She slides off the chair, leaving my fingers vacant. Hadley walks a few steps before throwing her arms up in the air. “I’m cautious and still deciding,” she gripes and leaves me with the hope that maybe she’s softening to me.
* * *
Circling around the Range Rover,I open the door for my wife. She’s busy typing away on her phone, and it kind of annoys me. “I might throw that phone somewhere. You’ve been on it non-stop since we got in the car,” I tell her.
Hadley tosses the phone in her bag, a Spinners tote. “I know, I know. It’s my little brother. He has some biology project for his summer science club he’s taking part in that I need to help him with.” I relax because we both have a soft spot for little brothers.
Offering her my hand, she gently shakes her head and smirks at my effort to be a gentleman, before she slides her palm onto mine and we begin to walk. Although we parked in a quiet spot behind the training center, in about one minute, we’ll be surrounded by my dad’s marketing team, hockey guys, and puppies.
I’m wearing my jersey, and I’m thankful that she got her jersey less than twenty-four hours after our marriage was announced, because the marketing department acted quick and sent over something for Hadley, and now she’s wearing my number 19 with the word husband on the back. Paired with her jeans and hair only partly up thanks to her sunglasses, I can only conclude that I’m lucky to have a sexy-fox wife.
“I guess it’s a few photo ops, then I’ll go change for the friendly hockey match. We’re only going to do a one-period game.” It’s for charity, the local shelter where my parents adopted Puck from. A few guys from my team are here, along with a few veterans, including my dad and uncle.
Hadley snorts a laugh. “Isla and the marketing department are geniuses. I’m positive this setup got every female from the 18-35 demographic here within a fifty-mile radius.”
I shrug a shoulder before I open the side door. “Happy to oblige using my good looks if it means it helps a little furball find a home.”
She stops and tips her nose up, giving me a knowing look. “As much as I could call you out, I know that you are actually being noble here. We both know you’re going to milk the attention for the sake of a good cause.”
I bring my hand to my heart. “Most definitely isn’t for the female popularity. I’m a taken and tied-down man now.”
She chuckles under her breath, and I follow her in. Instantly, we see the main entrance covered in balloons and a table to one side with various cookies, both for humans and canines. There is a pen of dogs playing with toys on the other side of the hall.
Already Briggs is holding a yellow Lab puppy, and Shawn is holding a mixed breed that doesn’t appear to be a puppy at all. They smile for the photographer, yet the smile on their faces is purely natural, because how can you not be happy right now?
We are quickly ushered by one of the coordinators to one of the dog pens, and before we know it, I’m holding a mixed Labrador breed that is older, but a hundred pounds is easy for me, so I cradle him like a baby. Hadley is cooing and rubbing his belly, but the dog just looks at her with a blank stare.
“This dog is way too chill,” I note.
“He seems to be one of the few on this earth that enjoys your company. Isn’t he lovable?” She scratches his chin.
Glancing down at the dog in my arms that’s wearing a bandana and this guy is sucking me in. “I need you to pull the wife card.”
“Wife card?” Hadley wonders.
“Rule the house, tell me no, remind me that we don’t need a dog,” I explain.
She giggles, and the way her hand touches my shoulder feels good. But the last few days she’s been softening around me, and we just… flow.
We ignore the camera going off around us.
“Oh, I have no problem saying no to you,” she jokes. “But I also see cookies over there, so I dunno… priorities.” She slants her shoulders up.
“You two are adorable!” Brianne, one of the wives of a veteran from my dad’s years, says as she greets us, with her meticulous blonde hair. She was young when she married then; I can imagine she still isn’t pushing forty yet.
“Hey, it’s been a long time,” I greet her and bounce the dog gently as I cradle him.
She turns her attention to Hadley. “I’m Brianne O’Shae, my husband is playing today. He used to play for the Spinners. Congratulations, you two! Did the team reach out about the wives’ club? You are in for a wild ride at games. A few rules, but mostly everyone is decent.”
Hadley glances sidelong to me, slightly panicked. “Someone will be in touch, I’m sure,” I say.
She awkwardly smiles to Brianne. “I’m sure we will be fine. I watched my mom handle my dad for a few years before he retired from baseball.”
The bubbly woman in front of us touches Hadley’s shoulder. “Oh, that’s right. You’ll be a pro then. Okay, well, you two are the cutest. Loving the social media boost that it’s giving the team.” She shimmies away, and her burst of sunshine makes us need a second to come down.
Briggs arrives next to me, now dog-free. “How’s married life, you two?”
“Joyous,” Hadley answers, with smile fixed and one-tone voice.
