Page 77 of If You Love Me

“I guess Tristan has been topping up her account, but instead of using it, she’s invested it, which sounds like a Rix thing to do. But also, she’s running herself a little ragged. She’s terrible at accepting help, always wanting to be self-sufficient. Aurora is trying to be a sounding board. She knows what it’s like to be surrounded by big earners and be in a job that doesn’t have the same kind of potential.” He drags the sausage bite through Peggy’s pool of maple syrup.

“Is Peggy struggling?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. I mean, she thinks it’s pretty comical when we compare bank statements, but she’s used to it because she’s grown up in it. Rix is still trying to catch up.”

Rainbow stops by, and Hollis asks for a takeout box. We settle the tab and leave the Pancake House, crossing the street and pushing through the doors of our building.

“You busy, or uh…you got a little time to hang out?” Hollis asks as we step into the elevator.

I swipe my fob and hit the button for the penthouse floor. “I can hang out.”

“Great. Cool.” He leans against the rail and runs a hand through his hair. Then shoves his hand in his pocket.

“Everything okay?” I ask.

“Yeah. Good. Great.” He nods a bunch of times.

He’s cagey as fuck. The elevator stops, and a couple joins us—from the gym based on their workout clothes and slightly sweaty appearance. They get off a few floors before us. Again, Hollis waits until I get off before he does. He follows me into my penthouse, sets his takeout bag on the entry table and wipes his hands on his jeans.

Hollis and I have been friends for a long time. I can read him pretty easily, and while I missed a lot of signs when he and my daughter were sneaking around last season, it’s pretty obvious he’s nervous about something. “Okay, man, what’s going on?”

“We need to talk.”

His tone makes my heart beat double time. “Not a good sentence to start with. I swear to fucking God, Hollis, if you’ve gotten my twenty-one-year-old daughter pregnant?—”

“No! She’s not pregnant. She’s on the pill. We’re super careful. We use extra protec?—”

I hold up a hand. “I don’t need more information about that.”

“Fair. Right. Yes. I’m sorry.” He exhales a long breath. “We’ve been together for a year.”

“Openly for a little better than six months,” I point out.

“It’s more like nine,” he argues. “She’s it for me, Roman. I love her more than life. More than hockey. I know this has been hard to get used to, and that you’ve got a lot going on already, but I can’t see a future without her. There’s a good chance I’llretire at the end of this season with you. I just want to be prepared, you know?”

“For?”

“The next step. I want her to be my wife, and I know it seems fast, and I’m not saying I want it to happen right away, but the past couple of years… We’ve been through a lot together.” He rubs his bottom lip. “I’m asking for your permission.”

“To propose?”

“Yeah. Not like next week, but at least within the next year. Probably more like six months.”

“I need a drink.” I cross to the bar and turn over two crystal glasses. They were my dad’s. My mom gave them to me when he passed away and she moved to Arizona to be closer to her cousins.

I pour both of us a scotch. Three fingers. I pass him a glass and take a hefty gulp of mine. It’s two in the afternoon.

“Roman?”

“Just give me a second, please.” I take another gulp. “She’s my baby.”

“I know.” He sips his scotch.

“She’s…so young.”

“We can have a long engagement,” he bargains.

I hold up a hand. “I’m not going to stand in your way, Hollis. I know how much you love her. And I know she loves you back just as fiercely. She’s always been sure of her path in life. You have my permission. I just…” I swirl the amber liquid in my glass. “Didn’t think this was coming so soon. I thought I’d be settled. I thought maybe…” I shake my head. “I thought I’d be in this position before my daughter.”

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