“Didn’t Mom and Dad lend you money for all those jewelry-making supplies?” I say warily.
“Yup,” she answers glumly. “Don’t tell them about this, okay? Mom is already stressed out about Tammy’s delivery, so I don’t want to upset her any more than she already is right now.”
My entire body tenses. “Why is she worried about Tammy’s delivery? Did the doctor say we should worry?” Our older sister is pregnant again and due to give birth next month. Her first delivery had gone smoothly, so I haven’t given much thought to this one. I figured it would be the same as the first.
“No, I think it’s just general nerves,” Jess assures me. “This baby’s a lot bigger than Ty was. I think Mom is scared Tammy will need a C-section. But seriously, you don’t need to worry. Tammy’s doing great. She’s bigger than a house, but totally glowing and all that jazz. Anyway, the jewelry thing was my bad news. Do you want to hear the good news?”
“Hit me.”
She offers a dramatic pause, then announces, “I’m going to become a party planner!”
Of course she is. I sigh and say, “Sounds fun.”
“You could sound a little happier,” she huffs. “I finally know what I want to do with my life!”
Sort of like how sheknewshe wanted to be a chef. And a bank teller. And a jewelry designer. But I keep my mouth shut, because in the Canning family, we support each other no matter what. “Then I’m very happy for you,” I say in a sincere voice.
Jess chatters on about her new venture during the entire drive back to the condo, but I have to cut her off when I reach the underground parking lot because there’s no service down here. We agree to chat on the weekend, and then I ride the elevator up to the apartment and shrug out of layers upon layers of winter clothing.
I shower and make myself some dinner as I wait for Wes’s game to start, and then I plant myself on the couch with a plate of risotto and grilled chicken. I’m going to spend the evening cheering for my man. And when he gets home tonight, I’mgoing to take Jess’s advice and talk to Wes about what I’m feeling.
That can’t be so hard, right?
How hard is it?my traitorous brain echoes. And I smile as I take the next bite.
TWELVE
WES
Something magical happens tonight. It’s as if all my frustration and distress over my strained relationship with Jamie spills out onto the ice, turning me into an aggressive, determined,unstoppablemotherfucker. I score a hat trick. A fuckinghat trick, and the Toronto fans in attendance cheer their lungs out when the final period ends and our team beats New York in their own arena.
The locker room is buzzing with excitement, and nearly every man on the roster wanders over to slap me on the back or, in Eriksson’s case, lift me off my feet and spin me around like I’m a toddler. “Shi-it, kid!” he exclaims. “That was the best fuckin’ hockey I’ve ever seen!”
I smirk. “Three goals is nothing. Next game, I’ll score four.”
He guffaws. “I fucking love you, Wesley. I really do.”
Coach pops in to give us a quick you-kicked-ass speech, which is unnecessary because we’re already pumped up and riding a victory high. Several sports reporters are allowed into the locker room for post-game press, which is my least favoritepart of playing in the NHL. All the interviews get tiresome after a while. Tonight, though, a female journalist corners me and decides to spice things up. Becky somebody—she covers us a lot.
“We’ve got a new feature here on Sports Tonight,” she explains with a huge grin. “We call it Fast Five. Just five fun questions that tell the fans who Ryan Wesleyreallyis.”
Trust me, the fans don’t want to know who I really am.
“So how about it?” she prompts.
Like I can really say no. Talking to the press is a requirement in my contract.
“Hit me,” I say.
She gestures to her cameraman and the next thing I know, there’s a microphone in my face and she’s introducing me as “rookie sensation Ryan Wesley” to the viewers.
“Here we go!” she chirps, as if this is the most fun a person can have. “Coffee or tea?”
“Coffee,” I reply, hoping all the questions will be this easy.
“Rock music or EDM?”
“Rock. Duh. I’m on a Black Keys kick right now.”
