Page 109 of Goaltender Interference

“Daddy!” Evie leaped up, running over to him.

He hauled her up into a hug and squeezed her tightly. “Missed you, Peanut,” he whispered.

“Missed you too.” She settled her head on his shoulder and he carried her over to where Jesse and Maura were still sitting on the floor.

He set Evie down and Maura scrambled out of Jesse’s lap so Connor could pull her in for a hug too.

“What’s all this?” he said, gesturing to the game. He peeled off his coat, then tossed it on a nearby chair.

“Well,” Jesse said, tilting his head back to look up at Connor with a smile. His eyes were bright, his face happy. “We finished prepping dinner so we figured we’d play Moose Match Mayhem.”

Connor had a sudden urge to lean down and press his lips to Jesse’s then smooth a hand through his hair. He settled for giving Jesse a friendly tap on the shoulder. Not the same, but it would have to do.

“Wow, sounds like a busy afternoon and evening,” Connor said.

Jesse gave him another smile. “You’re telling me. But dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes.”

“Well, sounds like I should have time to play a round or two with you then. You wanna be my partner, Evie?” he asked, taking a seat on the floor next to her.

“Sure!”

The game was supposed to be for kids who were seven years old and up and after watching her cousins play, Evie had begged for it. She was clever and had mastered it quickly. Maura was also obsessed with it, loving the animals, so as long as she had a partner to remind her of the rules and help out, she did well too.

Maura settled on Jesse’s lap again and he pressed an absentminded kiss to the top of her head. She tilted her chin up, smiling at him.

Connor’s heart suddenly ached because fuck, he wanted this. He wanted Jesse and the girls and Nolan in his life as much as possible and he didn’t want Jesse to ever leave. He wanted a future with him.

And Connor didn’t have a hope or a prayer of making that happen.

Somehow, Connor made it through the evening. He played a couple of rounds of Moose Match Mayhem. Nolan had joined them after he’d finished his reading.

Now, Connor sat at the table, laughing when the girls excitedly described how they’d helped Jesse make the stew. “It’s delicious,” he’d assured them, and it really was. It was the same old recipe he always used, the one from his mother, but it did something to him when he thought about Jesse cooking with the girls.

“Good call on sharing the recipe app,” Jesse said while they cleared the table. “It makes it easy on the days I get home before you.”

Connor nodded, deciding not to mention to Jesse that it had been Viv’s suggestion when they were still married, because she was annoyed that even when he was home, he rarely cooked because he had no idea what she’d planned or what was on themenu for the night. “That reminds me,” he said instead. “I’ve got a thing in a couple of days actually. A signing.”

“Ooh,” Jesse said. “Fancy.”

“I guess. Mostly just sitting at a conference table and scribbling on about a thousand fucking pucks until my hand cramps.”

“Yeah, you should’ve seen me after the Cup win,” Jesse said with a wink. “You won’t believe the things I’ve signed.”

Connor smirked, but Evie looked up from the ice cream she was eating. “Like what? I wanna know.”

Jesse got a panicked look on his face—probably because it was a lot of tits, pecs, and asses—then blurted out, “A goldfish bowl.”

“Really?” Evie laughed. “That’s silly.”

“So silly. But that’s what happens when you run into someone on their way out of the pet store.”

“Did you know goldfish get sick in bowls? They’re much happier in tanks.”

“I did not know that,” Jesse said. “But I’ll remember if I ever get a fish.”

“Can we get a fish, Daddy?” Evie asked.

Connor groaned because he could have seen this coming. Though it was still better than explaining Jesse’s autograph was probably tattooed on half a dozen people’s bodies. “Uhh, not right now, Peanut. And remember, you already have apony.”

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