I pull myself together as Duncan Darby walks over, his phone to his ear. “Okay, babe. Yeah. I’ll call you when I’m done. Love you.”
He drops his phone from his ear and pulls me into a bear hug. I hug him back easily. Duncan is a giant, hilarious man-child. He’s a defensive beast on the ice and as sweet and loyal as a puppy off. “Braddock! YouPlaygirlcenterfold, you!”
I roll my eyes. “Wasn’t my dick.”
He nods emphatically. “Right. I forgot.”
I ignore the completely un-ignorable exaggerated wink he gives me. Levi clears his throat. “Was that Carla on the phone?”
I watch Duncan nod. He started dating Carla Soto almost a year ago. She’s best friends with Tessa Haynes, my ex and Levi’s girlfriend. Yeah, we’re one big happy family. Not.
“Yeah. She wants me to swing by work when I’m done.”
“I was going to swing by and see Tessa too,” Levi tells him. “I was going to surprise her with lunch. Carpool?”
They’re like suburban husbands now. The realization makes me feel very lonely. Luckily, I don’t have to stand here awkwardly and listen to them talk any longer, because Dixie is walking toward us. She stops in front of us and claps her hands to get the group’s attention. “Okay, everyone! We’re going to go into the lounge on the main floor, and the kids will filter in a few at a time to get pictures with you guys and the Cup.”
Everyone nods. “The PR staff will be giving out Stanley Cup cookies and little stuffed mascots. Any questions?” Dixie asks.
No one has any questions, so she leads everyone inside. A couple minutes later we’re in the long, antiseptic-smelling room, and the kids are starting to come in. It’s brutal to see so many kids pale, frail and in some cases attached to tubes and IVs, but there’s no place I’d rather be. I always take the time to shake their parents’ hands and chat with them a little bit. Not because I’m trying to flirt with the hot moms, but because I can only imagine how hard this is on them. I’m feeling helpless and furious about my dad’s health; I assume those feelings are even deeper when it’s your child.
As the event winds down and the last of the kids finish with the photos and make their way to the cookies and toys, I see Dixie huddled in the corner with one of the nurses. She glances at me but doesn’t really acknowledge me. That crease between her eyebrows seems deeper than normal, so I walk over to find out what’s going on.
“He’s just devastated,” the nurse says to Dixie as I approach.
“Who?” I ask. Dixie hasn’t realized I’ve joined them, and she jumps a little when I speak.
“A little boy,” the nurse tells me as she smiles a big, flirtatious smile and smooths her bright pink scrubs. “Christopher. He’s a huge Thunder fan, but his white blood cells got low last night. He’s in isolation until we can pump them up again, so he couldn’t come today. I’m Kina, by the way.”
I smile at her and shake her hand. She bats her eyelashes at me with a smile that tells me I could violate Dixie’s little rule with her.
“He’s one of the reasons we organized the event,” Dixie explains, and her brow pinches so tight I’m tempted to press my thumb between her eyes and flatten out the crease. I decide against it, because she’d probably slap me. “His mom wrote us with a few of the other moms and asked us to visit.”
I feel for this kid. I hate the idea that he’s going to miss us. Dixie’s expression perks up a little. “Could we have Levi hold the Cup up outside the window to his room?”
“Why Levi?” The questionflies from my mouth with a hard edge that has both Dixie and Kina startled. “I mean, I could do it.”
“Well, you are his favorite player,” the nurse explains with that flirtatious smile, adding, “And mine.”
I ignore her last comment, because Dixie told me to, and nod. “Well, I’d love to see him. Can’t I go in the room if I’m sanitized or whatever?”
“You’d have to wear full scrubs and a mask and everything,” she explains. “It’s a bit of a pain.”
“You know what’s a bigger pain?” I ask and smile. “Being a sick kid and missing your chance to see the Cup and meet your favorite player.”
The nurse smiles; this time it’s more excited than flirty, thankfully, because I’ve never been great at ignoring a flirty woman. Dixie, on the other hand, is staring at me with a stunned and confused look rather than a happy one. I shrug at her. “What? It’s not a big deal.”
She doesn’t respond, so I ignore her and ask Kina to take me to his room. Twenty minutes later, wrapped in a bunch of scrubs and booties and with a giant mask on my face, I’m in Christopher’s room. He’s pale and skinny, but his smile is hearty and full of life. I give him a jersey with the whole team’s signatures and I have Levi hold up the Cup outside his window and all the other guys wave at him. He’s only nine, which guts me, but I don’t let him see it. I joke with him and take pictures. We talk hockey and how when he’s better his mom is going to let him play on a team. I tell him I’ll get him tickets to a Thunder game when he’s well and take him around our arena. He’s thrilled. Then I let his mom almost strangle me with a grateful hug before I leave.
I strip out of all the special clothes and find Dixie waiting for me by the elevators with the rest of the team. “That was amazing of you.”
“It was nothing.”
“Jude!” I turn as Kina jogs down the hall toward me. “Thank you so much. You’re amazing.”
She shakes my hand and then hands me a folded piece of paper. “My number. Call me if you’re wondering how Christopher is doing or, you know, you want to hang out.”
She flashes that flirtatious grin again before heading back to the nurses’ station. Dixie glares at me and shrugs. Duncan, Levi and the guys are chuckling as we all crowd into the elevator. “Only Jude turns a good deed into a lay,” Duncan quips, and it instantly pisses me off.
