“Wow. You didn’t even pretend to consider moving in with me.”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I’ve learned not to waste time pretending. The reality is that the house is a deal-breaker for me.”
I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face.Damn, I like her.
I always had, even if I hadn’t let myself think about her in so many years that I hadn’t even recognized her at first. She leaned in as she spoke. Her eyes were bright and a lock of her hair brushed against her cheek. I caught the faintest trace of vanilla as she got closer to me, and it was distracting enough that I almost missed her next line.
“One more thing,” she said. “I’m not signing anything until Brody has spent some time with you. If he doesn’t like you, we don’t go through with it.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Harsh.”
She shook her head. “Practical.”
I sat back, pretending to mull it over like it was a high-stakes negotiation, but my decision was already made. “So what you’re saying, basically, is that I’ve got to win over a seven-year-oldhockeyplayerto get the girlandthe inheritance.”
Her lips quirked like she was fighting a smile. “Something like that.”
I raised my coffee cup. “Challenge accepted. You do remember that I played in college, right? I’m sure you also know that you don’t get to D1 unless you’re actually kind of good at the game and just maybe that you’ve put a decent amount of time into it. You might as well start practicing your vows, Morgan. I’ve got this.”
Her laughter warmed the cold air and I chuckled, but then I remembered that she wasn’t the only one who had to run this by someone else. I sighed and scratched the side of my neck, wishing I didn’t have to tell her this, but it was important that she was aware.
“I’m going to have to talk to my dad about it,” I finally admitted. “There will also have to be a prenup, contracts, all of that. Once I’ve had them drawn up, I’ll send them to you so you can look them over. There will be room for negotiation. It’s not a forced, take it or leave it kind of deal.”
Her jaw ticked, but she gave a short nod. “Of course. I expected all of that.”
Suddenly hating how stiff her voice had become, I shifted gears. I wasn’t ready for this conversation to end and definitely not on such a sour note. “Alright, then. That covers the T’s andC’s. Tell me about him. Brody. What else do I need to know to win him over?”
That got her. As I watched, it was almost like flipping a switch. Her eyes softened and her whole face lit up.
“He’s… all boy,” she said, laughing softly as she gave her head a quick shake. “He loves golf almost as much as hockey, but hockey’s better because it actually wears him out. That’s my main goal these days, to keep him moving until he collapses.”
I smirked. “That sounds like a familiar strategy. I think my mom employed the same one.”
“It’s necessary. Without it, he’s climbing the walls by the time we get home in the afternoons.” She shook her head again, but her smile didn’t fade. “We’re practically on a first-name basis with the urgent care staff.”
“Frequent visitors, huh?”
She nodded emphatically. “So frequent that I owe all the nurses Christmas cards, but I definitely won’t be getting one from our health insurance.”
“Already?” I chuckled, all of this sounding so familiar, it was like she was describing my own childhood. “How old is he again?”
“Seven going on seventeen.” She sighed, but it wasn’t an annoyed sound. “He’s smart too, though. Too smart sometimes. And he’s so stubborn. He’s only calm when he’s asleep, so you’re going to have to be ready for that.”
Something in her voice pulled at me, making it sound like she was barely hanging on. For the first time since she’d blurted out that she would marry me, I realized that this really wasn’t about money or who I was to her. I’d known it before, but it was like it was fully dawning on me now just how personal this was for her.
The long and the short of it was that she needed help, and I leaned closer without really even thinking, gaze hooked on hers. “I’m ready for it.”
She arched an eyebrow at me. “That might only be because you don’t really know him yet.”
“Not yet, but I’d like to,” I said. “Boys can be a lot. Trust me, I know. I have three brothers and I’m a boy myself, but shit, our house was so damn chaotic when we were growing up that even I had to just hide sometimes. I think that’s part of the reason why I took up every sport I could. It gave me a reason to not be at home so much.”
As I spoke, I let my gaze wander to the ice, where the little monsters were still tearing around. My stare latched onto Brody. The kid was fast even in comparison to some of the older boys, already sharper on his skates than half of them.
He suddenly glanced toward the glass, obviously seeking out his mom, and something tugged at me as I studied his features.Damn. What the…
I blinked hard and sat forward a little as I realized what had been nagging at me. I hadn’t really looked at him before, but now that I was?
Brody had that sharp jaw, the straight nose, the same too-serious brow I’d seen in the mirror my whole life, but it wasn’t me I thought of first. It was Sterling. My oldest brother. People said I looked most like him.
