,”
“Ok, talk to you later,”

Jon goes to talk to coach Q also, because knowing he reads the paper, he saw the article. He wasn’t mad, surprisingly enough, but he knew Pat pretty well so he trusted things would get taken care of and that Jon wouldn’t lose focus. Between coach Q and Pat, they recommended we be discreet about being at the game the next night, and to take any back ways possible up to the box where we will be sitting again.

And that is exactly what we did. We went to the arena on the team bus but sat in the very back and waited until the boys were off the bus and inside and all the reporters were gone before we snuck into the building. Although this time, we sat in the owners box with Stan and Diana, which was next to the box where the Staal’s were sitting. We cheered for the boys even though no one would hear us from way up in the box but it was fun. The boys won the game 6-2 and were ready to get back home for game 5.

Getting back home took forever it felt like, but we finally made it, and we saw the article that Pat wrote and sent to the Chicago newspaper, and Diana was in the process of getting it sent to NHL.com

“In reference to an article in the local North Carolina newspaper, a few of the Blackhawks significant others were accused of being with the Staal players during the games and watched them with the middle brothers, while the other brothers took on the Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. This is completely false, as the girls involved in this accusation are hurt to see that this is being said about them. A few of the Hawks players are friends with the Staal boys. They have backed the boys and these young ladies, saying they all trust each other and know nothing like that would ever happen. Please disregard what was said about the girls and respect the privacy of these girls as they watch the finals with their friends. Thank you.”

Chapter 28

***OMG ya'll are amazing! Thanks soo much for the comments and anxious to see what will happen with Kaner. So here's what I have of the next chapter, Ill be working on the next chapter while watching my boys in the Super Bowl. Enjoy ladies! Cant wait to read ya'lls comments!
~J


Jon and Jack see what I see and start pulling me back when I walk towards them, but they can’t hold me back this time

“What the fuck are you doing Patrick?” I yell at him
“Nothing!” He says with his hands up in defense
“It doesn’t look like nothing! Where is your girlfriend?”
“Girlfriend? Are you kidding me Patrick?” Lexie says
“Yes, he has a girlfriend, did he not tell you that?”
“No, you bastard, I can’t believe you!”
“Yeah, she’s my best friend. And YOU aren’t even supposed to be around the guys unless it’s a team function,” I tell her
“What the hell are you going to do about it?”
“Actually more then you think, considering I do PR work for the team, all I have to do is talk to Stan and your coach and you will be kicked off the team,”
“You would be the biggest bitch if you did that,”
“Don’t test me sweetie, because I will, so I suggest you leave,”

She’s walking away as Laura is walking up with a drink in hand, and is completely clueless to what is going on,

“What did I miss?” She asks
“Your boyfriend sucking face with that ice girl skank that just left,”
“I was not!” Patrick
“Patrick Timothy Kane, don’t you pull that shit, I saw it all!”
“Is that true?” she asks him as I give him a death glare
“Yeah, it is,” He says
“Fuck you Patrick, I’m done,” Laura says as she walks away

I run past Jon, Jack and Bailey to try and catch up with her, but she’s already in her truck going back to her house, so I go back into the club and straight to Patrick, who is surrounded by Jon, Jack, Sharpie and Nik.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Patrick?” I ask him after I get through the guys
“I don’t know, we were just talking,” he said
“Not what it looked like, why didn’t you tell her you have a girlfriend?”
“I was going to! But then she started kissing me,”
“Well, it takes two people to kiss, you could have pushed her away,”
“I was! Then you came up,”
“I don’t know if I believe you, I saw you all over each other,”
“I’m sorry,”
“Oh, you don’t need to apologize to me, I’m not the girlfriend that stormed out of the club pissed off,”
“Shit, she left?”
“Yeah she did, right after she said fuck you,”
“I really fucked up, I need to talk to her,”
“Not right now you aren’t, your too drunk,”
“Ok, fine, what the hell am I supposed to do then?”
“Well you can’t drive, and I won’t let you,”
“My car isn’t even here, I came with Jack and Sharpie,”
“Either have them take you home, or you can come home and take the other guest room, if Jon doesn’t care to let you crash there for the night,”
“I don’t care, but if you get sick, your cleaning it up,” Jon says
“There ya go, and you better fix this shit tomorrow Patrick and figure out what you want, I love you like a brother, but I hate seeing you hurt one of my best friends,”
“Ok,”

