Fingers sifting through the loose sand by his feet, he finds a smooth pebble and tosses it out into the ocean. It lands a good distance away with aplop.
“Honestly? I’m not sure. He started a family, and I let hockeyand life get in the way. Florida is only a plane ride away, but we’ve never found the time to see each other.” He tosses another pebble. “We were never that close or really saw eye to eye as adults. When our parents died, we drifted even further apart.”
Sometimes, I wonder how different my life would look if I had siblings. Less lonely, that’s for sure. Being an only child is the last thing I want for Blake.
His deep exhale is blown away by the wind.
“Losing Scott has reminded me of how fragile relationships can be.” His shrugs, the smile I witnessed earlier completely gone. I can definitely relate to what he’s saying. If it wasn’t for her social media posts, it would be easy to believe that Clara never existed in my life. “No one ever told me that when I signed the divorce papers, I wouldn’t know the meaning of pain until my best friend turned his back on me,” Emmett concludes.
I stay silent because none of this is really about me, and I know it. If Emmett didn’t want to be here, then he wouldn’t. What he needs right now is for someone to listen and understand the shit situation he was largely powerless to prevent. We both were.
Reaching up, I pull off his glasses and set them on my face.
He flicks a finger under my chin, smiling at me sweetly. “Have they blurred out my wrinkles?”
I run a hand through his messy brown hair. “I was actually checking something.”
He drops his forehead to mine, circling the pad of his thumb over Blake’s cheek. “And what did Mama conclude?”
Resting my head on his shoulder, I look up at him. “That you’re still the same amazing person whichever lens you look through. Reach out to Beau, but only because you want to, not because you’re chasing the relationship you think you should have.”
Deep in thought, he rests his pointer finger in Blake’s palm, and she wraps her tiny fingersaround it.
“Do you think Scott will ever forgive me or accept the fact that I’m in love with his daughter?”
Delicious tingles fizz into each nerve ending. I’ll never grow tired of hearing those words.
“That one is more difficult to answer. My dad is a proud man, and he feels betrayed.”
“I was thinking of stopping by in a few days to see if he’s?—”
“Don’t,” I quickly interject, hating that I have to burst his hopeful bubble. “Scott Quinn might be your long-term friend, but I know my father almost as well as his wife. If he’s going to move on, then it has to be when he’s good and ready.”
Crashing waves punctuate several beats of silence as a few teenagers tear past us down the beach.
“Mom will be the key to Dad. If anyone can bring him around, then it’ll be the woman he loves.”
Emmett chuckles low, planting a chaste kiss across my lips. “That sounds really fucking familiar,” he whispers so Blake doesn’t hear his profanity. Not that she’s even close to saying her first word.
I lift a playful shoulder, no doubt looking ridiculous in glasses way too big for my face. “What can I say? Us Quinn girls wield that kind of power.”
Emmett’s heavy breath fans my cheeks as he studies me for longer than usual. “With respect, I don’t think that your last name has anything to do with my obsession.” Another kiss lands on my lips. “Since I’m certain that you would call the same shots over me withRichardsstamped across your back.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
EMMETT
“Impromptu get-togethers are my favorite thing in the world.”
Darcy’s declaration from her place on the opposite end of the table pulls a few agreeable noises from my teammates as we all dig into our food.
“Hell yes, Darcy Doll.” Raising his fork loaded with salmon pasta, Archer takes a huge bite and sets a kiss against his wife’s cheek.
“Fishy breath!” she guffaws, pink staining the apple of her cheeks.
Sitting at the head of the table, Jack gazes around at his teammates and their girls, a sense of pride filling his expression.
“I know we generally get together after, but I felt like a meal the night before a big game was the right way to go this time.”
