I huffed. “No one. That’s the kid’s mom. She was over for a little bit when she picked up the kids.”
Sorrento narrowed his eyes. “You don’t smile at . . . anyone. Ever.”
“I smile at my kids,” I protested.
“I thought you weren’t into hockey moms,” Rome added.
“I’m not into hockey moms,” I insisted. “And I’m not into her.”
“I never asked you to be into me,” came a sultry voice from behind me. “But I’m not really into hockey dads either. My ex ruined it for all of you.”
Fuck.
I gulped and turned slowly, finding Mara looking very amused behind me. I stood there, stammering, and not sure what the fuck to say.
“I just came down to say our kids did a good job.” She shifted Hazel up on her hip and dug in her pocket, producing a tissueand thrusting it my way. “And your nose is running, big guy. Look at that! Me being a hockey mom. Shocking, since most of the time I’m just waiting for the black thing to go in the net and hoping no one gets hit in the head.”
I accepted the offered tissue and dabbed my nose. “Thanks.”
Rome and Sorrento chuckled next to me and I wanted to become one with the waterlogged floor.
She stuck her hand out to Rome. “I’m Mara, by the way. Aspen’s mom. And this is Hazel.”
During this, Hazel bopped my shoulder and grinned. I couldn’t resist giving her cheek a little tickle, which made her laugh more.
“Hudson,” he said, shaking her hand. “And Thompson is mine.”
Sorrento shook her hand as well. “Dylan. And Alice is my daughter.”
“Oh, Aspen loves them too. We should get them all together sometime,” Mara said. “I know they don’t all go to the same school and I think Aspen’s going to be taking a break soon.”
Hockey’s an expensive sport, but it still broke my heart that Aspen might stop playing because of money. My stomach turned. I could pay for it and not even feel it, and that seemed unfair.
But I didn’t want to draw attention to it. I didn’t want Mara to feel worse than she already did.
“You know what? I need to send out the invitations, but we’re having a get-together for Harper’s birthday soon. They could all play then. Nothing fancy, just a casual playdate at my house.”
Rome looked at me like he questioned my motives, but just bobbed his head. “Nice. The kids will love that.”
“Yeah, I’ll probably text the details.”
Mara paused, then fixed her smile back on. “That’s great.” She pointed to the exit. “They’re waiting for us. Nice meeting you guys.”
As she walked ahead of us, I noticed her limp where she carried Hazel. I lost her quickly to the shuffle of parents taking gear off their kids and stuffing it into kit bags. I moved slowly getting my kids settled so I could catch Harper’s coach.
“Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?”
Chris finished his other conversation and let me pull him to the side. “What’s up?”
I looked around, making sure no one was in earshot. “What would it take for me to sponsor a kid who’s not Harper? Like pay for it and just say it’s a scholarship?”
Chris clicked his tongue. “We’ve never done it before without the family knowing who funded it.”
“I don’t want them knowing at all. I don’t want it to be embarrassing for them.”
He adjusted his gray ballcap. “Yeah, I’m not sure. I’ll have to look into it.”
“Do that.” I looked him up and down. “And drill the kids on their shots. They looked like shit out there.”
