CHAPTER TWELVE

James and Zach had still not spoken by the time group got to the plane. Once they boarded, James took his seat and popped in his head phones, hoping his iPod would give everyone the clue he didn't feel like talking. When Hannah noticed Zach was taking the seat next to hers, she did the same.

Zach glanced over at Hannah as he took his seat. He could have sworn she'd been avoiding him since that morning on the patio, and totally didn't get it. If him calling things off had bothered her, why had she been so quick to agree? The more he looked back on it, the more he had wanted her to disagree and tell him that they could make it work. But she hadn't and it was time to focus on the next few days of competition, and the mess that would be following his newest clients there.

While everyone else was trying to keep to themselves, Jackie and Alex were planning their "make-up" trip. If things went well in St. Thomas, Jackie was going to try and convince Hannah to stay and take over Alex's condo. Then she would have her favorite guy living with her, and her favorite girl in town!

After a very silent flight to Minnesota, the team deboarded the plane, still not speaking. They all walked by reporters and fans trying to get their attention, waving and heading straight to the car. Once they all piled in, Alex.

"Alexandra should be waiting on us when we get to the hotel. Before anyone goes to their room to unwind, we need to all get together and get some things straight. I'm not going to be staying in the room booked under my name, so we will use that as our "green room". Drop off your bags and head straight there. Despite anything personal you've got going on with anyone else in this car, we've got to put up a united front. Eating together, going out together, everything. Got it?"

The whole team nodded in agreement, Hannah and James both looking out the window. At least the two taking the ice still got along, which was unusual for this group. At the end of the day, what they did on the ice mattered the most. They could put on a happy front and pretend to all be the best of friends, but if the team didn't make a positive showing in the rink, it was all a waste.

Alexandra had been so tired and rushed that morning when she headed to catch her plane that she hadn't really paid attention to anything. Once she landed, articles in various papers and magazines began to catch her eye. She didn't need to read them to know they were bad news. Every single one of them was accompanied with a picture of her boyfriend dancing with every hussy in Connecticut. All this time she'd felt bad, thinking he was sitting at home catching up on TiVo and pondering their relationship. And her mother wondered why she had questioned his loyalty and dedication!

She was still fuming by the time the team arrived and was less than thrilled when James was the first one to show up for the meeting.

"Thanks for letting me know you were going to be here," said James, finally breaking the icy silence.

"I'm sure you would have been too busy to care even if I'd tried," she snarled back, throwing one of the many papers with his previous nights actions on the front.

"Seriously, you're going to get mad over this? After shutting me out for the last three months and then up and leaving me with no notice? And then you're gonna come back in here, with no explanation, and start throwing pictures at me?"

"It's not like you were pushing me to talk, or following me out the door. Maybe you wanted me to leave so you could get back to the old you, the James that got all the ladies and just had a good time, with no worries or responsibility."

"Do you remember our first fight? When I stood you up for dinner, all because I misunderstood something I saw with you? And it just kept escalating? We almost missed out on something great because of that. Don't let the same thing happen again. I was out with the team last night and after watching the rest of the group couple off, I started feeling sorry for myself and drank too much. All I did was dance like an idiot, nothing else happened, I swear. The whole time I thought about how I would have rather been with you then in any bar in the world. Even if it meant sitting at home, waiting on you to finally talk to me."

"I wanted to talk to you; I just didn't know what to say. I didn't want you to feel trapped by the situation; that's why I had to leave. I wanted you to take some time to think about it without worrying about me or my feelings."

"You didn't have to leave me for that; I've always known that I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Do you mean that or are you just saying it because of everything that's going on?"

"See, that's why I didn't ask you earlier, I knew you would think that! But I had been planning on asking you to marry me after we won Nationals for months. You can call the jewelry store and check," he said, putting his hand into his coat pocket. "I bought this for you before any of this happened." As he pulled the ring out of his pocket, James got down on one knee and looked up at Alexandra, his heart racing faster than he had ever skated.

She didn't respond, but simply fell into his arms, crying and nodding her head yes. And that was what the rest of the team walked in to find.

"Well," interrupted Alex, "it looks like we can scratch the first item off the agenda. Glad to see you crazy kids are getting along. Now, since you appear to be all in love again, James, can you work with Zach now without trying to take his head off?"

Alexandra looked at the two as they nodded in agreement, confused as to what had happened between them. Then, she remembered that they had been together when she had called Zach the previous night. Surely James would now understand that it was strictly business.

"Good. Now that we can honestly show and announce that people are back together," Alex said, putting his arm around Jackie, "hopefully the media will back off. If not, Alexandra, are you ready to come forth with why you left?"

"Yes, if it comes to that, I will make my statement."

"Then that's it. Have fun tonight, and let's give everyone something besides our personal lives to talk about tomorrow!" Jackie said, leaving to go grab a private dinner with Alex.

"I guess we should go make some calls before the engagement gets some press," said James, putting his arm around Alexandra to lead her out. "See you guys tomorrow!"

That left just Zach and Hannah.

"Um, wanna go grab something to eat?" asked Zach.

True, she didn't want to be wasting time with a guy who didn't want her. On the other hand, though, she didn't want to spend the night with PPV and room service. So, she agreed to meet him downstairs in thirty minutes. Just as she'd done the night she thought they'd had a chance.