So we all leave after all the commotion and drama that just went down. Jack goes with Sharpie to get his car to go home, but not before he says goodnight to Bailey with a hug and a goodnight kiss. We get home without a drunk Patrick getting sick in the car, and end up getting him upstairs and in the bedroom that Bailey isn’t occupying. Jon and I talk for a few minutes while we get ready for bed and then pass out soon after getting comfortable in bed.

8am comes around so early and I wouldn’t be awake if it wasn’t for the pounding at the front door…seriously, who comes to the house this early? I open the door to see Laura, pissed off

“I can’t take this anymore!” she says
“Shh! There’s people in the house who like to sleep later then 8,” as I let her in the house
“Well I need help figuring this shit out,”
“Well, fyi, Patrick is sleeping in the spare bedroom,”
“Really, ugh, I don’t want to see him,”
“Ya’ll need to talk eventually, you can’t ignore each other forever,”
“But I want to, and I want to go back home more then ever,”
“You can’t go home pissed off though, and ya’ll are walking in the wedding together, so you need to at least be nice to each other,”
“But look how things turned out last time,”
“I know, but it’s not my fault the boy acts the way he does, you guys need to figure if out on your own,”
“Ok, fine, but if he messed up, so he can talk to me when he’s ready,”
“That’s fine, he’s passed out in that room so he’ll probably be asleep for a while, he got pretty drunk last night,”
“Ok, well I don’t want to see him so I’m going to leave. I’ll talk to you later,”
“Ok, figure this all out ok?”
“Ok, bye,” She says as she leaves

The boys didn’t have practice until Saturday, before Tampa Bay was in town on for a Sunday night game before we close off the season in California with games against Anaheim and San Jose, then a have almost a week off before the playoffs start. Kaner finally wakes up and needs to go home so we take him home then, me, Jon, Bailey and Jack join Dayna, Brent, Savannah and Taylor at the Cheesecake factory for a late lunch.

Sunday comes and I report to the office while the boys have morning skate to catch up on emails, and to catch up on the standings to see what the upcoming playoffs are looking like. The Hawks are 2nd in the Western Conference and the Penguins are 7th in the Eastern Conference. Bailey was helping me go through some stuff when Patrick walks in and sits in the empty chair next to Bay.

“Hi Patrick,”
“Hey,” he says
“What’s going on?”
“I need to talk to Laura, I can’t keep doing this,”
“Have you pulled your head out of your ass yet?” I ask him
“Yeah, and this all needs to be settled once and for all,”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Well I’m going to try and talk to her, but I don’t know how things will work out,”
“Yeah, and coming from me and Bay both being good friends with Laura, she doesn’t give the whole 3 strikes and your out deal, I’m shocked she even gave you a second chance,”
“I’m glad she did, and then here I go and screw up again,”
“Well, I told her that you guys cant ignore each other forever, and she doesn’t want to stay here anymore either,”
“Well is she here?”
“She’s probably in the training room, but I don’t know if you should talk to her before the game, it might be better to wait until after,”
“That might be better,”
“I mean, unless you want to talk to her now, don’t let me stop you,”
“No, I’ll wait, but I don’t want to be the reason behind her leaving,”
“Let’s be real here Patrick, she hates the winters here, I’m surprised she survived as long as she did,” I say with a slight laugh
“Yeah, I know, ok so I’ll talk to her today, do you really think she’ll leave like right away?”
“I don’t think so, she was talking about the playoffs, so I’m sure she’ll be here for that anyways,”
“Ok, thanks Jamie,”
“Your welcome, Patrick,”

