I smile at the television like she can see me watching her.
Because I may not know everything that’s going on in my wife’s head. Okay, I probably know very little, but I didn’t misread that.
Mia Carroll Wild just blushed when she talked about her husband.
“Holy shit.” Jared whistles. “Your wife sure has the hots for you, Dec.”
Arch chuckles from behind us. “That’s typical newlywed love, you fucker.”
Not for us. For Mia and me, nothing about our marriage has been typical.
The interview comes to a close, but I keep the television on, hoping to catch one last shot of Mia before the show signs off.
“Hey, guys.” Maren, the coach’s assistant, steps into the room. “Coach wants you to shut the damn TV off and get on the ice.” She grins as she imitates Coach’s gruff tone.
“Hey.” Max crosses the room to Maren. “What are you doing after practice?”
Jared and I look at each other in surprise. Max usually avoids talking to Maren whenever she’s around.
She blinks at Max. “Same thing I always do after work. I’m picking up Ty from daycare and heading home.”
“Let me take you both out for a meal,” he says.
Their voices disappear as he follows her out into the hall.
“Does he even know what he’s doing?” Arch says to Jared.
“No clue. Moms scare him. I’m pretty sure he’s never dated one.”
Sierra Tucker pokes her blond head into the room. “Seriously, you guys, my dad is about to have a fit. Do you want him to come in here himself?” She gives Jared a pointed look and spins back out the door.
Nope. We don’t want Coach blowing a gasket because we’re five minutes late to practice. That never ends well.
“Let’s go,” I say to the guys. “Time to get to work.”
* * *
Mia
“And that’s a wrap!” Angie Milton, my reporter-crush since I was a teenager, smiles at me as the cameras turn off.
My first big television interview is finished. And I had a blast.
“That was awesome!” I say to Angie as I hug her. “I was so nervous beforehand I thought I might puke, but once we got started, it all felt very comfortable.”
She laughs. “You were a natural. And I don’t say that to every guest, believe me. I hope this interview will help your company. And your foundation.”
Me too.
As I’m walking out of the conference room where we filmed the segment, Dad beckons to me. “Great job, Mia. My office, please.”
I walk with him into his office, where he stands for a moment and admires the Marilyn Cross painting Declan got for him. After much discussion, Dad finally settled on mounting the painting across from his desk where he can look at it when he’s working.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he says to me as we stand side by side and look at the painting.
“It is,” I agree.
“It will look just as good at home,” he says suddenly.
