Page 116 of Slapshot Bride

Caroline had cried a little when she saw Riley on the screen. She was too excited to see her in my bed, so excited that she couldn’t keep her thoughts down.

‘Oh, I love this! I love her, Easton. You better not fumble this.’ Her exact words.

Riley had laughed so hard she snorted.

My arm around her pulls her closer, and I kiss her temple. I’m ready to call it a night when my phone screen lights up.

I look at the screen.

Donovan Blake.

I haven’t spoken to my father in four months. The last time was a brief, functional call about paperwork related to the divorce settlement, and even that had felt like being taxed.

It’s my birthday. He probably knows the same way he knows everything in my life, from watching from the sidelines. I’m about to send it to voicemail when Riley shifts against me and looks at the screen.

“Your dad?”

“Yeah.”

“You should answer. It’s your birthday.”

I look at her for a second. Then I answer.

“Easton.” His voice is the same as it’s always been. That quiet voice that knew the right things to say to get what he needed and the reaction he wanted. The voice that craved and commanded control. “Happy birthday, son.”

“Thanks.”

The line goes quiet for a few seconds, but I hear his breathing.

“I saw the news.” Of course he did. “I wanted to reach out.”

I don’t say anything. There’s nothing to say. He’s already cooked up his opinions and will share them regardless.

“I’m going to be direct with you, because you’re young, and I understand you may not see it. This girl isn’t what she looks like. The Sinclair girl. Women like that, they move from one meal ticket to the next. And I know she’s from a wealthy home. The more reason to be wary. Preston Sinclair was a very wealthy man. Now she’s found a professional athlete with a healthy contract. You’re smart enough to see the pattern.”

My arm instinctively tightens around Riley. Her eyes shoot up to see mine, and for a second, I’m glad she can’t hear the nonsense he’s spewing.

“I know how it feels. She’s probably very good at making you feel like an exception.” A short pause. “Caroline was the same way, in the beginning. I almost didn’t have the sense to protect myself. Thank God for the prenup. Thirty-two years, and she still would’ve walked away with half of everything I built. That’s who these women are, Easton. They’re patient.”

There it is.

Thirty-two years of marriage to the woman who raised me, summarized as a failed extraction attempt.

Usually, these words would get to me. Rile me up, and we’d end up in a verbal outrage, but not anymore.

It’s reassuring to know my mom is doing fine, far away from this lunatic.

“Think about it while you still have time, my boy.”

“Goodnight, Dad.”

I hang up.

Riley is watching me. She hasn’t moved. The lamp is still on, and she’s propped up slightly on her elbow now, reading my face.

“You okay?”

I set the phone face down. “Yeah.”