The boys lost a close game to Tampa Bay, but they were still in good spirits, knowing that they would be going to the playoffs, while the Lightning would have a long summer ahead of them. Bailey had gone back home the next morning, and the next day after that, Dayna, Savannah, Chelsea and I had joined the boys on their final road trip of the regular season. While on the plane to California, Patrick informs me that Laura didn’t have the patience to give him another chance to work things out again, which didn’t surprise me because she is one of the most stubborn people I know. So they broke up for good, I hadn’t had a chance to talk to her yet so I wasn’t sure what’s going on with her. So I told him that word around the offices was that Lexie was no longer with the ice girls, but he didn’t care, he was upset about things with Laura but wanted to have fun at the same time.

The trip to California was a good one to say the least. The wins were split, a loss in Anaheim and a win in San Jose. Since coming back, I had been talking with the ladies back home that were helping with the wedding stuff, everything at the hotel was set, we’d have the food and an open bar, the DJ was booked too, and my good friend Julianne was doing the photography for the day. We ended up ordering 2 cupcake towers; each had 200 cupcakes, a different kind on each layer and both with cake toppers for Jon and I.

The following days, the office was in full working mode and things were crazy with the playoffs just around the corner. All of the shirts that Lauren and I ordered came and were in boxes all over the place. The other shirts that us girls would be giving out to the crowd at game one, were put in bigger boxes and decorated them before dividing them for each gate.

Finally having a chance to talk to Laura, she decided she wanted to go back home, but her Texas home, not New Mexico. She had to break the lease at her apartment, and talked to Stan and the guys in the office and gave her notice that she would be finishing the post season before going home, Stan had even mentioned that if he heard any word of the Dallas Stars had jobs available, he would refer her to them, which was nice. She said she couldn’t handle seeing Pat and not being with him at the same time, and it would be better if she weren’t in Chicago anymore. I understood, and being the friend that I am, I helped her get boxes so she could start packing up her apartment.

Weeks flew by. Round 1 was against the LA Kings, which was won by the boys in 5 games. Round 2 was against the Avalanche, which took all 7 games, but we won that one, I had a chance to go home for a day in between games 3 and 4 for another dress fitting with the girls. Game 1 against the Ducks was in 2 days, so between that time, the boys were given an off day to relax. They didn’t want to go out and get crazy because they didn’t want to lose focus so we had a relaxing night at Dayna and Brent’s house, with a ton of food and games.

“So, Jamie, what would you have done if it ended up being us against the Penguins in the finals?” Jordan asked
“Oh, geez, way to put me on the spot here,” I tell him
“I know,” he says with a laugh
“Um, I’d have to say theeee Hawks,”
“Don’t lie cause your fiancée is right next to you!” Sharpie says
“I’m not! I saw them win the cup last season, if it came down to it, I would cheer for you guys, no questions asked,”
“Are you sure?” Taylor and Duncan both ask
“Yes, I’m positive,”
“So have we completely converted you to a Hawks fan then?” Nik asks
“No sir, I don’t think that will ever happen,”
“She’s a tough one to crack here, Tazer,” Nik says again
“That’s why I love her, but she knows I’m ok with her being a Pens fan, I know who she’s going home to at the end of the day,” he says as he pulls me onto his lap

Before we know it, its time to go to Anaheim for games 3 and 4, with the Hawks up 2 games to none in the series. We were stoked to think that the boys could sweep the Ducks, but we didn’t want to get our hopes up, because that was exactly what didn’t happen. The Ducks won game 3, but we went back home holding the lead of 3-1. We were hoping to win the series on home ice but that didn’t happen either, so we were on our way back to Anaheim for game 6. That was the game when we sent them packing and went back to Chicago, ready to see whom we would be facing in the finals.

