Mia laughs it all off. “Declan’s an amazing husband,” she says so genuinely I nearly believe she means it.
I push them out of the way and wrap my arm around Mia. “Give her room to breathe, you asses,” I say.
I introduce each of them in turn, and then I walk with her to meet my coaches. And then, the board.
Mia’s a superstar with the way she handles all of it. She makes small talk with the members of the board, discussing everything from black bears in the area to the current mortgage rates. She acts like she’s done this a million times before.
Me—I spend the time admiring this side of her I haven’t seen before.
She’s so laid-back at the ranch. When we met at the bar, she was a bad-ass. Tonight, she’s a cross between social and business. And the combination is perfect for this event.
We pose for photos for the few members of the press allowed in to cover the event.
One of them insists on a short interview. I try to decline, but Mia puts her hand on my arm and whispers that she’s fine with it if I am.
And the truth is that she’s better at handling the reporter than I am.
“How come you two had such a whirlwind romance?” he asks us like a nosy asshole. “Why not take your time?”
I glare at him as my hands automatically clench into fists. “Rick, I don’t think that’s an appropriate ques…”
“Because life is short, Rick,” Mia cuts in smoothly. “Haven’t you ever woken up in the morning and wondered why you’re putting off your dreams?”
Rick’s gaze shifts from me to her with interest. “Maybe I have done that,” he says.
“Right?” Mia says with a smile. “If I’ve learned anything in life, I learned that you can’t count on tomorrow. You can only live your life to the fullest today. When I met Declan, I knew we had something special. And I decided, why wait?”
“Why wait?” Rick repeats as he stares at my wife, mesmerized.
And I again resist the urge to throat-punch him.
I end the interview as politely as I’m capable of, at the moment, and guide Mia away.
I knew we had something special.
Her words stick in my head as we walk together through the room and while Mia’s chatting with Coach Tucker.
“Your wife sure is comfortable with the spotlight on her,” Max says as he joins me at the bar. He nods his head in Mia’s direction. “In a good way, I mean.”
“She is,” I agree.
“Helps to explain how she can be so comfortable being Declan Wild’s wife.”
Yes, my wife is full of surprises, and all of them draw me to her even more.
“As great as she is at handling all of this, Coach is starting to wave his arms,” I say.
“Uh-oh.” Max grins. “That means he’s revving up for a full-blown rant about something. He’ll be tough to shut up.”
“And that’s my cue to rescue her. Excuse me.” I push off the bar and head for Mia.
Just as I reach her and Coach, it’s mercifully announced that dinner is being served.
I shadow Mia to our table, wanting to protect her from my nosy teammates.
I’m acting like a caveman, and I don’t care. I’ve never had a wife before, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to behave. But I don’t think leaving her to fend for herself among a bunch of professional male athletes is the right thing to do.
About half the guys on our team are married, but my closest friends—and the ones we’re sitting with—are all single. I went from being just like them to having a wife. So, I don’t blame them for being curious.
