“Be honest, Lee Lee, did someone finally give you a blow job before the game? Becausedamn, whatever that was, you need to schedule it before every puck drop.”
I choke on a laugh. He’s too far off.
Mikey steps forward, jaw slack. “Dude, you hadthreeguys chasing you, and you didn’t take a single stupid penalty. I almost fainted.”
“Thanks for the faith,” I mutter, shaking my head.
Nik wanders over, arms folded, studying me like I just performed some rare scientific miracle.
“You play like you finally slept.”
“I did,” I say. “Sort of.”
He nods, a tiny smile tugging at the edge of his mouth.
“It suits you.”
Before I can respond, a cold blast hits the back of my neck. I turn just in time to see Mikey lowering a water bottle, looking way too innocent.
One of the rookies grabs a Gatorade bottle, shakes it like champagne, and accidentally sprays all over the floor.
Someone slips.
Someone else screams.
Connor sprints across the room yelling, “No one gets concussion juice in my eyes, I have a date Friday!”
Our goalie gets tackled by two guys, flailing.
“Hey! Not the head! My wife will kill me!”
The coaches walk in, take one look at the nonsense, turn around, and walk right back out.
And in the middle of the chaos, the laughter, the noise, the ridiculousness—I feel grounded.
33
EMMA
In almost twomonths since the Brownings, Liam has done exactly what I asked of him.
He’s given me space.
However, he has also stayed in contact. Always gentle. Always respectful.
A text every few days to check in.
A little note about moving into an apartment near ours.
Not too close, he’d said, but close enough to help if I ever needed him to.
Part of me wanted to roll my eyes.
Part of me didn’t mind it at all.
He told me when he set up accounts for Laddie and me. Told me he didn’t want to be a deadbeat dad, even if I decided I never wanted him in my life.
He kept saying he wouldn’t give up on us.