It ends up being the Carolina Hurricanes that we will meet in the finals and thankfully, we were seeded higher then the Canes, so having home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs was good, and helpful too.

Game day comes for the first one, Lauren and I got shirts again for this round to hand out as people came in to the arena. Dayna, Savannah and I are at one of the gates handing out some shirts and talking with some of the fans as they come in when my phone starts ringing.

“Hi!!” I say after looking at the screen
“Hey! Are you at the game?” the voice on the other live says
“Am I at the game? Pshh, course I’m at the game, what kind of fiancé would I be if I wasn’t?”
“A horrible one! Ok, well I’m here with my brothers, so I better see you,” he says
“Ok, I’m at gate 7, handing out shirts,”
“Ok, we’re trying to keep a low profile so I’m going to look for you now,”
“Aw, so I can’t yell your name from across the arena?”
“I think we would appreciate it if you didn’t,”
“Your no fun! But ok fine,”
“Oh hey, turn around!”

Chapter 27

***Got this up sooner then I expected, thanks to school being closed due to the horrible weather. I HATE to be the nagging writer but I would like to please get at least 2 comments before I post a new chapter, I know doesn't take too long and it would really help me to know that ya'll are reading the story and of course feedback always helps so please please please....just 2 comments? Its all I ask.
So here's the new chapter! Enjoy :)
~J

Bailey and I went to the arena, along with the other girls to get our men when they arrived in the early hours of the morning. They had lightened up a bit but I could tell that Jon was still upset. I talked to some of the other guys and introduced Jack to Bailey, and we figured the four of us would go to dinner tomorrow night and then we would all plan on going to Underground after Thursday’s game. So we all separated ways and went home. Jon liked what I had done with our pictures and was thrilled to see them hanging.
We went to bed right away, being that it was almost 3am. Needlessly to say, we were happy they boys had a day off, and I didn’t have to be at the office, so it meant we could have the day to sleep in and be lazy, which we took full advantage of.

After waking up a few hours later, Jon went to hang out with Sharpie to do some things while Abby joined Bailey and I on a shopping trip, she insisted on finding an outfit for dinner tonight. We spent a few hours shopping around town, then Abby goes home and Jon comes back to the house while Bailey and I get ready for dinner.

“Hey, so I made reservations at the Chop House for 7, I hope that’s ok,” Jon says
“Yeah, that’s good, we just had a small lunch at the mall, is Jack coming here or are we meeting him there?” I ask him
“We are going to pick him up on the way,”
“Oh ok, sounds good,”

“I’m nervous!” Bailey says as were walking to the car
“Don’t be, Jack is hilarious, and he's amazing, you are going to love him,”
“Oh, I’m not doubting that, it has just been forever since I’ve been on a date,”
“Which is why were making it a double date, easier and a little less awkward,”
“Ok, fine,”
“Don’t worry Bay, it’s going to be fine!”
“Ok, let’s do this then,”
“That’s the spirit!” I tell her as Jon honks the horn in front of Jack’s house, seconds later, he walks out, carrying 2 red roses
“Ooooh! Look at that he has roses for you!” I say
“Aww!” Bay says as he opens the door

“Hi Jack! This is my best friend Bailey, Bay, this is Jack Skille,” I say as he gets in the back seat next to her
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Bailey says as they shake hands
“You too! Your more beautiful than I thought!”
“Oh, thank you!”

They continue talking, while Jon and I talk quietly in the front, holding hands across the center console. We arrive at the restaurant and Jon gives his name before we follow the hostess to our table, while Bailey and Jack continue their conversation. We take a break to order some wine and our food, and then the four of us join in and talk together.

