Brody laughed again, staying with us until he got swept away by the other boys once we reached the restaurant where we were going to celebrate. The place was loud, bright, and chaotic. Neon lights flashed from the arcade games, tickets spit out of machines, and the air smelled like fryer grease and pizza.
Brody and the rest of the team tore into it like they’d won the Stanley Cup instead of a youth league game. Parents found tables and ordered pitchers of soda and beer, the atmosphere jovial as everyone got settled in.
I kept an eye out for Maisie, finally taking my chance to speak to her—alone—when the mom she’d been sitting with got called over to the boys. Before she could find a way to escape, I slid into the seat the other mom had vacated and set my beer down on the table.
“I’m sorry about last night,” I said, loud enough that she’d be able to hear me above the noise. “I shouldn’t have kissed you and I don’t want things to be awkward between us, so I apologize.”
Her eyebrows lifted, a soft frown forming between them. “You didn’t kiss me, Callum. I kissed you.”
As she said it, the boys shrieked with laughter and the mom who’d just gone over to them called out to Maisie. Those green eyes connected with mine as she slid out of the booth, a half-smile on her lips and a flicker of heat in her eyes.
“Duty calls,” she said lightly. “I’ll see you later.”
She was gone before I could find a way to respond, letting Brody and a friend drag her over to some racing game to go up against the other mom. Just before they started, she tossed me a glance over her shoulder, her eyebrows pumping once.
I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it was enough to leave me a little unsteady. Unsteady, and wondering if maybe there was a chance that something real was brewing here. As unsettling as the thought was, it felt like we’d gone beyond the realm of simple convenience.
If my phone hadn’t started ringing, I might’ve started overthinking it, but as it was, the device vibrated in my pocket and I slid it out, groaning when I saw my mom’s name on the screen.Shit, CC is going to be livid.
“I’m sorry I missed another family dinner,” I said instead of greeting her when I answered. “I apologize truly, deeply, and profoundly, and I will make up for it.”
“This is the second week in a row, Callum,” she seethed at the other end of the line. “What possible excuse could you?—”
She stopped speaking suddenly, just keeping quiet for a moment before she switched tactics. “Why does it sound like you’re at a playground?”
“Because I am,” I admitted. “Sort of, anyway. Gage asked me to help out with the hockey team he coaches. It’s the team Brody is on.”
Before she could read into it and start questioning me, I cut in again. “Hey, do you know what happened to all my old gear from when I was a kid?”
I didn’t know if whatever was between Maisie and me was real, I didn’t know if we stood any chance at making it work, and I sure as hell didn’t even know if she wanted to, but Brody was real and so was his talent.
And that?
That was all that made sense to me right then, so that was what I was going to focus on.
CHAPTER 22
MAISIE
By the time we pulled into my driveway on Sunday morning, the silence in the van was almost deafening. We’d dropped the rest of the boys off at the rink on our way for their parents to collect them, and after a whole weekend with a pack of hyper-energetic kids, the sudden quiet felt almost strange.
Brody didn’t seem to notice. He spotted a cluster of his friends playing street hockey on the cul-de-sac and he was gone before I’d even unbuckled, the door slamming with a loud thud behind him.
Suddenly, Callum and I were alone and I had no idea what to say to the guy. Nerves fluttered in my stomach, the air seemingly humming with electricity now that it was just him and me. That kiss had rewired my body and my mind, but my heart was still stuck on the guilt and confusion.
Thankfully, Callum didn’t seem to have the same problem. He watched Brody sprinting toward the other kids, who immediately stopped playing to give him high-fives and chat for a minute before they continued with their game.
“Your kid is an incredible player,” he said, his voice low, firm, and serious, but there was also a hush to it that sounded a lot likeawe. “What he has isn’t just skill. It’s instinct, Mais, and that’s rare.”
That knot in my chest pulsed.Does that mean I really have been failing him? Callum has known Brody for only a couple weeks and already he’s seeing something I missed. Something I might not have valued enough.
I tried to brush it off with a laugh. “He’s seven years old. Let’s not start sending videos of him to scouts just yet.”
Callum turned to face me, his handsome features stony and sharp. “I mean it, Maisie. Brody could have real opportunities. He could go play at a private school with a good program. He’s gotthatkind of talent. The kind that could open doors for him if we get him in front of the right people.”
“Sure,” I said, shaking my head and trying to suppress a smile.Private school. Of course, that’s where his head has gone. “With what money, though? Tuition at those places doesn’t exactly come cheap.”
“With my money,” he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, a faint mist of confusion clouding his usually clear blue eyes. “Why would you even worry about that?”