“Sounds like you guys had some pretty crazy times back home, eh?” Jack says to me
“Ha! Yeah, to say the least, there has been countless times of going out and ending up at IHOP at 3am, so drunk still,” I say
“So how did you manage that with the little one?” Jack asks Bailey
“My mom would watch her, but I would always stay to put her to bed, and if she ever woke up, I’d be home,” She says
“That’s good, and she’s almost 3?”
“Yeah, well in November,” she says as she grabs her phone to show him a picture
“Oh, she’s adorable!”
“Thanks!”

Dinner goes great, we go back and forth of us all talking then Jon and I talking while they are talking, from what I saw, Bay and Jack were getting along great. We would occasionally join in on the conversation going on. After dinner we decided to leave, Jack goes back home, knowing they have practice in the morning and also that he will be seeing Bailey again tomorrow at the game as well as after. Jon goes to bed almost right away after we get home so he’s not tired for morning skate, while Bailey and I have a drink and talk about the night.

“So, what do you think?” I ask her as we sit on the balcony
“He’s really sweet, I like him,” she says
“That’s good! That’s how all these boys are; they are so nice and respectful. I would kind of feel bad sometimes for Jack like when we would go out because we would all be paired off usually and him and Jeremy and a few other guys would be solo.”
“Yeah, and I like that he’s a total gentleman,”
“Yeah, that’s a plus about him, and he’s always joking around with the guys but he gets to business when it’s time to be serious, and he's always looking after me”
“Definitely. So what’s the plan for tomorrow?” she asks
“Well, the boys have morning skate, I might need to go by the office to see if the shirts came in, so you can come with me, and then we can watch the boys practice too. Then we’ll come back here and I’ll cook dinner before we leave for the game,”
“Ok, and then we’ll go out after?”
“Yeah, so dress comfortable but still cute, if you want to wear heels, put them in the car and we will change after,”
“And not wear them to the game?”
“Not unless you want everyone to think you’re a puck slut. Wear flats, they will be more comfortable anyways,”

The next morning, Jon goes to the arena before us, so Bailey and I leave a little later in my car and go to the arena to head to the office. Lauren and Diana are in there, so I decide to check some emails and see about the shirts that we ordered, which will be here next week, just in time for round one. The office is pretty quiet so Bailey and I decide to go to the ice to watch the boys, we go through the runway and stand at ice level. Practice is short, as usual on game day; we catch the end of it, with the shootout competition.

Practice is over and dinner has been cooked, the 3 of us sit at the table and eat before getting in the truck to head back to the arena. Bailey and I meet up with Laura and the other girls in the players lounge while the guys get ready. A few minutes later, Jon comes in and asks if I could go somewhere with him real quick, so I say yes and start following him. We walk towards the door where the buses come and he tells me there’s someone he wants me to meet. As we walk out the door, I see Anze Kopitar standing near their team bus.

“Oh my gosh!” I say after Jon introduces us,
“It’s nice to meet you,” He says
“You too!”
“Jon tells me you’re a big fan of mine,”
“Yeah, I am, you’re my favorite Kings player,”
“It’s always nice to have fans, even if they like other teams better,”
“Oh, I bet. I like players on other teams too but between the Pens and the Hawks, they are always the top 2,”
“Pens, eh? How did you take that, Jon?” He asks him
“Well, she has always been a Pens fan, loves them to death, but she’s also a Hawks fan, so it’s ok, I wasn’t going to tell her she couldn’t be a Pens fan,” Jon says with a laugh
“Well, that’s good. Well, Jamie, I brought this for you, figured you might like it, but if you wear it around here, you didn’t get it from me” he says with a laugh as he hands me an LA Kings shirt, and I open it to see that all the Kings players signed it.

“Oh wow, this is amazing! Thank you so much, Anze!”
“You’re welcome! Happy to do it,”
“Well, I appreciate it,”
“Of course, I should probably get going and get ready for warm ups; Jamie, it was nice meeting you. Jon, good seeing you as always and congrats on the engagement!” he says
“You too, Anze and thanks!” I say as he gives me a hug then shakes Jon’s hand before we go back in the arena, in awe still that I just met Kopitar, and also tell Jon that I love him a million times for introducing me to him.

The boys finish getting ready and get to the ice while the girls and I start heading to our seats after they look at the shirt before I toss it in my purse. After the first period, the boys are up 3-1, but they know how quickly that can go away, with how the results came to be in the game against Boston. Bailey, Dayna and I decide to get drinks and food before the second period starts. We get in line and right as we continue talking, Bailey is staring at someone behind her I guess and then looks at me,

“Oh my god, James,” she says
“What?” I say as I start to turn around
“Don’t!” she says, grabbing my arm
“Why? Bay, who’s here?”
“Kevin,”
“Ugh, seriously?” I tell her (he’s my ex)
“Yeah, and he’s coming this way,”
“Who’s he with?” I ask her
“2 other guys, but shh,”

“Hey Bailey,” Kevin says before he sees me
“Oh hey Jamie,”
“Hi,” we both say
“It’s been a while huh, how are you girls doin’?”
“Good just taking in a hockey game,” Bailey says
“Yeah, same here, I figured why not get out of the desert for a while and see a game,”
“Yeah, it’s always a good one too,” I say
“You’ve been living out here, right?” He asks me
“Yep, I live here with my fiancé and I work with the Hawks actually,” I say as he looks to my left hand
“Oh yeah? Who’s the lucky guy out here that stole you away?”
“His name is Jonathan,”
“Jonathan…Toews?” he asks
“Yes sir,” I say proudly
“Wow! Well congrats on that,”
“Thanks,” I say
“Well I think we’re going to get food before the game starts back up again,” Bailey says
“Yeah, D is waiting for us too,” I say
“Ok, well it was good seeing you girls, I’m here for a week so maybe we’ll run into each other again,”
“Ok, bye,” we both say

“Wow, talk about awkward?” I say after filling in Dayna as we walk to our seats
“Oh my gosh, no kidding!” She says
“Did you see his face after you said fiancé?”
“Yeah! It was the biggest 'oh shit' look I’ve ever seen,” I say when we sit back down
“I wonder where they are sitting,” Bailey says as we look around
“Who knows, at least it’s not behind us,” I say
“No, but don’t look to the right, they are across and a row behind,” she says
“Oh, god, ok, no more about him,” I add quietly

The game ends on a good note, the boys ended up winning 5-3. It’s definitely going to be a good night at Underground. The girls and met up with the other girls and talk with them, happy to see they get along great with Bailey, after the guys change and do post game interviews, we are off. Jack rode over with Sharpie, so on the way to the club, he joins Bailey with Jon and I in the Tahoe.

Once in the VIP of the club, the drinks start coming. Bailey and I also notice that Kevin and his brother are at the bar downstairs, thankfully they can't come into the VIP area. Besides Bailey, the only girls that came out with our men are Laura, Dayna, Savannah, Chelsea, and me, so we were surrounded by a whole lot of testosterone. Jeremy and one of the other guys invited some girls up, but we didn’t care, that was their doing, and we were with our men. Until Dayna and I spot Lexie, one of the girls from the ice crew.

“How do you know it’s her?” Bailey asks
“Some of the work I do is for the Ice Girls, so I’ve met them and have had to write releases for them.” I say
“And they have to sign contracts saying they aren’t allowed to have any outside contact with any of the players,” Dayna says
“So, it’s probably not a good idea that she is here,” Bailey says
“Yeah, she could get kicked off the team if the coach found out she was here,” I say
“Are you going to say something?” Bailey asks
“Probably not, unless she does something to piss off one of the girls,” Dayna says

After a few hours, we are all enjoying ourselves, having drinks here and there and dancing too. Bailey and me get Jon and Jack out on the dance floor and are having so much fun, I was looking around for Laura and Kaner to pull them out here too, then I see it…Kaner and the ice girl are ALL over each other, full on making out too…shit’s about to hit the fan.